*LAUREN*
When we arrived at Magnus House, he helped me with the shopping bags and carried them to my room.
"Thank you so much, Magnus! I owe you my life," I said, grateful for his never-ending generosity and kindness.
Magnus smiled. "It's my pleasure, dear. I don't want to rush you into entering into a relationship with me. Let's take one day at a time. Just always remember that I have sincere intentions towards you," he said in a tone filled with sincere affection.
"I know..." My reply was short, wishing that he would leave my room right away so that I could finally contact Lyn and chat with her. I will ask her about his brother, Alex.
"OK. If you are still not sleepy, join me on the terrace for stargazing tonight," Magnus said, looking adoringly at me.
"If I can't join you on the terrace, then that means I have already fallen asleep on the bed. I'm tired after shopping," I lied, feeling guilty at the same time.
Magnus nodded his hea
*LYN*I woke up late the following day after having a long conversation with my mother about the masquerade ball that my parents are organizing for the charity event that will be held next month in a private mansion, rented especially for the occasion.Then I was also thinking about the guy that Lauren is currently dating. Whether she likes it or not, they can already be called a couple because she lives in his house.My apartment is big, and I could always offer her to stay with me rent-free so that she and my brother can be reunited again. It doesn't matter if my brother remembers her or not; the mate bond is strong, and he will always gravitate towards her.The powerful pull of the mate bond will bring them together again. That's what I believe.So the next step is to convince Lauren to live with me and abandon that guy, whoever he is.But before that, I need to see my brother.I got out of bed, went to the bathroom and took a show
*LYN*FIve days later. Lauren was barely chatting with me and I was wondering why. Did that guy imprison her in his house?I decided to do some spying.When they left the mall the other day, I followed them to their house; that's how I know their current location.I was sitting in my car, looking at the house, waiting for Lauren to leave. She messaged me not to call her because she was afraid that her companion would know about their conversation and that he might hurt Alex and her.My instinct tells me that the guy was the vampire who kidnapped Lauren before.I'm not entirely sure that the vampire was the one who manipulated Lauren into harming my grandfather. Because, based on my grandparents claims, they didn't have a vampire enemy in the past.Maybe it's just a coincidence. Anyway, I will just wait here for another hour and see if the couple will leave the house.One hour later, I finally saw the guy's car exiting the house
*LAUREN*After we left the botanical garden, Magnus and I went back to our house. And I was putting my shoes in the shoe rack."Dear, pack one bag of clothing. We will go somewhere within two hours," Magnus ordered.I raised a brow. "W-where?""Let's go to the north today. I heard they have a beautiful tourist spot there," he answered."Are we going to travel by car again?" I inquired."No. We will travel by air. I already rented a private plane for our flight tonight," Magnus explained."Ah, okay. Got it!" I responded and climbed the staircase, heading to my room on the second floor.When I arrived in my room, I started packing, putting clothes, undies, and toiletries in my travel bag.I checked my phone and saw Lyn's message. She informed me that Alex was eager to meet me.OMG!My heart was beating faster in my rib cage. I almost forgot to breathe for a few seconds.But I can't see him now. Magnus
*LYN*When I saw Lauren's message on my phone, I realized that it would be impossible for her and my brother to meet at this moment. The vampire was determined to bring Lauren to other places and their next destination could change at any minute.Right at this moment, they are still vacationing at the Gemini Hotel, a famous hotel in the south. A favorite destination for rich and famous celebrities and personalities in the country.I was deep in my thoughts when my phone rang, alerting me that I had received a message and when I checked it, dang, my brother was outside the door of my apartment. I rushed to the door and opened it."Bro, why are you here at this time of the night?" I asked, opening the door wide, allowing him to enter my place.He looked so damn serious; I have a feeling why he's here.I closed the door and we settled on the sofa in my cozy living room, decorated with assortments of my art hanging on the wall."Do you kn
*LYN*The following day, I woke up late, got up from the bed, went to the bathroom and then made a quick breakfast in the kitchen. I just prepared a simple egg sandwich with lots of cheese. I made myself a hot cup of coffee while thinking about my plan.After breakfast, I went back to my room, entered the bathroom, took a quick shower, and got ready to visit our family home.A few minutes later, I'm already driving on the highway, wondering what my mother will say after I tell her my request.After a few minutes of travel, I finally arrived at our family home.I entered the house and saw the servant dusting the furniture in the living room. "Is Mom awake already?" I inquired."Yes, ma'am! She's still in her room," the servant replied."How about my father? Where is he?" I asked."He left the house early with your brother Frank," the servant answered."Okay, thanks!" I smiled at the servant and climbed the staircase leadi
