A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 277: What If I Die Tomorrow?

Chapter 277: What If I Die Tomorrow?

When Avelina had stepped into that hall earlier, he’d wanted to take her well-adorned, lovely curls down—to pull them loose and spread them through his fingers. Her hair was so long and beautiful, undone.

He’d imagined for a moment back there running his fingers through her hair, uncovering the wonders of what Avelina would be like undone in other ways. What would she reveal to him when he uncovers her, and what would he make her discover about herself?

Draven could not figure out or understand why. He could not comprehend why he felt that way about her. This was something he had never experienced with his late wife. In fact, he felt rather normal and neutral around her. But with Avelina...it was different.

He felt excitement—the urge to commit something completely insane and wicked! Something he would never find himself craving to do with any other woman.

Draven shut his eyes and took deep breaths to calm himself down. He blinked, opened his eyes, and shook his head. "I cannot give you what you want now, Avelina. You are drunk, and you do not know what you are doing."

He tried to get up, but Avelina pushed him back on the bed. "I know what I’m doing. I am not too drunk!!" she declared with a deep frown before pressing her lips against his and kissing him yet again.

Draven’s brows scrunched, and with a bit of force, he flipped Avelina over, pinning her petite figure on the bed under him.

"Avelina!" He took quick, deep breaths. "Stop...okay? You will regret this in the morning when you are back to your senses."

"No, I will not." Avelina shook her head at him.

Draven frowned at her. "Yes, you will. You are drunk, Avelina, and—"

"Drunk?" Avelina raised her brow at him. "Yes, I am drunk, Draven, but not too much not to know what I am doing."

"Is this perhaps an excuse?" she asked.

Draven wrinkled his brows, confused. "Excuse? What do you mean?"

"Yes." Avelina nodded at him. "You like brunettes, don’t you?"

Draven blinked his eyes, bewildered. "What? Brunettes? What are you—"

"Well, I am not a brunette, so you must not like me because of that. I guess you do not desire me like you’ve always said because I am not a brunette." Avelina turned her head to the other side, no longer willing to look at him. "I thought...you didn’t think the same as...everyone."

"Let go," she said to him.

Draven let go of her with a confused expression and watched as she curled herself into a ball.

"Avelina, I don’t know what exactly it is that you are talking about. What do you mean by brunettes? I’m confused. Please explain to me, I am los—"

"I feel sleepy, Draven." Avelina grabbed the bedsheet, covering herself with it. This was her way of letting him know that she no longer wanted to speak to him.

Draven pinched between his brows. "Avelina—"

"Please, just let me be, Draven," Avelina interrupted him. Her tone was one of irritation.

Draven stared at her, completely at a loss for words. He took a deep breath, turned around, and left the room.

Avelina sniffled, curling her knees to her chest while the duvet covered her completely. "It’s not my fault that I’m a redhead..." she muttered to herself, taking a long, deep breath and shutting her eyes to go to sleep.

....

Draven strolled to the empty balcony of the mansion with his hands stuffed into the pocket of his pants.

He leaned, resting his hands on the pillars of the balcony. His eyes stared at the fountain, gurgling non-stop downstairs, and he could not help but let out a soft breath.

"You are here," a familiar voice said abruptly.

Draven whipped his head, his gaze landing on Valentine, who stood with his head tilted a bit to the side. He frowned, wondering why he wasn’t at the party, but he didn’t say anything. Rather, he averted his gaze to the fountain, completely ignoring him.

Valentine chuckled and shook his head at his behavior. He approached him and stood beside him on the balcony.

Draven spared him a glance, saying, "You don’t have to stand so close to me."

"Why?" Valentine asked.

Draven loured. "Nothing. You know I do not like people being close to—"

"Even if it’s your little brother?" Valentine cut in, smiling cynically.

Draven quickly looked at him. He could feel the sudden shift in his expression. "You..."

"You never used to mind before, do you remember?" Valentine inquired, beaming. "Even if you hated being touched, socializing, or having conversations with people, you never minded it so long as it were me."

"That was when you cared for me." He lowered his gaze to the floor.

"What is it that I did wrong?"

Draven frantically flickered his eyes, not sure what was going on. What was this sudden heavy feeling that he was feeling in his chest?

"What are you talking about?"

"Of course, you wouldn’t understand." Valentine chuckled pessimistically. "I like you a lot, you know. As a friend, as a brother. No, you were and are my favorite." He smiled to himself.

"You were everything to me despite how little we were, and...I didn’t want you to go, but you did eventually. You pushed me off without ever looking back, and I was just there, waiting for my brother who took care of me like a father was meant to. I was alone, and I am alone. I don’t have anyone, but luckily for you...you do now."

"You know the difference between us?" He glanced at Draven.

He said, "You have always been used to the feeling of loneliness without ever having anyone you could speak to, do anything with, or even consider to be there in your life. You do not feel the sort of emotions that we do, so even if you were in any of these situations, it wouldn’t even hurt."

"I know that you don’t care and never will care about the fact that our father hates us to the specks of his soul, but...I care. As much as I would hate to admit it, it hurts a lot. It’s just me and no one else. I am alone, and even if I were dying on the inside, no one would even know, nor would anyone care."

He took a deep breath. "What if I die tomorrow?" he asked, looking at Draven. "Would you feel hurt? Or would you just not care like every other one of them won’t?"