Edward’s head snapped up. His face was no longer just arrogant; it was monstrous. The veins in his neck pulsed with a dark, predatory violet.

"You've finally crossed the line, Sonya," he hissed, his voice vibrating with a killing intent I knew all too well from my past life. "I gave you a roof, and you repay us by attacking the only woman I love? You want to leave? Fine. But you’ll leave with a reminder of what happens when you touch what is mine."

He began to stand, his fangs slowly extending, the air in the hallway dropping to a freezing chill.

And the next second, I was pulled closer to him. His hands pressed against my neck as he slammed me against the wall, his fangs almost scratching the delicate skin of my neck.

"Apologize to Beth!" He groaned, "Right now!"

"Apologize to her?" I giggled, "She fell by herself!"

Edward's hands raised in mid-air, ready to slap me. Just then Beth's pitiful voice echoed.

"Ed, please stop!" She begged, her eyes wet. "If you hit her because of me, she will tell Uncle and Aunt and they will blame me for that."

He released me instantly. But, his eyes turned dark and laced with the hatred that always hurt me to see in his eyes for me.

"This is real you. Scheming and manipulative!" He sneered.

Scheming and manipulative?

That's what he called me when I did literally nothing.

If it was in the past, I would have sunk to my knees, pleading and explaining things to not make him misunderstand me.

But, the present me did not care about it. He could think whatever he wished. I was done explaining.

Once Beth had spilled wine on her shoes that Edward had just bought her and blamed me I did it out of jealousy.

I slit my wrist and offered Edward to drink it to see the truth through my blood. But, he held my bleeding arm and threw me aside.

"I don't need to see anything. I believe Beth!" He spat, "As for you, your punishment is that you will clean Beth's boots by licking the wine with your tongue."

"You can think whatever you want. I'm done telling my truth." I spat before I grabbed the handle of my luggage and walked past them.

I didn't look back at the obsidian doors or the silver sign that labeled me as less than a hound.

But as I reached the bottom step, a terrifyingly familiar warmth touched the back of my neck.

I froze. My eyes traveled to the horizon.

The sky wasn't the deep, protective indigo of midnight anymore. It was a bruised, bleeding orange. A thin gold of the sun was peeking over the edge of the world.

No. Not now.

In my past life, the "Eternal Sun" had been Edward’s favorite tool of torture. Even for a vampire, the dawn wasn't an instant death, but for a low-born like me, it was an agonizing slow-burn that blistered the soul before it charred the flesh.

I had miscalculated the time. The confrontation inside had stolen the precious minutes of darkness I needed to reach the mortal Zone.

I spun around, my heart hammering against my ribs. I reached for the door handle, desperate to step back into the safety of the manor’s shadows—just until the sun fully rose and I could call for a specialized sun-shielded transport.

The handle didn't budge.

Click.

The heavy iron bolt slid into place from the inside. Through the narrow, reinforced glass slit of the door, a pair of Edward's eyes appeared.

Edward stood on the other side of the glass. He leaned in, his breath fogging the pane. He didn't say a word, but his lips curled into an evil, slow-spreading smile.

Behind him, I could see Beth, leaning against his shoulder, her "injured" ankle miraculously healed.

"If you want me to take you in, apologize to Beth right now." He commanded, "And, call my parents, tell them you are not interested in me anymore, tell them not to force me to be with you because you like somebody else."

"I'll do the second part. But, for first my answer is No." I replied, my voice firm.

Edward's eyes frowned. Not because I refused to apologise Beth but because how quickly I agreed to tell his parents I didn't want him anymore.

He has never heard me say such words.

A moment of panic passed through his eyes. Beth came forward, excited. "That will do, Ed if she can say that before your parents. An obstacle between us will be cleared off."

But, he didn't answer. Instead, he reached for the heavy velvet curtain and pulled it shut, saying arrogantly, "A little sunburn will do nothing to you until you decide what's best for you, Sonya."

He was leaving me to ash!

He didn't know after rebirth my strength was weekend and I could not tolerate sun as much as I used to.

I collapsed against the door, the rays hitting my shoulders like molten lead. I closed my eyes, bracing for the familiar agony of my previous death, when suddenly, a shadow, massive and cold, fell over me.

The searing heat vanished. The air dropped instantly.

I looked up, squinting. A sleek, matte-black umbrella, large enough to shield a small vehicle, was being held over me. Standing there was a man I had only seen in the forbidden archives of the vampire history books.

Caspian Vane. The exiled Pureblood. The man the Lightwoods feared more than the sun itself.

In my previous life, I had written letters to this man, begging for help. But, every letters were crushed in Edward's arms before they could sneak out of his gothic manor.

But, here he was, standing before my eyes. Like a dream.

“I found you.”

“What?”

"It seems the High Lord’s hospitality has a very short expiration date," Caspian said.He didn't respond to my words. His voice was like shifting gravel, deep and dangerously calm.

He didn't look at the door, he looked at the burns already forming on my collarbone.

Without a word, he draped his heavy, enchanted silk trench coat over my shoulders. The fabric pulsed with a cooling spell that instantly numbed my pain.

He swept me up into his arms, luggage and all, and walked toward a blacked-out Rolls Royce idling at the edge of the driveway.

Two hours later, I was sitting in a sun-shielded lounge at the Obsidian Heights, the most exclusive neutral-zone club in the city. I was draped in fresh silk, a glass of chilled, high-grade synthetic blood in my hand.

Caspian sat across from me, casually peeling an apple with a silver dagger.

"Thanks..." I whispered, "for saving me, Caspian."

His hand momentrally paused as he turned to look at me. "You know me?"

"Better than you think..." I replied, staring his hand that had a burn mark. He quickly covered it with his sleeves.

In my past life, whatever time I had after being suffered in Edward's hands, I used to research about this pure-blood exiled vampire.

Why?

Because Caspian was the vampire Edward feard the most in his entire life.

Rumours were Caspian's powers were fading and he was in search of something special that could bring his powers back, and that he had locked himself in coffin, intending to wake up when he has found it.

I was pulled back to my senses by the sound of my phone's vibration. The screen glowed with a name that used to make my heart stop. Now, it just made my stomach turn.

Edward.

"Sonya!" Edward’s voice exploded as soon as I picked up the call, jagged with a strange, frantic rage. "Where the hell are you? Beth said she saw a car—who was that? Who picked you up?"

"My parents are returning tonight. I want you on the dinner table tomorrow. Don't forget it's weekend." He added.

The weekend used to be their family time. Edward would usually be polite to me at this time because of his parents' presence.

I took a slow sip of my drink, looking at Caspian, who raised an amused eyebrow. "I'm out, Edward. Enjoying the morning you thought would kill me."

"Stop talking nonsense. A little sun burn would do nothing to you..." He paused for a moment before he added, "You don't need to reject me. Just apologise to Beth when you are back."

"You belong to the Lightwood estate. You are my blood-bound by right of tradition! So, come fast before I send my trackers to drag you here."

Caspian leaned into the phone, his voice a low, lethal purr. "She isn't coming back, Little Lord. And if you send your dogs into my territory, I’ll send them back to you in jars. Sonya is busy having a much better time than you ever provided."