Married To The Mad Vampire Lord-Chapter 205: Wishes

After the experience they had with the old man, Rohan decided that there was no use walking in the fair anymore. She had gotten to walk in the snow and even touch it a few times and let it slide down her fingers, and for the worry that something else might disrupt her mind again like the so-called fortune teller, Rohan took her to his final destination, the purpose of their outing: the opera.

And thankfully, the opera experience was enough to take her mind off that old man.

They sat in one of the private boxes at the top, away from the crowds that had bothered Rohan at first. But after being in the private box, he relaxed a bit.

But no matter what he did, he could not focus on the singer and kept watching his wife, trying to gauge her expression to know if she was enjoying herself. He wanted to see the story of the song through her expression as he noticed occasional smiles pull on her lips, and she bit back a chuckle as the people in the hall laughed at something being sung by the singer. But for the life of him, he could not find any enjoyment in what they watched but found it in the face of the woman beside him.

It had taken many distractions to make her cheer up again after what that man said, and if he could help it, he would make sure for the rest of today nothing troubled her again.

He was still watching her when she turned to him as if sensing his stare. She frowned, "You’re not watching the opera," she pointed out.

"I am." His hand closed over hers on her lap. "Watch the opera," he told her. He was watching through her expression and did not need to watch the story musical being played.

Belle forced her gaze to the stage, where the soprano was singing passionately about a lost lover. Tears shimmered on the singer’s face, and Belle wondered if she was thinking about a real lover. Whoever the woman mourned, the notes of the aria ached with emotion.

"It’s beautiful," Belle whispered.

"I can play this piece note for note," Rohan said, his breath warm against her ear. "But I cannot capture its soul."

"Oh." She squeezed his hand.

Rohan almost said, Teach me to hear it the way you do, but he knew that was impossible.

To him, she was like one of the rare, pure hearts he kept in his secret treasure boxes, delicate in beauty, yet with a hidden core of steel. Dark hearts would shatter or crumble under pressure, but pure hearts, the ones that were quietly brave, endured. They waited, waited for hands like his.

A collector. Someone who would recognize their worth, treasure them, keep them safe in a box far away from the darkness that stalked the world. Only, she had been introduced to that darkness now, and there was no going back.

Belle closed her eyes to listen, the soft curls at her forehead quivering with the hush of her breath. He liked how her hair loosened, like silk unthreading from a tapestry.

The soprano ended the piece on a final, soaring note.

Belle clapped instinctively, her smile glowing, her eyes bright with wonder. Rohan could sense the emotions swirling inside her by the music that told a story, but despite having his heart, it did not touch him enough to make him clap his hands, because he did not understand the emotions in the music he listened to.

Belle seemed to have no trouble understanding or responding to the joy in the music like every other person in the hall.

When she looked up at him, tears clinging to her lashes, he instinctively leaned down and kissed her.

She startled, her hands rising as though to push him away. But then she rested them on his shoulders instead, and a soft, yielding sound left her lips.

He needed her. Tonight.

He wanted to see the warmth rise in her eyes, to feel her cheeks grow hot with longing. He wanted to caress the tender bloom between her thighs until her body responded with need. He wanted to sink into her and lose himself in her until he found release—and then start all over again.

He wanted to wake with her head on his pillow and press kisses to her eyelids as they fluttered open.

His tongue brushed her lower lip. She tasted of honey, warm spice. He felt her pulse quicken beneath his fingertips, her breath searing his skin. He wanted that heated breath trailing down to where he ached for her, his need for her already hard and demanding. He wanted her mouth there, the way she kissed him now, eager, tender, sure.

He pulled away just as quickly as the kiss had started and let his fingers slide through the loose strands of her hair before he turned her head back towards the stage.

Another piece began to play, and just like the first one, he barely knew what the opera was about, and he did not give a bone about it. He watched his wife all the way until the end of the opera.

"Did you enjoy it?" Rohan asked as they walked out of the opera before the crowd would begin to rush out. They did not wait for the singers’ reappearance after the second half had ended and left.

"I enjoyed the first song, but the second one was boring and made me feel sleepy. But overall, it was a wonderful experience," Belle told him the truth, flushing a bit at the thought of how he had kissed her abruptly, as they walked away from the opera building.

"What about you? Did you like it?" she asked him.

Rohan cast her a lazy look and a smile, his gaze on her lips. "I enjoyed it. So much."

Belle’s red cheeks deepened, for some reason knowing he wasn’t talking about the opera but the kiss he had abruptly started and ended. They walked to their carriage parked right outside the building, where Rav was waiting.

But Rohan said he had another place close by to take her to, and she followed him.

The sun had already set by this time, and the horizon held a gloom to it that almost looked like it would rain. But it was impossible, thought Belle, as they walked to a place that was filled with lamp lights and a few people buying flying lanterns from a stall.

"Why are we here?" Belle asked as they stopped before the lantern stall, and Rohan gave a coin to take two of the lanterns.

"I heard from somewhere that when you write your wish on a flying lantern and let it float to the heavens, your wish comes true. It’s no longer snowing, it’s the right time to let go of a wish on a lantern on one’s birthday before the day ends. Here, take this." He handed her one of the colorful, unlit lanterns and a quill and ink to write what she wished for on the lantern.

Belle took it with a smile as she said, "And since when do you believe in such things?" She nudged his arm playfully to have him chuckle, and he replied, "Since the day I married a little human and want to do anything to make sure she lives long enough to keep amusing me."

Belle’s smile faltered a little as her eyes took on a sad look, and she said, "Humans can’t live as long as vampires." She turned away and went to find a place to set down the lantern so she could write her wish, while Rohan watched her back with narrowed eyes.

"Why would you have to say that now, my love?" he muttered to himself as he turned around and began to write his own wish down on his lantern. Yes, humans do not live long, and their lifespan was far shorter than that of a vampire, but if he had to turn her into a vampire someday to make her stay with him, he would do it.

He swiftly began to write down his wish. It wasn’t too much he was asking for—only that she would live and be healthy. Then he lit the lantern and turned, just in time to see her coming back with her own lantern already glowing. She was smiling, and the golden light illuminated her face, where her cheeks were red from the cold and her eyes glimmered with happiness once again.

"The lanterns are beautiful!" she exclaimed, her voice full of wonder as she looked up at the gloomy sky. All around them, people had begun to let go of their lanterns, and their warm light floated upward, illuminating the darkness like drifting stars.

"What did you wish for?" he asked her, and she pursed her lips and scoffed, "Wishes are not to be told, not unless you don’t want them to come true. Let’s go and release our lanterns." She pulled him forward to the edge of a bridge where people were letting go of the flying lanterns.

But just as they were about to release theirs, the weather, which Belle had noticed looked too gloomy, with thick dark clouds, began to flash with lightning, like it would rain.

"Rain? How’s that possible when it’s winter here?" she asked as a freezing rain began to slowly fall from the sky, causing everyone to run away to find shelter before they freeze to death.

"Fuck. Freezing rain. It happens once in a while here. We need to find shelter!" He grabbed her hand and made her let go of her lantern, and his along with it, which fell to the ground and was soon extinguished by the rain.

She turned over her shoulder as Rohan pulled her, looking back at the lanterns of their wishes.

They never got to make their wishes.

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