*Luna Alicia*I was relaxing in the swing in the garden, admiring my recently trimmed flowers, when the servant informed me that I had a visitor. "Who is it?" I asked, surprised because I'm not expecting any visitors today."It's Sir Bart, Madam," the servant replied.Confused, my brows drew together. "Huh? Why is he here?""He told me that he wants to talk to you regarding an important matter that requires your immediate attention," the servant explained.Huh? Is there something wrong with my son?I rose to my feet and went to the house to see Bart. I saw him sitting on the couch, holding a brown envelope with his right hand. He raised his head and said, "Good morning, Luna Alicia.""Morning, Bart. What can I do for you?" I asked, lowering myself on the couch facing him."Luna, your son gave me a photo of a woman that he thinks is his fated mate. The photo is inside this envelope. He instructed me to investigate this woman and
*ALEX* When I entered through the door a few minutes ago, they all froze, like I caught them in the middle of discussing something that they were trying to hide from me. The surprise on their faces was painful to see. "Guys, are you alright?" I asked each one of them. When my eyes landed on Mom's face, tears shimmered in her eyes. "You are having an emergency meeting because of Lauren's photo?" I asked, looking at the photo with affection in my eyes. The more I see Lauren's face, the more I realize how deep my attraction is to her, despite not knowing her personally. "Guys, I feel like I've known this woman for a long time. I find it weird because I haven't met her yet. I think I need an explanation for this..." No one is talking yet; my brothers are avoiding my eyes. My parents are looking at each other, probably communicating through a mind link. I noticed just now that one person is missing from this family gathering. "Where is Lyn?" "She's already in Switzerland," Mom replie
*ALEX* After three days of being holed up in my house, I was mentally and emotionally refreshed and recharged. I'm ready now to go back to work tomorrow. I'm thankful that my brothers step up to my position in the company to give me a hand while I'm recuperating from my inner struggle. It's hard to give up my fated mate, much more that we had a precious love story in the past and are about to get married. But I realized that I couldn't accept a murderer as my wife. It's better not to see Lauren anymore; she and my family can never be together again due to the tragedy. I love my family and I'm sure I also love Lauren so much when we're still together. But after what my family had done to her, she definitely harbored hatred in her heart. So there is no room for reconciliation between the two of us because the tragedy created a wound so deep that it created a wide distance between us, as wide as the Pacific Ocean. My phone rang and I was surprised to receive a message from my dear
*3rd POV*Two days later, Alex and Lauren returned to the city from their short vacation.Alex proceeded to his house while Lauren returned to Magnus' residence.Lauren opened the door, climbed the staircase, and went to her bedroom. The house was still quiet, an indication that the owner hasn't returned yet. His prolonged absence got her worried.What could have happened to him? She hopes he is alright.Lauren put her bag on the floor and saw the envelope on her pillow. Her brows knit together; what is this? She picked up the envelope and found a letter inside. It was written and signed by Magnus.~Dear, Lauren...When you read this letter, I'm already back in my kingdom because there are still a lot of things that need my attention. Peace has been restored in my kingdom. My brother and I are on good terms again. He finally let go of his woman for the sake of peace between the two kingdoms.In line with my current state of mind, I would like to let you go as well. You can go now and
*GRANNY URSULA*A while ago...When I looked out the window, I saw Alex in the car, then Lauren re-entered the house and investigate. I could have shown myself to the couple right at that very moment, saying hello to the two children that I raised like my own.The temptation to show myself to them again is very strong.I wanted to talk to them, have a conversation with them and hug them one last time but I can no longer do it. I can't look into Alex's eyes and pretend that I'm still the same old Granny Ursula that he used to know. I killed his grandparents and if he knows, he will hate me to the bone.I'm guilty of using the couple for revenge but I need to do what I have promised to my beloved queen when she lies dying in my arms in the garden.I can still recall vividly the pain of seeing her on the verge of death."Nanny, I'm dying. Please take care of my younger brothers on my behalf..." Queen Hesperia has a hard time breathing."Who did this to you?" I asked, my eyes filled with
*ALEX*I went home that morning and went straight to bed to sleep after eating a light breakfast.When I wake up in the afternoon, it's already 4:00 p.m. I texted Lauren that I'm going to her place to bring her to a place far from the city so she needs to bring some clothes with her.I haven't told her yet about what happened to my grandparents dead bodies.I need to go to a place that is quiet and relaxing to de-stress.Half an hour later, I'm already out of my house. I get into my car and drive to Lauren's place.After a few minutes of driving, I arrived at my destination and parked the car outside the gate of the vampire's residence.I texted Lauren that I'm already outside, waiting for her to come out of the house. I looked out the window on the second floor of the house and saw a silhouette. Who was that?When I looked closely, the silhouette had already disappear. Or maybe it wasn't there in the first place. Maybe my eyes just caught something that looks like the silhouette of a
