A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 269: She’s My Wife And Mine Alone!!

Chapter 269: She’s My Wife And Mine Alone!!

Amidst the crowd, Edward regarded Avelina with widened eyes, seeming to be in what one would call a sudden trance.

Beautiful! This, he exclaimed inwardly.

To the woman beside him, he muttered something and walked away from her.

Up where he sat, Draven watched Avelina with a faint smile and an admiring gaze. His legs were crossed, and his hands were interlocked.

Avelina kept a coy smile as she finally arrived in the center of the room. She did not fail to notice Natasha’s cold gaze.

Edward moved past Olive’s group of six, who successfully arrived at the ceremony. They were carefully blending into the crowd, and the only ones who could tell them apart were Draven and Valentine.

Draven kept his gaze locked on Avelina, but his brows furrowed all of a sudden the second he glimpsed Edward, who waited expectantly. He deeply frowned but did not react.

Edward approached Avelina, and Draven glared from where he sat, suddenly pissed off.

"My lady, I simply must have your first dance," he said, seeming quite excited.

Avelina flickered her eyes, not sure what to say. Should she accept? Or can she say no? She really didn’t want to dance with him, but she was not sure what would happen if she declined.

Slowly, Avelina looked over his shoulder at Draven, who sat on the high platform and met his gaze. Her heart skipped a beat at the sort of darkened expression his face held. Knowing him too well, Avelina could tell that he was not at all happy, however, glancing at the expectant and cold gazes of the crowd, she had no choice but to smile awkwardly.

"W-well...my first dance already belongs to someone else. I cannot give you that." She shook her head.

Edward held a look of disappointment. "To whom does your first dance belong?"

"My husband." Avelina smiled. "He would be quite unhappy if I gave it away. You will have to forgive me."

Edward blinked. "My lady, please do not decline me. The whole crowd is watching," he whispered. "Save my face if you do not mind. I’m sure your husband will understand."

Avelina looked over at Draven, who raised his brow at her. She averted her gaze and swallowed hard, not sure what to do. Would Draven understand?

He wasn’t even a person who danced, so perhaps he wouldn’t even want to dance. With a deep breath fleeing her nose, Avelina beamed and bowed in curtsy.

She lifted her eyes to meet Edwards’, who slowly extended his gloved hand.

Draven glanced at them and let out a soft breath, uncomfortable.

On the dance floor, Avelina and Edward rested their hands on the backs of each other’s necks and twirled.

Draven, who was watching, balled his hands into tight fists. It was as clear as day that he was inwardly infuriated, however, his emotionless expression successfully belied his true feelings.

Abruptly, he stood up from his seat, where he sat beside Lumian. He was clad in a fine white suit that was exceptionally tailored and perfectly hugged his body. His silky dark hair cascaded down to his shoulders, the red strands randomly hiding away behind the lots of black strands.

Draven adjusted his white suit and descended the stairs. Old Master Lenort, who noticed, watched him begin to approach Avelina, who was dancing with Edward.

"Is he...jealous...?" Ryan glanced at Lumian, who sat beside him.

Lumian shrugged. "It looks that way to me."

"How can he possibly be? He doesn’t have those sorts of emotions." Ryan was skeptical.

Lumian nodded in agreement with him.

"Indeed. This is quite surprising and baffling. Perhaps he does feel some emotions that we suspected he couldn’t."

"Impossible!" Ryan disagreed. "An empty vessel could not possibly hold affection, lest such negative emotion."

"Ryan—"

"Both of you, keep shut!" Old Master Lenort interrupted them, frowning.

"Apologies, father." Lumian faintly smiled.

Ryan flickered his eyes. "My apologies."

Draven stood with his hands placed behind his back. His cold gaze was focused on Edward, who was smiling nonstop at Avelina.

"Take your hands off my wife!" Although his tone was calm, one could perceive the fury behind it.

The dance came to a sudden stop. Edward turned to face him while still holding onto Avelina.

"Why? We are dancing! I am sure you can see that, Your Highness."

Draven’s eyes met Avelina’s, and they moved to Edward’s hand, which rested right at Avelina’s waist.

His expression darkened horribly and one could see the color of his eyes burn. He looked at Edward. "Do you want me to repeat myself twice?" As calm as his tone was, the threat was not imperceptible.

Edward scowled. "Your Highness, I don’t know what the issue is. I am dan—"

"I do not care!" Draven interrupted him. He took a deep breath and grabbed Avelina’s hand. He said, "She is my wife and mine alone! Do you not understand that?"

He looked at Avelina. "Come with me, please." He turned around and began to walk away, pulling Avelina along with him.

Avelina nervously blinked, having never seen him behave that way before. She never really thought he would interrupt or even want to dance. No, she’d never even thought that he would feel different about her dancing with Edward!

"Draven, I—"

Across the wall of the passage, Draven whirled her around, slamming her back against the wall before she could even complete her sentences.

"Why?" he questioned, his hands gripping onto her shoulders.

Avelina’s heart thumped heavily within her chest, having never seen him look at her with such furious eyes. Despite his transparent glasses, she could glimpse them very well.

"Draven..." She breathed.

"I waited for you, Avelina! I was seated right there, glancing at the door every moment, wanting for you to walk through, but the moment you did, you went with another man! Why?" Draven asked, his grip on her shoulder tightening.

If he was angry earlier, now he is furious.

Avelina anxiously stared into his eyes, and her lips trembled.

"D-Draven, I can explain. It is not what you think." She shook her head at him. "I wanted to come to you, and I did tell him I could not dance with him, but he asked me to save his face, and all eyes were on me, so I—"

"Avelina," Draven called, interrupting her.