第七章

That damned enmity! Even if it were someone who hated Liam, I'd still see my sister! Let's see who stops me this time. Taking a deep breath, I turned to face Daleri. "Daleri, I know you're saying this for my benefit, but after hearing what you've said, I'm even more determined to see Lucy." Tears emerged and trailed a path down my cheeks. "She's my sister! And she's living with a madman. How can I stay away from her when I know Lucy would be suffering?" A sob choked out of my mouth as I covered my face and cried. Daleri patted my back and sighed. "Fine. But only we'll go only when I say. Don't you dare to run away from the palace." I nodded and wiped my face as a smile stretched on my face. For a few days, a successful ignored Liam's presence, not even sneaking a glance at him. He didn't even come to the bedroom to sleep. Even though his jealousy moved me, he was still wrong. How could he talk to me like that? The only person with whom I was willing to see every day was Daleri. "My lady, are you ready for breakfast?" This day, I had just gotten out of the bathroom, rubbing my wet hair with a towel, when I found Daleri opening the door. "Yes, please." I smiled at her and picked up the hairdryer. "I'll be downstairs in a minute." I blew my hair dry. As soon as I put it down the dryer, I heard her calling my name. Turning around, I yelled, "Yes, Daleri, coming!" I walked downstairs calmly. Every step carried a rhythmic tapping noise that echoed in the corridor. I couldn't believe this is my life today. When I had just stepped into this palace, I was terrified to death, thinking the vampire prince could quickly kill me. But who would've thought that I would end up finding a motherly figure? If it weren't for me worrying about my sister's life, I would have started living a carefree life at this place. By the time I sat at the dining table, there was only Daleri in the room, serving me a plate full of pancakes. Looking ahead at the empty chair, I tilted my head and asked, "Where's Liam?" "Master is out at a meeting." I hummed in response, not caring about a certain cold vampire, chewing the sweet dish as it rolled across my tongue, mixing with my saliva. "Say Daleri," I gulped the food and glanced at her. "How about I visit my sister today?" Daleri paused her hands and frowned. "Let's wait for a while, my lady." "Why?" "At least let me collect some information?" What information would she want to collect? I narrowed my eyes at her but didn't say anything, continuing to eat my food. After an hour, I was reading a book in the bedroom when someone knocked on the door. "Come in," I said, keeping the book away. "My lady," Daleri opened the door. "Get ready. We're vising your sister today." My eyes widened as a burst of excitement flooded my heart. I jumped on my feet and hugged Daleri. "Thank you!" She shook her head and patted my back. "Hurry up, girl, we only have two hours." I nodded and rushed toward the bathroom. It wasn't until half an hour later that I found myself sitting in the car that wheeled on the highway. Daleri was beside me, telling the address to the driver. "Where's she?" I asked, fidgeting my fingers nervously. "You'll know. George's here in Vance City for a month. So you'll get to see your sister." It took us ten more minutes to reach George Evans' place. And when we arrived, my mouth hung open. What I saw wasn't just any beautiful palace surrounded by bushes and flowers, but a gray building with four to five floors and a closed window, surrounded by dark green trees. If you don't drive inside the narrow road hidden by the bushes, you won't even find this old house. The glass on the window was even tinted with black. I stepped out of the car to see dried plants across the garden before the house. Were there no servants to take care of this shady place? I frowned and worked across the path, filled with stones and dirt. Wrinkling my nose, I said, "Are we at the right place?" I didn't want to believe that my sister was living in such a place. Daleri seemed to notice my mood and patted my back gently. "Don't worry about your sister. She's fine." I pursed my lips and knocked on the door. Not once, but twice, thrice, and when I was going to knock the 4th time, I heard 'click,' and the door opened, revealing a girl wearing a long-sleeved cream-colored top and loose pajamas. Her brown wavy hair was draped on her shoulders as she looked at the guests. I could see the look in her eyes changed from fear to surprise. She widened her eyes as tears trailed down her cheeks. "Em-Emy..." She whispered as my name choked out of her throat. "Lucy!" My lower lips quivered at her crying figure, and I was to hug her tightly. I felt her sobbing on the shoulder as she gripped my top. My clothes were wet because of her tears, but I didn't care. I was relieved to see that my sister was alive. Patting her back gently, I said, "Shh...calm down, Lucy. I'm here." As soon as I said the last word, her body stiffened, and she backed away. Her eyes turned restless, glancing outside before turning toward me. "You shouldn't be here. Go away." Huh? My brows drew together. This was the third time I heard this type of sentence. I clenched my jaw and said, "What is it with you guys? Always telling me that I can't approach