✦ EIRA'S POV ✦
"Tessy, baby, listen to me! Please... Tessy!"
Peter's voice cracked as desperation poured from every word.
Panic had completely replaced the confidence he had carried all evening.
His hands trembled as he reached for her.
But Tessy didn't react.
She stood motionless in the center of the hall.
The enormous screen behind her had gone dark, yet the truth it revealed still lingered in the air like a wound that refused to close.
Her world had shattered.
And everyone could see it.
Peter grabbed her trembling hand as though it was the only thing keeping him alive.
"Please forgive me," he begged.
"They're lying. All of them. They planned this from the beginning."
His finger shot toward me and Adrain.
"That Claira took advantage of me. She drugged me. How can you believe a girl like her? You know how much I lo—"
The word never left his mouth.
Tessy's hand collided with his face.
The slap echoed through the silent hall.
Peter staggered backward, staring at her in disbelief.
Tears streamed down Tessy's cheeks.
Her entire body shook.
But the fire in her eyes had never burned brighter.
"Don't."
Her voice trembled.
"Don't you dare say that word."
Peter swallowed.
"Tessy—"
"No!"
The pain in her voice silenced the entire room.
"You don't know what love is."
Fresh tears rolled down her face.
"I trusted you."
Her voice cracked.
"I defended you."
Her fingers curled into fists.
"I loved you."
Peter's expression faltered.
"And you destroyed everything."
The heartbreak in her voice was unbearable.
"I can't believe I wasted my heart on someone like you."
For a moment, Peter looked almost ashamed.
Almost.
Then anger replaced it.
"How dare you speak to me like that?"
His face twisted with fury as he stepped toward her.
But before he could get close—
Someone moved.
Adrain.
He stepped between them with terrifying calm.
His expression was cold enough to freeze blood.
His eyes never left Peter.
"It's time for you to leave."
Peter laughed bitterly.
"And who's going to make me?"
Adrain didn't answer.
He simply snapped his fingers.
The doors burst open.
Several police officers rushed inside.
Shock rippled through the crowd.
Peter's face drained of color.
"No."
The officers grabbed him.
"Get your hands off me!"
He struggled violently.
His voice filled the hall with threats and curses.
But no matter how much he fought, the handcuffs still clicked around his wrists.
As they dragged him toward the exit, his eyes locked onto Adrain.
Pure hatred burned inside them.
"This isn't over."
His voice echoed through the hall.
"You hear me, Adrain Blake?"
The officers pulled him forward.
But Peter kept shouting.
"I'll come back!"
His face twisted with rage.
"And when I do, I won't leave you alive."
The threat hung in the air.
Yet Adrain didn't react.
Not even slightly.
His expression remained unreadable.
He simply watched Peter disappear beyond the doors.
Only when the entrance closed behind him did the tension begin to leave the room.
A quiet sob broke the silence.
Tessy.
Her mother rushed forward and wrapped her arms around her.
"My baby..."
The woman held her tightly.
"Let's go home."
Tessy nodded weakly.
Then her eyes searched the room.
Until they found me.
Slowly, she walked forward.
When she stopped in front of me, tears were already falling again.
"Eira..."
Her voice barely existed.
"I'm sorry."
I froze.
"So... so sorry."
A broken sob escaped her lips.
"Can I have my best friend back?"
My chest tightened painfully.
Without hesitation, I pulled her into my arms.
Holding her tightly.
Protectively.
As though I could somehow shield her from every pain she had suffered.
"I never stopped being your friend."
The moment the words left my mouth, she broke completely.
Her shoulders shook as she cried against me.
Beside us, her mother wiped away her own tears.
"Thank you."
Her voice trembled.
"Thank you for saving my daughter."
I smiled softly.
And watched them leave together.
Safe.
Finally safe.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
That night, sleep refused to come.
I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling while the events of the evening replayed endlessly inside my head.
Peter's mask had finally fallen.
Tessy had been saved.
Claira and her baby were safe.
And the reason all of it happened...
Was Adrain.
I groaned and buried my face inside my pillow.
"Stupid Eira."
I punched the pillow.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
"Idiot."
How could I have been so wrong?
I had accused him.
Yelled at him.
Slapped him.
Called him a monster.
When all along—
He had been protecting everyone.
