A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 314: Was This "Love?"

Chapter 314: Was This "Love?"

Draven had thought deeply about it and could not seem to figure out what it was about him that was worth loving. He was a man called the devil’s son by his own father—a man seen as nothing but evil and said to reek of filth. He was a man who’d been tortured, hated, beaten, locked up and looked at with contempt.

Nobody was willing to pity him, regardless of his being a harmless child who knew nothing and was not at all capable of hurting or committing an unforgivable crime. His mere existence alone was like an unwanted germ tainting their world.

What reason did they have to fear him? He had not done anything worth having them fear him as though he were a monster. He was just like them—a vampire, merely born into the world to live and grow, so why?

Why do they tremble at the mere sound of his voice? Why do they look as though they’d wished to run each time he took a step closer to them, be it the maids, the workers, or the civilians?

No one wanted to associate with him as a child except Valentine, thus, he never had friends nor even knew what it was like to have a friend. He remembered always standing at the window of his room at the age of ten before his lockup, watching his half-brothers interact with each other. They laughed, talked, played, and were merry, but there he was, alone in his cold, dark room, completely detached from the whole world.

His mother, who was the only one he had, was even prohibited from seeing him. He barely saw her, so he had not much memory except the times she’d managed to see him and play little games with him.

Draven smiled cynically at himself and threw his head back, letting half of his face float atop the water. He blinked open his scarlet eyes and stared at the ceiling.

This all took a turn when he met her, the woman who brightened his life—the one who made him smile and laugh for the first time in a hundred years of his life. The one woman who with her smile alone had his soul fluttering in a way that confused him.

She bewildered him but taught him things he never knew. She gave him hugs and got him addicted to them. Her cuddles were worth more than gold to him—they were the fastest way to shut his mind and calm him after all.

The sense of having her small frame in his arm always brought immaculate pleasure to him. He loved her softness, her voice, her adorable features, and her expression—everything about her, he adored.

Did she know? Did she have any idea, or was she oblivious? Perhaps so.

He could not begin to think of how a perfect creation like her—one who was like a salvation for him, could love him. He had nothing to offer her, not his heart or his love. He possessed none of these. He wasn’t capable.

How could she want to be with him, irrespective of her knowledge of this? Was this "love"?

It couldn’t possibly be. But if it was, all the more reason to stay away. No gentleman would trap such a lovely lady as her, knowing his problems, which he could never heal from. He wasn’t that selfish.

She was still young and had lots of opportunities to meet the man who would give his heart and love to her. She deserved them. Much more, even! He would give her the whole world.

For an asshole such as himself, this was how far he could go. Giving her freedom and the opportunity to be with her mother was how much he could give. He needed to suppress the desire to lock her up with him—to make her stay with him and be his. To have her in his arms for eternity and never let go. They were from different worlds, and that cannot be changed.

If only...If only he wasn’t devoid of emotions, perhaps things would have been different.

But set aside that, Avelina was human. How were they to be together? She would age and die before him, thus leaving him in sadness once again. He would never be able to recover from such an experience—that he knew.

Even if he endured everything, losing her to natural death was one thing he would never be able to endure. He would want to die with her. She was his salvation, after all. That was why letting go was a must. They just weren’t fit for each other, at least he believed so.

A soft breath exited from Draven, and he ran his fingers through his wet skin, brushing it back and allowing it to fall and latch onto the bare skin of his back.

—

Avelina, fast asleep on the bed, sneezed and opened her weary eyes. She looked at the ceiling of the room and yawned.

Again, she sneezed, unsure why. She didn’t have a cold.

Who is thinking of me? She rubbed her irritating nose and turned to lay on her side.

"He didn’t come home," she mumbled and smiled at herself in disappointment.

It was quite alright. Having him close was not good for her. She found it hard to control herself around him, and often she appeared too emotional. This could be treated as a break from him, thus providing an opportunity to prepare herself for when she departs. That would lessen her heartbreak, she hoped.

——

5:23 p.m.

Valentine lay on his bed, napping comfortably. He turned from side to side with a frown on his face the second he heard a repeated knock on the door, including Adam’s annoying voice.

"Young master!"

He grunted, sitting up in bed. He combed his fingers through his tousled, dark hair and looked at the door with weary eyes.

"Adam! What the hell do you want?"

Adam responded briefly, "Someone important is here to see you."