Chapter 9. The truth

Seeing Keelin's disappointed look, Lars felt as if he had fallen into an abyss. He took a deep breath and spoke in a serious voice:

"Kee, I didn't choose to pursue you because you knew my true identity at all."

“Then why?” Keelin asked immediately, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Calm down, Kee"

Lars helped Keelin sit down on the sofa. Looking at her red eye sockets, his heart ached, he reached out his hand to wipe the tears that were falling from her eyes in a very gentle way.

Seeing Lars care about her like that, Keelin really didn't feel familiar. These things she had dreamed of before, but she did not have them. Then why would he suddenly act like this without any purpose?

Lars got Keelin a glass of water. Waiting for her to finish drinking, he timidly asked

"Are you calm?"

Keelin didn't answer, just nodded.

Seeing that, Lars whispered in relief. He reached his hand toward her neck.

Seeing this action of Lars, Keelin was startled, and moved her body slightly to the right, stretching the distance between the two. But thinking about what happened before, she stopped.

"I won't eat you, don't be afraid," Lars laughed. He knows, Keelin believes in him but is still afraid of him. Facing a vampire who sucked human blood to maintain life, there was no one who could not be afraid.

Lars reached for the necklace around Keelin's neck and pulled it lightly, the teardrop pendant gradually revealed, he asked softly:

“Do you remember this and its story?”

Keelin didn't know what Lars meant, so she just nodded, eyes filled with both curiosity and fear.

“Cherub!” Lars suddenly called out. Keelin's eyes widened in disbelief.

He put down the necklace and held her hand, a smile on the corner of his lips

“My little Cherub”

“You… could you…” Keelin stammered. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

Lars looked at her, his smile even brighter, he nodded

“Yes, I am that man, the one you saved that night.”

Keelin looked Lars in the eye, then glanced him up and down again. Since it had been ten years, it was very dark that day, so she couldn't remember the man's appearance. All she remembered was that he looked quite tall and about ten years older than her. Thinking back, Keelin felt that it was true that the man had a resemblance to Lars, moreover, he was a vampire now, of course, his appearance had not changed after ten years.

Seeing Keelin's gaze from bewilderment to understanding, Lars continued:

“Actually, I've always liked you, Keelin.” Without waiting for Keelin to question, Lars directly explained, “Not because I know you're Cherub. From the first day I met you in high school, I liked you.”

Obviously, Keelin wasn't too trusting.

"If you like me so much, why don't you accept my love? Why are you still indifferent and cold to me even after getting married?” Keelin questioned, her voice tinged with anger. It is true that the way she loves is a bit different, but she is very serious about love, especially her love for Lars. If she has determined that the person is the person in her heart, she will not hesitate to express her true feelings, even more without hesitation but gossip around. But what about Lars? He said he loved her, but he kept hurting her, making her the laughingstock of the world. So, what is his love?

Seeing Keelin's doubtful attitude, Lars felt a little uncomfortable in his heart but still managed to stay calm so that he could explain clearly to her.

“Did you know that although vampires are immortal, they only have one mate?”

“What does that have to do with that?” Keelin frowned and asked

Lars rubbed Keelin's hand lightly, feeling the non-tactile smoothness, he paused a little.

“The first time I met you, Cherub, I knew you were my only life partner. That's why I gave you this necklace.” Lars' gaze moved down to the teardrop pendant. Keelin unconsciously grabbed it.

“This is a family heirloom of the Ramos family, used to mark and protect the only mate. It has only one owner and I have only one mate. But then I met you, Keelin.” Lars looked up at Keelin's small face, eyes filled with unspeakable emotions.

“The second time I fell in love with a woman but it wasn't the girl I met before, so I was both excited and scared at the same time. A vampire’s destiny is only one, if it is wrong once, it will be miserable for a lifetime. That's why I don't dare to approach you, even less dare to accept your love. I thought I would make you give up and leave me, but you've never. The more I push you away, the more you pull me closer." Lars paused for a moment, then continued, "Actually, the day we got married was the happiest day of my life, at that time I thought, it doesn't matter what fate, as long as you're with me, that's enough."

Lars' eyes looked at Keelin with affection, but she remained silent, her eyes lowered, and no one know what she was thinking.

“But things are not so simple like that… Keelin, after my divorce from you, I really regret it, but I don't want you to live in misery because you don't receive the love you deserve like …"

“So you let me go, and after knowing I was Cherub, you devised a plan to force me to stay?” Only now did Keelin speak up, she smiled faintly, "You think I'm a joke, Lars? "

Lars was just about to explain when Keelin spoke again:

“Don't you … a vampire have very good noses? Don't say about the feeling, don't you even recognize the smell of the woman you love? Isn't that very unreasonable?"

Just when Keelin thought Lars was indisputable, he shook his head and sighed again:

“No, Keelin, don't you know the difference between your scent then and now?” Of course, Lars remembers it, he knows it well. The first time he met Keelin in that alley, she had a strange scent that was different from the present, so he thought she wasn't Cherub. If it weren't for seeing the necklace and hearing Keelin tell the story, Lars wouldn't have been so sure she was Cherub.

Hearing Lars' explanation, Keelin immediately shook her head

"Don't talk nonsense anymore. Maybe I don't understand it well, but I still know a few things about vampires, how can your nose smell wrong? If you say you realize everything but want to make fun of my feelings, that's even more believable."

Seeing Keelin still not believing, Lars said quickly

“Kee, please believe me. If it wasn't for the reluctance, I definitely wouldn't have treated you like that. That necklace is not simply jewelry, inside it also contains power. Do you remember our first night? Because you didn't have it, you had such a constant fever after that. Vampires’ power is not like a normal person, so when making love, the other party must have it to protect ..."

Without waiting for Lars to finish, Keelin got up and went to the door, she didn't want to be here listening to him talk anymore. Every word he said was absurd and filled with holes, telling her how to trust him.

“Keelin!” Lars quickly grabbed Keelin by the arm to stop her from continuing. "I swear it's all true."