CHAPTER 428: MEANT TO BE

As the sun painted the horizon with its signature orange, pinkish hue, Arabella hurried for no other purpose than to stand near the main entrance of the manor where greeting her husband would be easier.

Upon his arrival however, a strong gust of wind blew past her figure, almost knocking her off balance before she could reach him.

Indeed, Katherine and Grace had zoomed so quickly to meet him at the door that their bodies nearly collided.

"My Lord!" Katherine cried, "Anything at all?"

In front of their big, round and glistening eyes, Silas did not seem all that... Glad nor did it look like good news was written across his features.

"Unfortunately, nothing," he shook his head.

"You may take a moment to rest, Silas," Persephone’s voice blared from behind Arabella. In lieu of the stunning kind of gowns her mother in law had always donned, the vampiress turned out just as exquisite in skin tight pants and a leather coat.

"It is alright, mother. I don’t need-"

"I insist," she cut him off while walking nearer, the squeaking of her leather boots distracting from the unbearable quiet during the silent gaps between words, "Take an hour or two. Breathe," she then turned to Katherine and Grace who were barely holding their nerves together, "You two are coming with me,"

"Then take the party and go south," before they disappeared out of sight, Silas spoke up, "I’ve thoroughly searched the eastern side and Cynric has covered the western parts,"

"Cynric?" the Lady’s eyebrows furrowed.

She was far from being the only one taken aback. Although, the little rush of relief that had trickled down Arabella’s lungs quickly vanished when noting the cold glower her husband sent her way.

The young woman had leaned over the pillar decorating the entrance of the lounge room for support after the sister had nearly pushed her, but she never let go of it.

That stance, half covered by the construction, earned her the most sheepish of outlooks.

"Yes, he has agreed to land us a hand for a price he has yet to state,"

"I have no complaints to make," Persephone sighed before basically evaporating under Arabella’s eyes.

Though, she knew better than to believe that.

More vampires followed suit after the Lady, leaving almost only an all-daytime staff occupancy.

Aside from Silas, a small group of them remained behind, hoping to avoid anything like what had happened on the spring equinox from taking place again.

"How are you feeling?" he stopped mere inches away from her.

"I have fully recovered since yesterday," she gave him a little nod.

"I apologize. I opted not to use my blood as I feared it would make things worse for you,"

"Oh, it wouldn’t have," Arabella stated as a matter of factly.

In response, Silas just furrowed his eyebrows and waited.

"Morgana came by earlier today," she started, "In fact, she is still here, trying to help with Allegra’s search but all in all, the area around my heart has simply started expelling your blood out of my system,"

"So, according to her, it acts like any other medicine," he half asked.

"Well, based on her findings since the old tests conducted on you, your blood lasts in one’s body for around two to three days. We can wait for the doctors’ results to confirm it, but I’ve decided to stop worrying already. There are more pressing matters to tend to,"

"The disappearance of Allegra doesn’t have to take away from the severity of your condition and... Speaking of Allegra," he paused momentarily, "It was you that wrote Cynric, wasn’t it?"

"I am sorry," she started flicking her nails together while looking down at them, "I thought more helping hands meant better chances at getting results,"

"You were right and you did the right thing," his hand rose and rested upon her head, "I would have never dared write Cynric even if I wanted to, so...,"

Silas offered her a hand and guided her along with him, upstairs, towards their room.

After a short moment of strained peace, Arabella could hold it no more, "I didn’t trust you," she blurted.

"We don’t have to talk about that for the time being,"

"But we do," the murmur came brittle, "Had I gathered enough courage and come to you we could have discussed the many, various ways we should have approached the situation and perhaps... All of this would have been avoided,"

"You can’t think that way," Silas opened the window in the room, allowing little droplets of rain to sneak in and tap his face.

"It’s the only way I can think, really," she took a seat on the lounge chair, "I did that once before, with Edna and it ended in a disaster so why didn’t I learn from it?"

"Because I never confronted you with the truth either. I simply couldn’t for we weren’t... This close,"

Her eyes clung to the wall in front of her as her mind went back and forth on whether to share her next thought out loud.

Eventually, however, it seemed that her heart made that decision for her, "Do you, sometimes, believe that we rushed into... This marriage?"

Waiting for the answer to come was an agony of a special kind. Her heart refused to simmer, no matter how much she internally begged it to.

But when he touched her, every fiber in her being froze. When he picked her off the chair in order to sit under her, her heart took a breath.

"It lurks at the very back of my mind, of course, but then I...," his diamonds strayed somewhere far away from their realm, "Then I remember you, your smile, your voice, scent and it immediately cowers away. I do believe we are meant to be and not just because I love you, Arabella,"

Sitting on his lap, their faces hovered so close to one another that every breath one expelled, the other felt on their skin.

"As difficult as it is to see through my own fears, deep down, I know I’ve made the right decision when I said yes to you as well,"