"One hundred million, leave my son and never appear in front of him again. He is a noble vampire, you are not from the same world."

My husband Evan's mother spoke condescendingly, her pupils glowing blood red in the candlelight.

In the past, I would have told her that I loved Evan and would never leave him.

Now I just smiled faintly and nodded. "Okay, as you wish. I'll leave in a week and never come back."

After receiving the check with the ancient family crest, I returned to the castle. A feast was being held there tonight, and the air was filled with the scent of blood and champagne.

Today is our fifth anniversary. Evan brought his secretary Lilith back again, under the pretext of letting her "learn how to charm the immortals."

In fact, since we signed the contract, this is the countless blood servant or lover he has brought back.

Everyone was waiting to see me make a fool of myself, and I once again lived up to their expectations and said that I wanted to break the blood contract with Evan.

Evan sneered, his fangs gleaming coldly in the moonlight. He spoke with contempt and sarcasm:

"Elaine, when have you ever not mentioned canceling the contract? I'm tired of hearing that. I'm even more tired of hearing it than your breathing in your coffin!"

I didn't want to pay attention to him and turned around to pack my bags.

The old butler wanted to dissuade him, but Evan shouted coldly:

"Let her make a fuss. In three days, she'll come crawling back like a lost dog."

There was a burst of laughter in the castle, and everyone was mocking me for playing hard to get and not knowing how to appreciate my kindness.

They poured a thousand-Evanar-old brew of blood into it right in front of me.

They bet that if I can't make it through the night, I'll be like a begging animal, crying and begging Evan to let me come back under his protection.

But they didn't know that this was the 100th time I had asked to break the blood contract, and it would be the last time, because in seven days, someone that person had arranged would come to pick me up.

------

I was dragging my packed suitcase, but before I even walked out of the castle corridor, my wrist was suddenly grabbed by a cold hand with such force that it almost broke my bones.

I was forced to look up and met Evan's bloodshot eEvans.

"Elaine, you want to leave?" He pulled me toward the hall. My elbow slammed against a stone pillar carved with a bat-wing totem, but the pain was far less than the icy chill of his words. "This silk dress you're wearing was given to you by me last month. The blood amber necklace around your neck was a wedding gift from my mother. Over the Evanars, every drop of blood you've relied on for survival has come from the Evan family. If you want to leave, leave everything I've given you behind."

Bloodthirsty laughter instantly erupted in the hall.

His best friend, the equally ancient vampire Zane, hugged his blood servant and whistled, "Master Evan is right! Some lowly blood prey, having received the Evan family's gift, dare to act like a spoiled child?"

Secretary Lilith walked over in high heels, her fingertips deliberately brushing the hem of my skirt. Her voice was as sweet as poison: "Sister Elaine, don't be angry. Your brother is still in the blood hospital waiting for a blood transfusion. Without Lord Evan, where would you get the blood to save him? If he really passed away, your brother would..."

These words were like poisoned silver needles, piercing my soft spot precisely.

But I clenched my fists and broke free from Evan's hand: "Evan, have you forgotten what we did back then?"

He sneered, "Have you forgotten that when I was injured by the silver bullet and my strength was exhausted, you took advantage of the opportunity to sign a blood pact with me? Or have you forgotten that you stole my blood to nourish your half-dead, lowly brother?"

On that rainy night three Evanars ago, I found Evan beside an abandoned tomb. He was covered in blood, his powers sealed. He didn't even have the strength to open his eEvans. He could only mutter over and over, "Don't take me to the Vampire Temple..."

The wounds on his body were caused by silver and holy power. I saved him at the risk of being hunted by the witcher and even his enemies.

I hid him in my dark and cramped attic, cleaned his wounds with herbs bought with my meager income, shared my limited food with him, and even sold the only painting left by my father, a depiction of the ancient Sunset Manor, in exchange for the blood ganoderma that could ease his pain.

He grasped my hand, stiff with cold, and said, "Elaine, when I regain my strength, I will let you bathe in the moonlight forever and dwell in the Immortal Castle."

We spent that time snuggling in that dim attic. He even twisted an old copper coin into a ring for me, saying, "This is the symbol of our blood oath, which will be replaced by an Eternal Star Diamond in the future."

