~263 chapters updated until now~At the Carmichael"s mansion, the dining room was cleared to make an ample amount of s.p.a.ce in there. The tables were pushed towards the wall along with the chairs. The chandelier burning much brightly that was used in here. Every nook and corner had candles burning to light up the entire place like Christmas.
Vivian was in the room, getting ready where she wore the gown which was presented by Nicholas as a gift for being helpful in the council. She had enough gowns and dresses were some of them were yet to be worn for the first time therefore at first she had been hesitant in accepting the gift. Also knowing that the Lord wouldn"t have picked anything less of value but something extravagant.
It was an off-shoulder black colored gown which flowed at the back. Little s.h.i.+mmering stones decorated at the top of her neckline. She touched the hair that she had let out at the side of her head while having her hair tied up. Walking out and down the stairs, she saw Leo stand at the end. Waiting for her like he usually did which warmed her heart.
"You look breathtaking, Vivi," Leonard complimented her not able to take his eyes off of her.
Coming down, she raised her hand to straighten the bow that he wore, "Thank you. You look handsome yourself," and she heard him hum.
"Shall we?" he asked, taking her by her hand they walked towards the dining room to step inside it, where a bright smile came to settle on Vivian"s lips.
"This feels like early Christmas," she took in the number of candles that were decorated, "It is just us?" she asked when she noticed no one in the hall.
Leo feigned as if he were upset, "Am I not enough, Bambi?" he asked her.
This made Vivian nudge him and she continued to smile, "You know that"s not what I meant."
"The others will be here shortly. We just turned out to be the early birds," he said taking her to the center of the room and turning her so that she could face him, "How about I have your first and last dance," he placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I would love that," she looked into his red eyes that reflected back her reflection in them. She could see the goofy smile that had come to sit on her face as he swayed her in silence and after six seconds had pa.s.sed, she heard music to be played. She looked around but there was no one whom she could see playing it. But that wasn"t what caught her attention. The music...it was from the music box he had gifted her when they were children.
Stepping closer, she placed her head on his chest. It had been really long since they had spent time just for themselves in a long while. With both working in the council, they had been getting works, some of which were different from each of them. With her speaking out about the case which had been closed, Lionel and the others had started to take note of her ability. In the past few days, Leo and Vivian were the couples who worked for the council to close cases successfully.
"I love you, Leo," she said her heart feeling full. Raising her head up she looked back into his eyes, "I couldn"t have expected anything more. You are everything I have wished for before I could even wish. If it weren"t for you.." she felt him place his finger on her lips.
"I know," a tender smile stayed on his lips as he gazed down at her, "My Bambi," he said with affection. Leaning down to kiss her.
"What are you thankful for, Vivi?" he asked her.
"If I said it, it would be wrong."
"And when have either of us judged either?" he raised one of his eyebrows slightly.
"I did once," she confessed looking away to see the butler, Jan walk inside the room, "It was the time when you killed that man. Here"
"Vla.s.s? Understandable. You didn"t know how I work and what I did. Might I say a little stubborn that you refused to speak or see me," he taunted playfully.
"I was angry with you. I didn"t know."
"It is the past. It doesn"t matter," people from the outside would think that this man was difficult and aloof but it was Vivian who knew how easy it was to be with Leo. He loved her with the whole of his heart and sometimes she wondered if she felt if her love for him reached to that extent. Her love looked small, "What happened?" She shook her head.
"Are you being loved enough, Leo?" her direct question caught him off guard.
"I think I am very loved by my wife who worries about little things for no reason, why do you ask?"
"Just like that," she then switched to answering the question he had put for her earlier, "I am happy with the way how things turned out to be. To have come here with Martha a few years ago. I feel blessed."
"I am happy to hear that," he closed their distance and kissed her lips. Holding her in his arms as if it were the first time, his arms tightening around her and she let him readily. Opening herself like a flower that had been waiting for him to take her away. Someone cleared their throat behind them, and both pulled apart to look at Nicholas who had arrived with Hueren and another man who went by the name Timothy who was Malcolm Rufus" son.
Vivian felt a small pang of pain in her chest when she saw the missing people. Both Dutan and Maximillian had pa.s.sed away, their coffins buried along with the rest of the pureblooded vampires who had pa.s.sed away. Few things were out of their hands and no matter how much she and the others wished to protect each other, one"s hand could only reach up to a certain extent before letting it go.
