Too nice

"I see no reason why you should be afraid, I will not hurt you." My husband's voice reverberated in the car, reassuring me that there was no need to be afraid as he wouldn't harm me. However, his disapproving tone only reminded me of the scars that made it difficult for me to face him.

Even without meeting his gaze, I could feel his piercing stare on me.

He moved closer to me but I was quick enough to increase the distance between us and hell. For the first time since I met him, I felt his dark aura.

Again, he moved closer for me to also increase the distance between us and it continued until my body came in contact with the car's door, thereby making no room for me to escape.

Noticing that  I was trapped with no way to escape, he smiled and leaned in closer. He brought one of his hands to my face and made me look into his mesmerizing eyes.

No words could explain how those mesmerizing eyes managed to trap me but at the same time, I saw sadness, agony, and rage in them. It was like he had tried his best to hide those aspects of him away from me by resurfacing the little kindness he had in him.

"Aria, right?" He asked to snap me out of my thoughts. 

Of course, he would know my name. My father must have told him a lot about me but I still didn't know anything about him. The only piece of information I knew about him was that he was a vampire prince.

Come to think of it, he surely didn't look and dress like a prince; instead, he looked like a wealthy warlord. There was nothing like guards or escorts or anything that could portray someone being a prince. With us, there was only a human driver and I wouldn't be so surprised if he had forced himself to take one because of me.

I said nothing but nodded my head in response.

"I'm Prince Erec." He said and leaned closer to my face, thereby making us share the same breath.

Well, he did smell good.

Still, I said nothing to him. 

Seconds turned to moments and moments to minutes, then he finally let go of me and moved back.

"Do you know the reason why we are married?" He blurted out.

"Yes." I simply said. He turned his gaze away from me and let out a loud sigh.

"I know that you were forced into this but we can still make our marriage work." Done with his words, he turned his gaze back to me but this time he maintained a straight face.

Before I could open my mouth to say anything, the driver interrupted the moment.

"My prince, we are here." 

Prince Erec smiled and led me out of the car. At first, I'd hesitated to take his hands since I knew that once my feet touched the ground, my life would change either for the better or worse but when I saw a huge frown on Prince Erec's face coupled with those ugly scars, I chose to comply with him.

The moment I stepped my feet on the ground, a quite number of maids came rushing towards us. They didn't seem to have cared about my presence as they all faced my husband and bowed.

Well, I wasn't expecting anything less or more.

"Acknowledge the presence of my princess." He said with a slightly raised tone.

They all raised their heads to gaze at me for a while before doing as Erec had said. I could see jealousy in some of the female maids' faces while others seemed surprised to see me.

But there was something that I noticed among them, they were humans.  

My mother had once educated me on how to identify a vampire, and it wasn't the typical depiction of long, sharp fangs or blood-red eyes. The most accurate way to spot a vampire is by their skin color. Like my husband, their skin is pale white, as if drained of blood, yet they appear healthy and have a longer lifespan than humans. If my husband turned out to be older than my father, I wouldn't be surprised.

Why would a vampire keep humans as maids in their homes when they're drawn to the scent of human blood? They can detect the metallic aroma from three miles away, and God help any human that falls into the web of their thirst.

"Welcome, princess." They said in unison. 

"Good, she is my wife and should be given the same kind of respect that you would give to me."

Without any more words left to say, he once again held me by the hands and led me inside. 

Erec's residence didn't resemble a typical vampire prince's abode, but rather a modest mansion suitable for an average family.

"Welcome home, princess." He spread his arm wide open as he interrupted my thoughts and as expected, I was awed. Though it was not as big as I'd thought, it was grand. 

The interior was painted white with no other color introduced. It had a chandelier hung right above the middle of his living room and marble tiles adorned every corner of the living room. 

However, I noticed one flaw - the windows were covered with thick red curtains that prevented even the slightest ray of light from penetrating. It was understandable, given their aversion to sunlight, which was why our wedding was held at night.

That was probably why my wedding with him was held at night.

Although vampires can withstand the sunlight for up to an hour, anything beyond that could be disastrous

"Come, you need to get ready for our wedding reception."

"….."

Again, he held my hand but when he made a step and noticed that I didn't move, he looked back at me with a worried face.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to go? My father is eager to meet you."

I almost forgot - where there's a prince, there's also a king. The vampire king ruled over all vampires in the country, ensuring that there was no conflict between humans and vampires. He ruled with an iron fist

"I….I thought my family agreed that I would be far away from any vampire that is not you." I managed to say even when I knew that what I had just said was totally ridiculous. I was now the vampire princess and there was no way I would avoid their kind.

"The humans agreed, but the vampires did not. Let's go to our room and get ready," Erec said, his face folding.

My nerves began to kick in - what did he mean by 'our room'? Did my mother lie to me? She had told me about the deal the humans made with the vampires, which included separate rooms for the married couple. Did this mean that our marriage would be consummated?

Once again, I had been deceived.

"What do you mean by 'our room'?" I inquired.

"Why wife, do I disgust you so much that you can't even bear to share a room with me?" He let go of my hand and closed the distance between us. His scarred face may have been unappealing, but that wasn't the reason I suggested separate rooms.

"Hmm, I know that I would one day have to consummate my marriage with you but can we not make it tonight? I don't think I am ready." At least, if we were going to consummate our marriage, I needed to mentally, physically, and emotionally prepare myself.

I braced myself for a negative response, but when he didn't answer, I peeked through my eyelashes to see a wide grin on his face.

"As my princess wishes, but we will still have to share a room." He declared.

Without waiting for another option, he took my hand and led me to his room.

"This is where I planned for us to consummate our marriage after the wedding reception, but I will respect your decision," he said.

He wasn't kidding about his plans. The bed was scattered with red petals, and a banner hung on the wall that read, "You are forever mine, princess." 

It sent shivers down my spine.