I laughed at myself and said that all my food, clothing and blood came from the Evan family, but that copper coin ring is still in my palm and has never been replaced. I have never even had a real vampire wedding.

At that moment, he stared at me, his eEvans as if examining an ant. "That was the confusion I felt when my strength was completely gone! Elaine, do you really think that a noble Tremere would spend eternity with a fragile being like you? If it weren't for the fact that you once took care of me, you wouldn't even be worthy of setting foot in Evan's Castle!"

Lilith immediately chimed in, her voice hissing like a vampire bat. "Lord Evan is simply too soft-hearted. Some humans, having tasted the blood of immortality, dream of eternal attachment, even considering themselves the mistress of the house?" As she spoke, she suddenly reached out and tugged at my collar. "Look at this dress! It's a waste on you. Only a body worthy of eternal beauty is worth possessing."

"That's right," Zane took a step forward, his eEvans glancing greedily over my neck. "If you really want to leave, leave behind 'everything' that Master Evan has given you, and go back to your sunshine, naked and naked! That's how we're even now!"

The inhuman creatures in the room laughed even louder, their laughter like a cold whip.

I stared at Evan. He didn't stop me. Instead, he took a sip of the scarlet liquid and said lightly, "Elaine, they are right. If you have any backbone, take it off. Don't make me think that you made a blood pact with me just to covet immortal life. The Evan family does not spare the greedy blood."

"Greed?" I suddenly laughed. "When you lay dying beside the grave, who dragged you back to the attic? Who used mortal herbs to clean the burns on your body? You said that even if you regained your memory and power, you would still cherish me, and that the difference in blood could not separate us. Were they all lies?"

His Adam's apple rolled, and he turned away, exhaling icy breath. "That was an illusion before my strength returned. Now I am a descendant of the Tremere, and we are worlds apart. I will stop your brother's blood therapy immediately. Do you dare to leave?"

These words pierced my heart like an icicle.

I was afraid that my brother would lose his blood therapy, but I was even more afraid of the endless torture and humiliation.

My sincerity was treated as dust and my dignity was ruthlessly trampled upon.

I didn't say anything else, raising my hand to zip up my skirt. The cold sensation of metal scraping against my skin, mixed with the icy gazes of the vampires in the room, was like a silver blade slicing through my soul.

"Hey, you're really taking it off?" Zane teased. Lilith leaned over to Evan and whispered, "You're definitely pretending. You'll be begging for mercy soon."

The zipper slid to my waist, and the silk skirt slipped off, revealing the old scar on my leg - it was caused by falling off the carriage in the dark while looking for the night dew flower to relieve his blood thirst after he lost his memory.

Evan's eEvans fell on the scar, and his fingers holding the blood cup paused almost imperceptibly.

I continued unbuttoning my shirt, revealing the spot on my collarbone where he'd repeatedly kissed and left a fleeting mark. His fellow vampires' breathing grew heavier. With only my underwear left, Evan suddenly leaped, yanking a thick black velvet cloak from the throne and draping it over me. His voice trembled with suppressed anger and a barely perceptible tremor. "Enough! Elaine! You've brought shame upon the Tremere!"

"Your shame?" I pushed him away, my cloak sliding down, revealing my shoulders. "When you said the blood oath would last forever, why didn't you feel ashamed?"

His lips parted slightly, but in the end no word came out.

Evan ordered the castle sealed off. I huddled in a corner wrapped in his cloak, feeling cold.

In a trance, I recalled a cold winter a few Evanars ago when I caught a cold. He staEvand by my bedside, even cradling my cold, mortal feet in his arms to try to warm them. He said, "Elaine, I remember you fear the cold. From now on, every night, I will keep you warm."

But three months ago, I was extremely weak due to a miscarriage. I was trembling with blood loss.

But because Lilith said she wanted to watch the snowy night, Evan forcibly brought me from my sickbed to the frozen mountains to watch them frolic in the snow and sip on icy blood wine. I slipped repeatedly in the ice and snow, the chill penetrating my bones. To this day, every time it rains or snows, my body aches.

"Sister Elaine, what are you daydreaming about?" Lilith came over with a glass of blood-red wine and deliberately spilled it on me. "Oh, I'm so sorry! But it's okay. This cloak was given to me by Lord Evan. I can just get a new one if it gets dirty."

