Chapter 2
860 Words
I turned and left silently, returning to my room.
The sounds I had just heard continued to echo in my mind, and the disgust refused to fade.
My thoughts drifted uncontrollably back to ten years ago.
Back then, the Hastings family had collapsed amid internal strife, their businesses destroyed and their noble title revoked.
Edward had nothing, appearing disheveled and utterly defeated in a corner of the banquet hall.
Everyone shunned him in his disgrace, but I was moved by the unyielding resilience in his eyes, completely lost from that single glance.
My father was a shrewd judge of character and saw through his ambition and scheming at a glance, fiercely opposing our relationship.
He repeatedly warned me that his interest in me was not genuine. He simply coveted the Fitzroy family's power and resources.
But I was blinded by love and refused to listen to reason.
For Edward, I didn't hesitate to become estranged from my father, cut ties with my family, and drain billions of the family's liquid assets to help him buy back the old family castle, tap into every blood clan connection I had, and reclaim his lost Count title.
I lifted him from rock bottom and restored him to his former glory.
In the early days of our engagement, he had protected me with everything he had.
At that time, hostile blood clans resented the Fitzroy family for supporting Edward and sent assassins to kill me.
In that critical moment, Edward shielded me, putting his life on the line.
A curse‑forged blade pierced viciously through his back, leaving him with a wound that could never be healed in his lifetime. When the backlash flared, the pain was so excruciating that death would have been a mercy.
To ease his suffering, I set aside everything and devoted myself entirely to researching remedies.
I scoured ancient texts and sought out rare medicinal herbs, preparing medicinal tinctures and ointments day and night, bandaging and nursing him back to health day after day.
Back then, there was true warmth in his eyes.
He held my hand tightly and promised earnestly, "Victoria, in this life, I'll treat you well, keep you safe and sound, and never let your sacrifices be in vain."
I believed him for ten full years.
But once he had fully secured his position as Count, with power in his hands and wealth at his disposal, everything changed.
He enjoyed all the benefits I had brought him with a clear conscience, spending the Fitzroy family's money, using the trade channels I had established, and taking the life‑saving medicine I had carefully prepared for him.
And behind my back, he kept Charlotte by his side at all times.
When rumors began to swirl, and I confronted him, he dismissed them with a casual remark. "Charlotte is just my assistant. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill and make a fuss over nothing."
I swallowed my grievances, chose to believe him, and avoided arguing with him.
I had always loved children, and my greatest wish was to have a baby of our own with him.
For ten full years, I never stopped tending to my health, taking fertility supplements every day, carefully trying to conceive, all for the chance to have a child.
But he never even tried.
He rarely returned to the master bedroom, and even less often was intimate with me. He left early and came home late every day, always claiming he was busy with family affairs.
I overheard the servants' whispers. They said that every night, Edward wasn't handling official business at all, but was spending the night at Charlotte's.
Every time, I chose to lie to myself, desperately making excuses for him, stubbornly clinging to this bitter marriage.
My compromises and patience only emboldened him.
Later, he couldn't even be bothered to keep up appearances.
When we met during the day, he treated me as completely invisible, looking right through me and ignoring me entirely.
The vampire elders frequently pressured him over my human bloodline and the fact that I had yet to produce an heir.
He never defended me. Instead, he shifted all the blame onto me.
I was the one unworthy of him; I was the one whose failure to bear an heir for so long was dragging down the entire Hastings family.
That day, when the test came back positive, I was filled with joy, thinking I could finally salvage our relationship.
But then, I uncovered the whole truth.
He had been involved with Charlotte for a long time. They were even expecting a child together. Once it was born, they would kick me, the legitimate wife, out.
At that moment, I saw everything clearly.
This sham of a marriage had to end, once and for all.
It was time to fulfill the agreement with my father from ten years ago.
If, within ten years of marriage, I could make Edward fall in love with me, my father would fully support my marriage.
If I failed, I would have to get a divorce, go back home, and marry the man my father had chosen for me.
- Writer
