A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 237: We Are Just Pawns, Aurora!

Chapter 237: We Are Just Pawns, Aurora!

Aurora further spoke.

"You are not a bad person, and I know that! I didn’t marry you for no reason. You were the first kind man I met in my life. I am confused and baffled as to why you became like this. I don’t understand." She shook her head at him, genuinely seeking answers.

Lumian buried his face in his palms, taking a soft breath to calm himself down.

"Aurora, do you know the kind of person my father is?" he inquired.

Aurora walked over to stand in front of him. She cupped his cheeks in her palms, raising his head to have him look at her. "Tell me."

"He is a monster, Aurora. You do not understand how heartless he is or what that man is capable of. I am scared of him, Aurora. Not very manly of me, I know, but I am afraid of him."

"This has been so since I was very little, and I don’t know what to do. Every time I look at him, he is nothing but a devil in my eyes, but I could never say no or refute his words, no matter how much I disagree with them."

"I don’t want to do this. I never wanted to." He vigorously shook his head at Aurora. "I do not hate anyone, Aurora, not even Draven or Valentine. They are my siblings, after all, but I couldn’t do anything. Your life was at stake, mine was at stake, and even Valentine’s life was at stake."

He began to breathe heavily. "You know, right?" She grabbed Aurora by the shoulder. "You know how much I care for Valentine, right? I always have, since we were kids. He was innocent, but they always hurt him. Father, Lestat, and Ryan, they are one big team, and as one, they hurt those who do not want to bow to their ideals."

"I spent my whole childhood protecting Valentine as much as I could, even doing things I shouldn’t, knowing he’d hate me so much for it. But even so, I did not mind. I’d rather he hate me than die."

"Father despises both him and Draven, and just as he wanted to kill Draven, he wanted to do the same to Valentine. I had to save him over and over again even though I never made it known, because if father found out I was the one, he would kill me, Aurora."

Lumian took deep breaths to calm down. He sat down on the chair, exhausted. "Aurora, if you think that I haven’t tried to break free from them, then you are wrong. I have tried as much as I could. I took the courage to tell my father that I didn’t want to be part of it, but I got threatened. Valentine’s life and yours were at stake, and I was not willing to lose either of you, so I agreed to be part of it. I had no other choice!"

He continued, "If I hadn’t agreed, he would have taken everything that I cared about and loved from me. He would have made my life miserable—worse than you can ever imagine."

"You see, I am not Draven, and neither am I as strong as he is. He has willpower and endurance. Those are things that I thoroughly lacked, therefore, I had no choice but to agree and submit to them. I am chained to my father, Aurora, and I cannot break that chain. I can never be free from him, and I don’t mind, so long as you will be safe. That is all that matters to me."

"To survive, one has to be smart. I may not agree with their ideals, but I have neither the chance nor the choice to choose. Forgive me." He lowered his head, unable to look her in the eyes. "Father is watching me closely. He does not trust me as much as he trusts Ryan and Lestat, and that is why I must be careful and stay on guard, Aurora. I must not make any mistake."

He let out a soft breath. "No one except us understands how dangerous this game of chess is. We are just pawns, Aurora, and you are too. That is why, as a rook, I must protect you. Father doesn’t care about the pawns because they are just mere sacrifices he can make to reach his goal, thus, it is my duty to keep you safe."

"So please, just lay low and go along with it, okay?"

Aurora was beyond speechless. She had no idea how to react or what to even say. All she could do was glance from left to right, blinking in confusion.

"Lumia—ahh!" She hissed in sudden pain, and her face contorted in slight agony.

Lumian immediately looked at her, perplexed.

"Aurora? What’s wrong?"

Aurora grabbed hold of him, beginning to breathe heavily.

"Lumian, my lower abdomen really hurts. It’s really hurting!" She screamed in pain before falling, but Lumian was quick to catch her.

He was bewildered and panicking, unsure of what to do. Was it something she ate? What could possibly be wrong with her?

"Dimitri!" he yelled his butler’s name.

The butler, Dimitri, opened the door, rushing inside. He was a young man with white locs, flawless brown skin, and soft gray eyes

"Young master." He respectfully bowed to Lumian.

"Please call a doctor for me quickly. Something is wrong with my wife!" Lumian assigned.

Dimitri nodded before leaving the room in a rush. Lumian carefully walked Aurora to the bed and sat her down. He squatted down in front of her, carefully examining her as though wanting to find out what the problem was.

"Do you...do you feel a bit better? Is it still hurting unbearably?" he asked with deep care.

Aurora shook her head at him. "I’ve never felt such pain before, Lumian. I feel like something is kicking on every part of my belly, and this is the first time it’s happening."

"This is confusing." Lumian scrunched his face in perplexity. He stood up, gently placing a soft kiss on Aurora’s forehead.

"Just wait a little bit. You’ll be fine," he assured her.