my own sister! How laughable!" "That's not it!" Panic appeared in Lucy's eyes as she showed a pained expression. I raised my eyebrows at her. Crossing my arms around my chest, I patiently waited for her explanation. "I-I..." Her gaze bounced from my face to Daleri standing behind me. Lucy's eyes were restless for a moment before she finally pinched her lips together. She grabbed my arms and dragged me inside. "Fine, let's talk inside. But I don't have all day!" I frowned at her reaction and followed her. The corridor remained normal, with a woman's touch. Gray walls had a few dark paintings hanging lifelessly. But it was cleaned by someone. I knew it should be Lucy. I turned my gaze at my sister with a complicated expression. At home, the maid was usually the one doing everything. Lucy only occasionally tried to do things, but she'd rather stay inside her room. The only thing Lucy was proficient in was cooking and taking care of kids. But looking at the house that lacked even a single servant, I wondered if Lucy cleaned it all. It would be a funny scene to watch the ambitious and selfish George doing small things like this at home. I entered the living room and sat on the couch, followed by Daleri, who was unusually quiet. I wrinkled my brow but didn't say anything. I knew she was hiding something from me. "How're you doing, sister?"Lucy poured water in the empty glass and brought it before me. "I hope the prince is treating you well." I snorted and said, "Like he can do something to me. After trying to frighten me to death, he does nothing but to hide his face all day long." Daleri coughed at my answer, trying to hide her laughter. But Lucy frowned and turned toward me. "He's a vampire, isn't he?" I nodded and sipped in the water. "Then why aren't you afraid of him?" Lucy rubbed her chin as her sleeves dropped, revealing her pale wrist covered with red and purple patches on the surface. I caught her wrist and uncovered her hand before Lucy could do anything to hide her bruises. My fingers traced the purple bruise that looked fresh. I couldn't help but squint my eyes at that. She flinched and took her wrist back, covering her hands with her long sleeves top. "I'll prepare something for you." "Wait!" I stood up before Lucy could leave the room. "Take off your top." I had an inkling that she had bruises on her entire body. Thinking about it made me grind my teeth in anger. Lucy stopped at the door. "I have to cook." And she quickly left. "Lucy!" I raised my voice, but she was already gone. What was happening? First, the Prince rejected me from ever visiting my sister. Then, Daleri hesitated for a long time, agreeing to come with me. And Lucy herself didn't want me to come! Was the bruise in her hand the reason? My chest tightened at that. "Daleri..." I said in a shaky voice. "You know why she has those bruises on her body, don't you?" "Yes," Daleri said, pursing her lips. "I-Is it, Evans?" I continued to stare at the empty place for a long time. "Yes." My breath shuddered as I felt a lump in my throat. Emotions swirled in my heart, making me harder to breathe. Why? What did my sister do to deserve this? How much had she suffered till this date? While I was at the palace, enjoying my daily meal and service of Daleri, Lucy had actually been facing life and death situations! Tears formed in my eyes, just thinking of that. "Gramps, why did Lucy have to face such a monster?" I whispered to myself as a sob choked out of my mouth. Before I could rush after Lucy, I heard someone knocking on the front door. I stopped in my tracks as I heard Lucy's footsteps, hurrying down the corridor, dashing toward the front door. She passed by the living room and unlocked the door. As soon as she did, I heard more noises of footsteps. Followed by another noise that made my breath stuck in my throat. It was as if someone had thrown something heavy on the floor. Then I heard low whispers and groaning voices coming from the hallway. I couldn't stop myself at this point. I just couldn't. Someone was attacking my sister, and it all happened in a split of a second! So fast that I couldn't even react! I grabbed a table lamp and gripped it tightly. Raising it in the attacking position, I walked over slowly toward the hallway, only to find an astonishing image before me. My sister was struggling while a man wearing black clothes had grabbed her hands above her head. His head was in the crook of her neck. I could hear the constant sound of someone sipping something. My mouth fell open at this sudden attack. I was frozen, and I couldn't move a limb. The stomach churned as I stared at my sister's body falling weakly on the ground. 渐渐地，她停止了挣扎。那男人后退了几步，擦了擦嘴。血从他的嘴角滴落，他用手背擦拭着。“这就是你违抗我命令的下场，贱人！” 那个声音！就是那个把露西从派对上带走的人。我无法忘记这个粗犷、嘶哑的声音，带着一丝恶意。乔治这次彻底越界了。就连利亚姆都不敢吸我的血。除了把我推到床上，他什么也没做，只是说话和吼叫。如果非要比较这两个人，利亚姆好一万倍！难怪老国王选他做下一任吸血鬼王储。我的手指握成拳头，指甲深深地嵌进我的皮肤里。我盯着面前的黑衣人，手腕上的青筋清晰可见。“可……我……没……没……”露西用疲惫的嘴巴咕哝着。“闭嘴！”他冰冷的眼睛盯着躺在地上的女人。“我告诉过你不要邀请任何人，更别说女人了！我看到外面有女人的鞋子！你竟敢交朋友？” 就在他举起手要打露西的脸时，我强迫我的腿走过去。“乔治！住手！”我对着那男人的脸大喊，抓住他的手腕。“哦，原来是你，我们未来的女王。”他啐了一口，抽回手腕，把我推了回去。我踉跄着，扶住一个柜子才站稳。就在这时，我注意到了利亚姆和这个男人之间的区别。这位王子从未这样虐待过我。当然，他捏过我的下巴，紧紧抓住我的手腕，亲吻我，整夜都和我做爱，但他从未用这种杀意看着我。这个黑衣人可以瞬间杀了我！恐惧紧紧抓住我的心，我的腿颤抖着。“你不应该来这里，亲爱的艾米丽。”又是这句话！我的胃紧张地绞在一起，等待着那个男人的反应。果然，乔治没有让我失望。他俯身，刚抬起腿要踢我的肚子，事情就发生了。