Protecting Claira.
Protecting her unborn child.
Protecting Tessy.
Protecting me.
A small smile appeared despite the embarrassment flooding my chest.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow I would thank him properly.
I would apologize.
Maybe buy him a gift.
Though knowing Adrain Blake, he'd probably throw it back at my face.
The thought made me laugh.
A genuine laugh.
The first one in days.
I closed my eyes.
Maybe Adrain Blake wasn't a monster.
Maybe he was simply someone carrying more darkness than anyone could see.
And somehow...
That only made me want to understand him more.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
✦ ADRAIN'S POV ✦
The mansion stood silent beneath the night sky.
Darkness wrapped itself around the ancient walls like a living thing.
It had always felt like home.
Cold.
Quiet.
Untouchable.
But tonight, something felt different.
Heavier.
The moment I stepped inside, I felt it.
The tension.
The danger.
The waiting.
"Where were you, Adrain?"
Mike's voice shattered the silence.
I stopped.
He sat near the fireplace, one arm resting against the chair.
The flames painted shifting shadows across his face.
Yet his eyes never left the fire.
As though he already knew the answer.
"It doesn't matter."
I started walking.
"I asked where you were."
His voice sharpened instantly.
I sighed.
"I went to meet a friend."
The words had barely left my mouth before the world blurred.
One second Mike was across the room.
The next—
His hand was wrapped around my throat.
My back slammed against the wall.
The impact cracked the wood behind me.
Pain exploded through my neck.
"How dare you lie to me?"
His voice was low.
Dangerously calm.
The kind of calm that came right before destruction.
I grabbed his wrist.
Not because I thought I could stop him.
Because instinct demanded it.
"He was going to ruin her life."
For a second—
Silence.
Then Mike laughed.
A deep, cruel laugh that echoed through the room.
"Oh."
His eyes narrowed.
"So that's what this is."
His grip tightened.
Pain shot through my throat.
"You care."
The word sounded almost disgusting coming from him.
"Since when do vampires concern themselves with human problems?"
I remained silent.
His eyes studied me carefully.
Reading every emotion I tried to hide.
"You've changed."
Another squeeze.
"You hesitate."
His gaze darkened.
"You protect."
The last word sounded like an accusation.
Then he leaned closer.
His eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.
"That girl."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
"She's becoming a problem."
Rage surged through me.
Instant and violent.
"Leave her out of this."
For the first time, Mike's expression changed.
Real anger flashed across his face.
The air itself seemed to vibrate with his fury.
"What was that?"
His voice became deadly quiet.
I stared directly into his eyes.
Ignoring every warning screaming inside my head.
"Eira."
The name left my mouth before I could stop it.
Firm.
Protective.
Dangerous.
"She has nothing to do with this."
Mike's jaw tightened.
A frightening smile slowly appeared.
"Nothing?"
His voice dripped with amusement.
"You expect me to believe that?"
His grip tightened once more.
Pain burned through every nerve in my body.
Yet I forced the words out anyway.
"Stay away from her."
Silence.
A dangerous silence.
Then another voice drifted through the room.
Smooth.
Elegant.
Deadly in an entirely different way.
"Mike."
A woman stepped from the shadows.
Graceful as moonlight.
She placed a gentle hand upon his shoulder.
Instantly, some of the tension left the room.
"Enough."
Her gaze shifted toward me.
Knowing.
Observant.
Far too observant.
"Adrain understands."
Her voice was soft.
"He knows he should stay away from the girl."
Mike stared at me for several long seconds.
Then finally released me.
I crashed onto the floor.
Air flooded back into my lungs.
Burning.
Painful.
Necessary.
Mike looked down at me.
Cold.
Unforgiving.
"We're leaving."
The words weren't a discussion.
They were an order.
A warning.
A promise.
Then he turned and disappeared into the darkness.
The woman followed silently behind him.
Leaving me alone.
I remained on the floor beside the dying fire.
Breathing heavily.
Trying to ignore the unease clawing through my chest.
For the first time in years—
I felt afraid.
Not for myself.
Not for what Mike might do to me.
But for her.
Because Mike had noticed Eira.
And once Mike noticed something...
He never forgot it.
Eira's name still burned inside my throat long after the mansion had fallen silent.