Chapter 17
1250words
Emma curled up in Elias's embrace, motionless. She didn't even have the strength to wipe the tears from her face, just letting them soak his expensive coat.
She had lost. In the most devastating way, she had severed all connections with Liam and with her "past" by her own hand.
And Elias said nothing.
He just held her, his cold, inhuman body becoming the only lifeline she could grasp in this moment.
The elevator ascended silently. Julian had already disappeared.
Elias carried her into the penthouse apartment, through the cold marble living room, and straight to her bedroom.
He placed her gently on the bed, as if handling a fragile piece of porcelain.
Everything that had happened tonight—Victoria's humiliation, Liam's appearance, that fatal car accident—replayed in her mind like an absurd nightmare.
Elias stood by the bed, looking down at her for a moment. The cold aura around him became even more chilling as he suppressed his anger.
"You..." Emma finally found her voice, her teeth still chattering.
She wanted him to stay.
The shock she had experienced tonight was too great... she needed an "anchor," even if that anchor was a monster.
But she was too embarrassed to ask. How could she demand "comfort" from the man who had imprisoned her?
Elias gave her a deep look, his golden eyes filled with complex emotions. He didn't speak, just turned and walked toward the door.
Emma's heart sank.
As she watched his tall figure about to disappear through the doorframe, a wave of coldness and loneliness, deeper than before, swept over her.
"Elias!"
The name burst from her lips.
He stopped. He didn't turn around, just stood there silently, waiting.
Emma couldn't say anything. What could she say? "Don't go"? She had no right to ask that.
In the end, she just lowered her head awkwardly, her voice as light as a feather: "...Nothing."
Elias stood in the shadows for a few seconds.
Then, he left.
The door closed silently.
Silence.
A vast, ice-cold silence instantly engulfed Emma.
She couldn't hold back anymore. Curling up under the blanket, she buried her face deep into the pillow as suppressed, desperate sobs rose from the depths of her throat.
She was finished.
She had ruined everything. She had betrayed Liam, and now, she had angered Elias as well.
He must despise her. She was so weak, so foolish, trying to run away like a troublesome "pet," only to have him clean up her mess in the end.
She was a broken, pathetic, worthless thing.
That familiar, shameful craving came back. She was in too much pain; her brain couldn't process this chaos.
She needed that "blessing." She needed that dizzying pleasure that could make her forget everything.
Just as she was about to be consumed by self-loathing, the bedroom door silently opened once again.
Emma jerked her head up, and through tear-blurred eyes, she saw Elias walking back in.
He had changed out of his impeccable coat and suit, wearing only a simple black silk robe, barefoot. His black hair, usually meticulously groomed, now had several strands falling casually, partly covering his golden eyes.
He looked... no longer like the lofty "master," but more like... a man.
Obviously, he had just gone to his room to change clothes.
He walked to the bed and sat down. The mattress sank deeply under his weight.
"You..." Emma trembled.
Elias didn't speak. He just reached out and with his thumb, roughly yet with a strange gentleness, wiped away the tears on her face.
"I... I can't take it anymore..." Emma grabbed his ice-cold hand like it was the last lifeline. Her rationality had collapsed, leaving only the most primitive instinct.
"Elias... please..." She pulled down the collar of her bathrobe, exposing her vulnerable neck. "I... I can't bear it... I don't want to think anymore... please, like last time... help me..."
She was like an addict, begging for her drug.
Elias's golden eyes instantly turned dark. He could smell the sweetness in her blood that had become incredibly alluring due to her fear and despair. The beast within him was roaring, urging him to claim this fragile, voluntarily offered sacrifice.
But he didn't move.
He just stared at her, staring at the pleading in her eyes.
"No."
His voice was hoarse and firm, with a restraint that Emma couldn't understand.
"What?" Emma was stunned.
"I won't," Elias said softly. "I won't take advantage of you when you're at your most vulnerable... not in this way. I won't use my 'gift' to respond to your 'trauma'."
Emma looked at him in disbelief.
He didn't treat her as a "blood bag."
Elias sighed, the sound almost seemed... helpless. He leaned down.
Emma instinctively closed her eyes, thinking he had changed his mind.
But the fangs did not pierce.
Instead, his cold, soft lips gently and soothingly kissed the two faint pink marks that had already healed on her neck.
Emma trembled all over.
That familiar, tingling current, stronger than the last time, instantly spread throughout her entire body. Just a single kiss nearly made her melt.
He wasn't "plundering," he was merely "comforting."
Elias raised his head and pulled her into his embrace. He lifted the blanket and lay down beside her, holding her firmly within the crook of his arm.
Like a giant spoon, he enveloped her small, warm body with his cold one.
"You..." Emma was as stiff as a stone in his arms.
"Be quiet." He ordered, but there was no anger in his voice. He began to use his hand, stroke by stroke, to gently caress her hair.
"Tonight you... behaved like a foolish, self-destructive mortal." He whispered, his voice close to the top of her head, "But you're safe now. You're not going anywhere."
This absolute declaration of "possession," at this moment, strangely transformed into the most effective "comfort."
Emma's body finally relaxed. In his arms, for the first time, she felt truly... safe.
After a long while, just as Emma thought she was about to fall asleep, she spoke hazily.
"Elias?"
"Hmm."
"That..." she nestled deeper into his embrace, "What does... vampire blood... taste like?"
Elias's hand, which had been stroking her hair, suddenly froze.
His entire body tensed up.
He slowly lowered his head, his golden eyes startlingly bright in the darkness. "...Emma," his voice became dangerous, "do you want to... taste my blood?"
Emma's drowsiness instantly vanished in fright. She realized what a terrifying question she had asked.
"No! I don't!" she explained frantically.
That wasn't what she meant.
She was just... she was just wondering. If, perhaps, as he said, she would be "transformed" in the future... would her blood also become... unpalatable?
If she also turned into a monster, would he... no longer need her?
Would she... never again be able to experience that strange "connection" and pleasure when he tasted her?
This thought was so absurd, yet so terrifying, that she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.
"I... I just... I was just curious!" she buried her face in his chest, her voice muffled, "I wasn't thinking anything! I'm tired! I want to go to sleep!"
Elias stared at the top of her head, a flash of complex emotions passing through his dark eyes.
He didn't ask any further questions.
He just held her tighter.
"Sleep, Anam Cara," he whispered, "You can't go anywhere. You're safe."
This was the most peaceful sleep Emma had in months.