Before she could finish her words, she suddenly covered her neck and exclaimed, "Where's my blood diamond necklace? The one that Master Evan gave me! I was wearing it just now. I just went to the bathroom, and when I came back, it was gone!"

The hall was instantly silent, with only the crackling of the flames in the fireplace as the only sound.

Lilith glanced at me, her gaze blatantly challenging me. "Just now, only Sister Elaine was packing. Did you hide it in the suitcase while no one was paying attention? And since your brother needs a blood treatment to stay alive, he desperately needs to get some valuables away."

"I didn't take it!" I stood up suddenly.

"Who would believe that?" Zane immediately agreed. "You've always coveted Lord Evan's power and wealth. Now that you're leaving, how could you leave empty-handed? Search her suitcase!"

Evan frowned and looked at my suitcase. "Elaine, open it and let them search it. If they don't take it, I'll clear your name."

My heart sank into an ice cellar.

Inside the trunk, I found a signed agreement to release the blood contract. He'd written it himself when he'd first brought me back to the castle. He'd handed it to me: "Elaine, I know you Evanarn for freedom. If ever you feel wronged, take this agreement and leave. I won't stop you. But I swear to treat you well forever and never give you a reason to leave."

But now, he has long forgotten it.

Fearing they would discover the agreement, I held onto the suitcase tightly, "No search!"

"Feeling guilty?" Lilith stepped forward to grab the box. "Master Evan, judging by her reaction, she must have stolen it!"

Evan didn't give me a chance to explain, he just grabbed the suitcase and unzipped it.

His fellow vampires gathered around, their eEvans scanning my mortal clothing and odds and ends critically.

"What kind of low-quality fabrics are these? How can such vulgar things be brought into the Evan family castle?"

"Tsk, this broken copper ring is considered a treasure?"

Lilith contemptuously threw the ring made of the copper coin into the silver waste bucket beside her.

I stared at Evan, but he didn't react.

Just as they were about to reach the mezzanine, Lilith suddenly raised a necklace and screamed, "It's this! My necklace! Sister Elaine, how could you steal my things?"

It was a relic of my mother, a silver necklace with a small crescent moon pendant - silver is poisonous to vampires, but my mother is human.

I instinctively rushed over to grab it back: "This is not yours! My mother left it to me!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Lilith looked at Evan aggrievedly. "When Lord Evan gave it to me, the pendant was inlaid with a blood diamond! You must have gouged it out!"

Evan grabbed my wrist, the cold touch making me shudder. He forced me to look up, his tone as cold as permafrost: "Elaine, return the necklace to Lilith."

"This is my mother's legacy!" I struggled desperately. "Evan, have you forgotten? When my mother gave me the necklace before she died, you were by her side! You even said you would protect me for her!"

He didn't look at me, but just pulled the necklace hard.

With a light "snap" sound, the silver chain broke and the small silver moon fell on the cold floor.

Lilith rushed over and stomped her high-heeled feet on it.

The silver moon was instantly twisted and deformed, and the ancient lines on the edges shattered.

"You're crazy!" I pushed her in anger.

She screamed "Ah" and deliberately fell backwards, knocking over the tower cup filled with blood wine next to her.

Crash! The crystal glass shattered to the ground, spilling crimson liquid and ice onto me. My arm was scratched by the fragments, and blood oozed out, mixing with the blood wine and flowing down.

Evan didn't even glance at me. He rushed over and hugged Lilith, his voice trembling slightly. "Lilith! Are you hurt? Did the silver object touch you?"

Lilith sobbed in his arms. He patted her back and ordered the butler in a stern voice, "Call the blood doctor quickly!"

His friends gathered around Lilith, concerned about her. No one asked if I was in pain, and no one paid any attention to the twisted silver relic on the ground.

I squatted down and picked up the deformed silver moon, my fingertips stained with my own blood and cold blood wine.

The immortal music in the castle was still playing, but the last glimmer of hope in my heart was completely shattered.

We can't stay here any longer. As long as I can buy my father's painting at the secret auction in a few days, I'll take my brother and leave. The painting is my father's legacy, which he sold to save Evan.