*ALEX*When I arrived at the funeral parlor and went to the second floor of the building to join my sister and parents, I was shocked to find an empty room—no coffins or whatever—just flowers and candles on the floor. Instead, what I saw were my family members looking at each other with a shocked expression on their faces.I rushed to their sides. "What's wrong, guys?" I inquired."Son, the coffins were gone! It happened so fast! It's like a blink of an eye. I felt like I was frozen in time and I don't know what happened during those moments. But the moment we were unfrozen, we were surprised to see the two caskets gone!" Mom said it in a rattled tone.My brows snapped together. "What is going on?" I asked in disbelief. "Who would steal a coffin with dead bodies in it?" I said it in bewilderment."Brother, believe us when we say that someone has frozen us and stolen the coffins!" Lyn explained in an agitated tone."We got to find the coffins!" Dad exclaimed anxiously."Alright, calm d
~MAGNUS~"So, is this your good news to me?" I asked the silhouette standing near the window, my eyes blazing with anger. "I'm in the middle of a negotiation with the opposing kingdom to obtain peace and you just whisked me away just to show me this good news?"I feel like my heart is about to explode due to jealousy. "I tell you now that seeing Lauren with Alex is making my blood boil. I don't like it! And the fact that you tolerated them and did nothing to prevent them from seeing each other makes me feel like the person I trusted the most has betrayed me!"I looked at her, feeling upset. "You disappointed me! I left you behind to watch over Lauren on my behalf! Not to tolerate the couple's reunion! You didn't even try to do anything to separate them!"I no longer hide my displeasure. I felt annoyed that my precious woman was now getting back together with her ex."Your highness, this is not the good news that I'm talking about," Granny Ursula responded. "I'm sorry if you didn't lik
*ALEX*I haven't slept yet and the time was already past 2:00 in the morning. Lauren was sleeping soundly beside me on the bed. I've been wide awake the whole night, and I want to make sure that this night will go well without any mysterious occurrences on Lauren's part based on my mother's instruction.I even put a CCTV camera inside our bedroom as evidence that Lauren was with me the whole night, just in case something went wrong.I think the party has already ended by now.When my phone rang at 2:40 in the morning, my heart beat so fast.Damn!They will never call me at this hour unless something happens!I quickly grabbed my phone and read the message. It was from my mother and the contents of her message broke my heart into pieces.'Son, when I wrote this message, I'm still in the hospital. Your sister is fine, but both grandpa and grandma didn't make it. They died in the party venue; the guards found them dead after all the guests had gone home safely. The reason for their death
*ALEX* On the day of the masquerade ball, I was with my family the whole afternoon, chatting with everyone. The atmosphere in the house is fantastic, filled with lively chatter. We are in good spirits, riding the wave of excitement for tonight's event. It will be the first time that our family is complete and we will be attending the masquerade ball together. In the previous ball, it's always been me who is missing and my grandparents, so today is very special because it will be a family affair and everyone will be present on the festive occasion. Everyone is excited. I can see the shimmering excitement on their faces. By 5:00 in the afternoon, I made my exit and informed everyone that I'm going home and that I would see them at the party later. I left our family home, and part of me felt sad that I couldn't attend the party. I got into my car, drove into the heavy traffic and dropped by at the vampire's place. Lauren exited the gate and waved at me. I opened the door and she qu
*LAUREN* One week had passed already. I was waiting for Magnus' return every day, yet there was still no sign of him. What could happen to him? I hope he is alright and his kingdom didn't go to war. I'm worried about his safety. I was pacing back and forth in the living room. I glanced at the clock on the wall. Alex would come anytime soon. I agreed to sleep in his house every night as part of my commitment to our relationship. I already wrote a letter for Magnus and put it in his bed just in case he would arrive at an empty house. I explained in my letter that I'm going to sleep at my friend's house. I'll be back tomorrow morning and all he needs to do is text me and I'll reply right away. My phone rang and Alex sent me a message informing me that his car was already parked outside the gate. I grabbed my shoulder bag and exited the house. After locking the gate, I quickly get into the passenger seat of Alex's car. "Hi, sweetheart." Alex greeted me cheerily. "I hope I didn't make
*ALEX* The following day, me and Lauren woke up late. After having a glorious night, we welcome the morning with fresh perspective and refreshed energy. I kissed Lauren's cheeks. Her eyelids stirred on the verge of waking up. "Good morning, sweetheart!" I greeted her jovially. "Morning!" She replied in a sweet tone, caressing my jaw. I patted her arms lovingly. "I'm going to work today. If you want, you can accompany me in my office," I offered. "No, thanks. I should go home." She refused my offer politely, getting off the bed and going to the bathroom. A few moments later, she emerged from the bathroom, returned to bed, and said, "Can you drop me off at the house on your way to your office?" "Sure! That's what I have planned in my mind already. I will send you home after we have breakfast," I answered. "Thank you," she murmured. "We can also teleport, right?" "Yes, we can do that as well. But I prefer that we use the car so that we can talk along the way," I said, gazing at