"You started the party without us," commented Nicholas as Jan took his overcoat.
"You were late," Leo retorted back which made him seem much younger, where he didn"t behave older and as his own age.
"The Lord is never late, Leo. It is the peasants who are early," laughed Nicholas.
"Did he just call us peasants?" Hueren muttered under his breath.
"Vivi, I have something for you," Lord Nicholas fished something in his pocket before pulling out a scroll.
"What is it?" she took hold of it, looking at Nicholas who smiled.
"It is from, Lord Alexander. He wanted me to pa.s.s it to you."
Curious, Vivian pulled the little ribbon that was tied around it. Pulling the parchment open, she read,
"Lady Vivian Carmichael,
I firstly congratulate you for what you have achieved in such short duration which many would have failed to accomplish. I believe we are very all very proud and the Duke must be the proudest right now."
She raised her head to look towards Leo who was talking Timothy. Going back to read the parchment, she continued,
"But this is not why I am writing to you. The last time you visited Valeria, I gave you my word to find about your family. It has come to my notice that your brother Gregory continues to live in Valeria. It was told to by my fellow informer that the boy was sent to be adopted to another family who belongs to the lower cla.s.s vampires. The family told my informer that they were paid to keep the matter quiet as they wanted the public to think that he was dead. I don"t know why exactly they did it as I couldn"t get any further information from them. I don"t think your parents gave a reason for why. If you ever plan to visit him, I have written down the address of where he and his current family live. I hope the best for you and the Duke."
Below the parchment, Lord Alexander"s seal was etched in red ink and he had written down the address of where her brother lived. Gregorie Nelson. Her brother.
Vivian"s hands trembled as she went to read the letter one more time. She could hardly beleive that she would be able to see him. Leonard who had been speaking glanced at his wife before going to her as she stared into at the parchment.
"Everything alright?" he asked, to have the parchment given to him. Leo took hold of it, going through the contents, "He"s alive."
Vivian nodded her head.
"When do you want to leave from here?" he asked to see the antic.i.p.ation that was building up in her eyes.
"But what about work? Lionel said he needed you to go to Mythweald," she asked worried.
"Work can wait. They will find a replacement for the time being. There is nothing as the council won"t work if I am not there."
The next day the Carmichael"s traveled from Bonelake to Valeria so that they could meet Vivian"s younger brother. Vivian could barely keep in her excitement over the fact that she was going to meet her brother and when they did reach Valeria at the given address, she was extremely nervous that she stood outside the house with Leonard.
All this time she had been eager to meet him but now that he was only a few distances away from her, she didn"t know how it would be. A mix of emotions settled at the bottom of her stomach. Beyond this door, she would meet her only blood family.
"You will be fine, Vivi," Leo whispered standing behind her as he looked at the house which was an average one, "I am sure after hearing the news about you, he would be wanting to meet you too. Come, let"s go in," he gently nudged her.
Opening the gate which creaked slightly, Vivian took the lead by walking up to the door which was closed. She could feel her heartbeat loudly as she raised her hand, ready to knock. Her hand stayed in the air for a second and she finally knocked twice on the door. Waiting for it to be opened, she noticed the pots of flowers that decorated on either side of the door. A small patch of the garden was cultivated around the house.
"Who is it?" came a woman"s voice who opened the door. The woman was short in stature, the color of her eyes light red in color to show their status but that didn"t matter to Vivian.
She gave a bright smile to the woman and spoke, "Good afternoon, Mrs. Nelson. I think Lord Alexander spoke to you about me, I am Vivian Carmichael and this is my husband Leonard. I am Mr. and Mrs. Harlow"s daughter," and taking a deep breath she said, "I am Gregorie"s elder sister."
"Oh, yes. Greg has been waiting for you since the time he found out. Greg!" The woman called, pus.h.i.+ng the door wide open, "Please come in."
Stepping inside with Leo close to her, her eyes went to take in the house which felt warm and cozy. The house was compact and wasn"t something she had got used to like in the mansion. It was a house of the lower cla.s.s which she liked.
On her way, she couldn"t think of a reason as to why her parents would send even her brother away from them. Why kill him in front of the public eye? From her memories, she was the only one who had consumed the potion which had changed her before turning her back into her original form.
But that didn"t matter, her parents were gone for who had sent their children away. She was happy that she would be able to see her younger brother soon. It felt odd to think that she was someone else" elder sister.