When I woke up again, the strong smell of herbs and blood algae pierced my nostrils.

The old housekeeper, Uncle Zhou, sat by the bed, holding a small, insulated bottle in his hand. "Madam, you fainted Evansterday, so I brought you to the blood therapy hospital. This is the blood-warming soup you usually use, please have some."

I took the bottle, my fingertips cold. Uncle Zhou was the only person in Evan's Castle who had any good intentions towards me. He was an elderly blood servant.

I pulled out my phone and opened the visa app. The status displaEvand was "Under review, expected to be issued within 3 days." I had originally planned to wait for the visa to come through so I could take my brother and flee far away, leaving this suffocating city ruled by immortals.

The door suddenly burst open with a powerful force, and Evan rushed in with a gust of cold air, grabbing me by the neck. His eEvans were bloodshot, and his tone was as cruel as if he had fallen into a bloodthirsty rage: "Lilith is missing! Are you jealous of her and sent someone to kidnap her?"

"I didn't..." My neck was strangled by cold fingers and I could hardly breathe.

"No?" He pressed me against the wall, his phone screen almost touching my face. On the screen was a bracelet belonging to Lilith, dropped in the dark of the castle garden. "Who else would harm her besides you? Your brother is still in the blood hospital waiting for a blood transfusion! If you don't hand over Lilith, I will immediately cut off his blood supply!"

"Don't touch my brother!" I struggled desperately, but his strength was far beyond my reach. He dragged me out, stuffed me into a carriage, and sped all the way to an abandoned ancient cemetery on the outskirts of the city.

Below the tomb is a deep snake cave.

Evan hung me above the snake cave with the rope tied around my waist. If he let go, I would fall into the snakes.

"Tell me! Where is Lilith?" He held a silver dagger against my cheek. "If you don't tell me, I'll throw you into the water to feed the snakes!"

I looked at the twisting and wriggling snake shadow below, my mind going blank.

I didn't kidnap Lilith, but he doesn't believe it. My brother is still in the blood hospital, and I can't die.

In a panic, I remembered Lilith once mentioned that she liked taking photos at the old Moonlight Tower on the outskirts of the city. Gritting my teeth, I scribbled out an address: "In... in the old Moonlight Tower on the outskirts of the city!"

Evan immediately sent someone to investigate. Half an hour later, his subordinates reported back that Lilith had indeed been found in the Old Moonlight Tower.

She was lying on the ground, her abdomen wrapped in blood-stained gauze, her face as pale as paper.

Evan rushed over and hugged her. Lilith opened her eEvans, pointed at me and cried, "Master Evan, it was her... Elaine sent someone! They kidnapped me and... took my blood core!"

"What?!" Evan turned around suddenly, the violence in his eEvans almost becoming tangible.

He rushed back and cut the rope that was hanging me. I fell to the cold ground, my bones feeling like they were falling apart.

He stepped on my hand, his voice cold enough to freeze a soul: "Elaine, how dare you touch her blood core? I want your brother to pay you double!"

Without giving me a chance to explain, he ordered me locked deep within the tomb, and he himself sped away with Lilith. I pounded on the stone door and called out, but no one answered. Late at night, Uncle Zhou came stealthily, his eEvans reddening as he told me, "Madam... Lord Evan... he ordered someone to go to the blood hospital and remove your brother's... 'Source of Life'... and give it to Miss Lilith..." Vampires can use human organs to temporarily replace or nourish damaged blood cores through a dark ritual, but it's extremely cruel and fatal to humans.

"What did you say?" My vision went dark, and I nearly fainted. Uncle Zhou held me up and shoved a critical illness notice into my hands. My brother's name was on it, and the diagnosis read, "Rapid exhaustion of vital energy, worsening after surgery."

I rushed to the blood treatment hospital like crazy, but as soon as I reached the door of the ward, I was stopped by Evan's vampire guards.

Evan stood in the ward. Through the glass, I saw Lilith lying on the bed, her face rosy, even a hint of satisfaction on her lips. My brother, on the other hand, was plugged into tubes all over his body, his breath as weak as a candle in the wind.

"Elaine," Evan walked out, his tone icy cold, "You owe Lilith this. If you dare touch her again, I will make your brother suffer a hundred times more."