Married To The Mad Vampire Lord-Chapter 569: Terrified_Part 1

She didn’t want to believe he meant every word he spoke, but her heart believed them anyway. Her eyes stung as she realized that he now held the power to hurt her far more deeply than Eryx ever had, if this turned out to be a lie.

She felt the priest turn toward her, and she knew that it was her turn to give her vows. Nervousness crept inside her as she belatedly realized she had forgotten almost everything she had memorized to say to Eryx.

Elle searched her mind, but only fragments of the vows came back to her. When she hesitated to speak, she felt a gentle pressure in her hand, the one Angel was holding, as if he were silently encouraging her to speak, reassuring her that it was all right.

"I... I, Arielle Hathaway..." She cleared her throat, her voice shaky but audible. "I swear before everyone here to be a faithful wife to you, and loyal... to stand by you in sickness and in health... to be your friend and your partner..." Her words faltered there as she struggled to find more, her mind unable to make up anything that could possibly match the weight and sincerity of his own vows.

As if understanding her struggle, Angel turned slightly toward the priest, who immediately took the cue that the bride was finished. The priest began another prayer, his voice echoing through the church, and then he announced, "With the power invested in me by Almighty God, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

No one clapped among the guests except the Dagons and the bride’s family. People were murmuring and sneering at the wedding.

But Finn, determined to make up for his mistake in ever introducing Elle to a scumbag like Eryx, turned toward the crowd. With a subtle use of his demon powers, he compelled them into clapping and cheering, the sound booming against the high stone walls and beneath the multicolored windows of the church.

Elle turned toward the suddenly cheering crowd and felt a fragile sense of reassurance settle over her. She found herself beginning to relax, when the priest continued,

"You may now kiss your bride."

Her heart thudded as her eyes snapped back to her groom. Never in a million years had she imagined she would be marrying Angel today, let alone standing here waiting to share a kiss with him. He had never kissed her on the mouth before, and she felt her fingers clench tighter around his hand, which still held hers steadily.

What would kissing Angel be like? she wondered as she waited for him to lift her sheer veil. She hadn’t liked Eryx’s kisses; they had always bruised her and left her dreading the next one, making her wish never to be kissed again. She wondered if it would be the same with Angel.

He released her hand slowly and reached out, carefully lifting her veil.

Her eyes widened as she was given a clear view of his breathtakingly handsome face so closed to hers. She clenched her fingers against her dress as he leaned down towards her. She braced herself for the force she expected against her mouth.

But instead of kissing her on the lips, her groom kissed the side of her lips.

It was a warm, gentle touch that sent a fluttering sensation through her stomach. She felt something soft and unfamiliar blooming inside her chest.

Before she could dwell further on the sensation, he straightened almost immediately, a small smile playing on his face.

She felt herself flush beneath his gaze and ducked her head shyly, her heart still racing.

---

After the wedding, the planned reception didn’t go through as it was meant to, as the guests were in a hurry to leave, especially since most of them were Eryx’s relatives. The family returned to the Hathaway residence in silence, but the moment they reached the house, the silence fell away. The mothers took their children into separate rooms to have a word with them.

Belle held her younger son’s hand and took him to an empty bedroom, with her daughter following behind them. The moment they entered the room, Finn spoke quickly.

"I am sorry, Mama. I really didn’t know he was a bastard—"

He didn’t complete the word, as he had been warned by his mother to refrain from using curse words.

"I really didn’t know him that well. Aryen and I were running an errand for Aunt Evenly last year when we met him in a shop and became friends since then," he began to explain hurriedly.

They had known Eryx before they began their demon hunting, and they had known him as a man who enjoyed nightlife. But after he met Elle, he had stopped going to places like that, because Finn had not even seen him there during all of their hunts. He had told his mother many times that Eryx was a good man and that he came from a respectable family whenever she asked whether Elle’s fiancé was good.

Now he couldn’t help but feel his father was right when he said he was bad at judging character.

"It was my fault. I played a matchmaker because I wanted to be praised when everything turned out well, Mama," Finn said, looking down at his boots. "You always talked about how Brother Max saved Elle’s life and everything he did for Aunt Evenly. I wanted to also do something, so I matched her with a man who liked to explore, because she also liked to hear about every place I could go to with my powers. I really didn’t know he was someone like that..." Finn whispered as he wiped at his eyes.

Belle stared at her younger son for a moment before she pulled him forward and hugged him. Finn was rarely emotional, and when he became emotional, it meant something had truly touched him deeply. This time it was remorse.

When she pulled him into her embrace, he began to sob silently, saying,

"Brother M-Max will blame me, Mama. H-he warned me a few days ago t-that if Eryx turned out bad for Elle, he and I would have a long discussion. M-men don’t discuss for long, he’ll beat me and then hate me. I really didn’t mean to ruin anyone’s life..."

"Shh, I know. No, your brother won’t blame you for this nor will he beat you," Belle whispered, stroking his broad back. Though since Finn was little, she had noticed he carried so much of his father’s qualities. Where he might appear unbothered and destructive on the surface, his heart was soft, and he felt too deeply.

Sometimes she always thought and believed she had gone wrong somewhere as a mother, that her younger son felt the need to always prove himself by doing something that only turned out terribly bad. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, where he tried to do something similar to what Angel had done in the past, just to be seen as a hero.

Many times, she couldn’t help but blame herself or think she had gone wrong somewhere in raising them. Angel was now hurting, going through emotional pain he couldn’t even share with her, when until now he had shared everything with her. Her daughter liked her father more because she believed he understood her better than Belle did, and her son always tried to prove he could do everything his elder brother had done.

Many times, she found herself crying at night in her husband’s embrace when she thought about how her children were turning out to be and how they were slowly growing away from her. She pressured Rosey to dress like a lady because she wanted her daughter to experience the love of a partner and act less manly, not because of anything else.

But witnessing what had happened in the church today, Belle realized she wouldn’t mind keeping her daughter to herself forever if she chose to never get married, for men were really scumbags, just like Rosey always said.

"I am sorry..." she whispered into her son’s ear as he bent further into her hold. She stroked his hair gently.

Rosey, who had never seen Finn break down in tears like this in front of her, pressed her palm against her mouth and moved closer to stroke his back.

"Don’t blame yourself. The outcome wasn’t outrageous; everything turned out well. Angel got married to someone best for him, and Elle too. If what happened hadn’t, their marriage would never have happened, for they had grown apart from each other," she said, looking at her mother’s teary hazel eyes.

"Mama, none of this is your fault either. You two are crying, and now I feel like crying too," Rosey said, pursing her lips as she wiped tears off her face. "Hell, I hate crying because it takes away my voice! But you two are making me cry now."