Chapter 328: Off the chest
Silas retired out of the lounge room after the crushing defeat he suffered at the hands of none other than his own mother and fiance.
It was odd to see Persephone push him out of a conversation with someone like that, but on the brighter side, it meant that she’d fully accepted Arabella as a member of their family.
While ambling the hallways, the vampire still kept an ear out for their talk... Just in case.
That excuse sure became a habit. His go to justification whenever guilt crept through him.
Unsurprisingly, it revolved around the topic of business at first as Persephone proposed lessons to Arabella who confessed to never having taken any before.
From there, they transitioned to the auction tributes and Arabella made sure to tell her what she’d already told him.
The young woman wished to be more involved in the process but hadn’t disclosed the extent at which she wanted to bring change to things with him.
Arabella requested permission to make some alterations to the way we handled the tributes.
First, she asked that individual questioning be held for each tribute and for it to be done by her.
The young woman also wanted full access to their sheets in order to determine their strengths, weaknesses and talents, claiming it’d bring their prices up without there being a downside to it.
We would keep the base prices that we already use for the ones that show signs of potential trouble, as well as the ones that exhibit no aptitude for any sought-after skill and activity.
That made a lot of sense to him and by the sound of it, it did to his mother as well.
That was her perfect pivot point to bring the topic of the human maids that wished to become entertainers.
Keeping Arabella’s and his mother’s voices as company filled the void he didn’t even know pressed him down.
There lived an odd sensation that had creeped in on him by means of deceit.
The feeling of freedom he always thought belonged to him. Something was different... Yet everything around seemed the same.
Until it hit him... Edna was gone.
There wasn’t that constant bitter taste at the back of his throat. That ever-living dread, as small as it was, of her incessant stalking.
It was as though a weight had been lifted off his chest, releasing all of the pressure that had built up unbeknownst to him.
That whole time, she occupied his mind in the worst ways and he wasn’t even aware of it.
Perhaps the word aware wasn’t the correct one to use, but still, Silas had told himself everyday her breathing reached his ears from behind a corner that it was alright, that it came with the territory. That it was all normal, but it wasn’t.
It never was. He’d just labeled it as such to keep sane.
And to think she turned out to be an even bigger threat than he believed her to be... That fact alone took a fist full of his insides to twist at will and without a lick of mercy.
Very hastily, Silas sought out Arabella’s voice again. That was his ultimate comfort, just like hers was... Well, it used to be her mother’s pendant.
The way her hand always flew to wrap around it whenever the walls closed in on her... It stuck with him.
Those days, she’d grasped the brooch on her chest instead which warmed Silas’ heart.
"Are you sure, my Lady?" she asked, "I don’t think I am ready to shoulder all of the responsibility on my own just yet,"
Silas knew, without needing to see it, that Arabella had her signature look of surprise on at that moment.
"No, you won’t be left completely alone at first. Silas will be by your side until you get the hang of it and from there on, we’ll see the results this plan of yours yields," calm and collected as per her usual, Persephone’s voice remained steady throughout the entire sentence.
"So, what say you?"
"Yes, I agree to that," her voice came again.
"If that will be all then, you are free to go,"
Persephone had barely had the time to utter those words that Silas stood by the lounge room door.
"Listening in, are we?" the Lady had a piercing glare on her features.
"I promise to work on that, mother,"
Arabella couldn’t tell if that response was sarcastic or genuine but quickly gave up on trying to guess.
The couple walked in silence for a little while after exiting the room. Silas was content just holding her hand in his.
The young woman’s heart rate fluttered however, indicating that something weighed her down.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Oh... I was just wondering," his correct assumptions on her state of mind were no longer surprising to her, "I wonder if the taste of my blood has changed after what happened to me,"
"What made you think of that all the sudden?" he stopped in his tracks to focus on her.
She took a moment for her eyes to look around him, "I realized that it’ll soon be two full weeks since our last feeding session and I thought...," she trailed off.
"Well, the scent of it hasn’t changed one bit," he declared, giving her hand a little squeeze, "Not to mention, the doctors swear up and down that nothing about it seems out of the ordinary," he brushed gentle, little circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.
"Oh good then!" she inhaled deeply before releasing the air out of her lungs, "I feared it wouldn’t taste the same and that it’d no longer be to your liking," an awkward chuckle escaped her.
"I am sure it didn’t," he started, clearly fighting a smile, "But even if it did, I know I won’t be disappointed in it,"
Arabella did not fight the big, bright smile that painted her face. It was obvious that it came from the heart with no filters applied on it.
Her eyes always twinkled with the light it reflected whenever her expression matched her true feelings.
"Well, you see me relieved,"