A Game Of Chess With A Vampire
Chapter 92: Did You Do something?

Chapter 92: Did You Do something?

Avelina was not moving.

She couldn’t say a word, so all she could do was stare at Valentine.

"He was sixteen, Avelina. In the middle of those sixteen years that he locked him up in a cage, he suddenly brought him out and tortured him before locking him back again. He wanted to kill him by any means. Poison, torture, anything, but Draven still survived."

"My father realized he wasn’t dealing with a simple kid, so... he called him a freak before he began to tell us that he was mentally ill. That’s why I am the only one who did not deem him mentally ill because I know he is not."

Valentine lifted his eyes to look at Avelina. "He is broken, Sister-in-law, but he does not realize it, or maybe he just doesn’t want to accept it. I really don’t know."

"Everyone thinks he loved his late wife, even my stupid brothers, because of the way he treated her, but that is not true. My father and I know it. Draven does not know what the feeling called love is. He doesn’t know what it feels like to love someone or to be loved by anyone."

"Listen, he has never told you this, but even his late wife did not love him. I’m sorry to say it, but she did not. She was afraid of him too, and I could see my brother treating her as well as he possibly could because, for once in his life, he did not want someone to look at him any differently than everyone else does."

"I think...he wanted to be loved, too. He yearned to feel what it was like, but his late wife couldn’t give him that. And I am not blaming her. She was betrothed to him. She didn’t love him and only married him for the sake of her father, nothing more than that. You could call it a contract marriage."

"I had thought that maybe if they stayed together and that if she saw the great person he was behind what my father had made him out to be, maybe she could love him. But that didn’t happen, and I understand. Love is commitment, and sometimes it’s out of your control. But she did care for him and was by his side regardless."

"However, he has never smiled or laughed with her. She had never made him feel all those things."

Valentine smiled. "He once asked me what it felt like to fall in love, but I couldn’t give him an answer because I myself had never fallen in love before. I hope he gets to know what it feels like."

He fixed his gaze on Avelina and exhaled deeply. "Please don’t ever hurt him, sister-in-law. It’s not really my business, but I have a lot to repay him for. I just have not gotten the chance to do it. Understand him a little bit, because he needs it. Take care of him, because I know he cares a lot about you too. He treats you well."

Valentine stood up from the sofa, and without saying another word, he walked away, leaving Avelina seated alone on the balcony.

Avelina fidgeted with her fingers.

Her wet lashes flickered rapidly, and she quickly lifted her hand to wipe them off. She stood up from the sofa, grabbed her dress, and began to walk back to the quarter.

She arrived at the door, and Santino, who had been waiting for her, proceeded to say something, but she pushed the door open and stepped inside, shutting it.

A deep breath fled her nose, and she turned around, only to halt at the sight of Draven, who was standing by the table with a box in his hands.

Draven half-smiled. "I was about to come look for you."

He stepped towards her and gave her the box. "I’ve got it for you. The cards you wanted."

But Avelina was not responding. She was dormant, her eyes gazing intently at him. She looked stiff. Her lips were trembling, and it looked as though she wanted to talk. But perhaps she was retraining herself from sobbing.

Draven was utterly confused. Was something wrong? Did something happen while he was gone? But if something did happen, Santino would have told him. Now, he wasn’t just bewildered, he was worried too.

"Avelina, are you..." His words came to a stop the second he glimpsed a tear fall from her eyes.

Draven blinked, stunned. He looked her up, down, and up again. He could not comprehend what was going on. Why was she suddenly crying? A frown of worry settled itself between his brows.

"Avelina...why are you crying? Did someone hurt you? What happened?" he asked with his head tilted.

Avelina did not give him a reply. However, what she did next was to suddenly rush into his arms, hugging him.

This left Draven instantly in a daze. His arms were spread out, and he was bewildered, dormant, and in shock.

Hug...? He was more than deeply confused. He could not understand why she had hugged him. For what reason? None of this made sense to him. Worse of all, she wasn’t replying to any of his questions.

Draven took a deep breath and lowered his head to look at her.

"Avelina, what are you do—" His words were yet to be finished when he began to hear her sniffling.

Was she crying even more? Why? What in the world was going on? He quickly dropped the box on the floor and grabbed her shoulder.

He pulled her back and stared at her face. "What is going on with you? Why are you crying?"

"I’m sorry. I’m so sorry..." Avelina said to him. Her eyes were flickering rapidly, and she was trying so hard to hold back the heavy tears that had brimmed up in her pupils.

"Huh?" Draven drew his head back, unable to make sense of anything. "I don’t understand. What are you sorry for? Did you do something?"