Chapter 1
Never in her life would Charlotte Lane have expected something like this to happen to her, something she'd only ever seen in movies and books!
Maybe if she'd predicted it, things would have turned out completely differently now.
However, as we all know, it was too late, and there was nothing the dark-haired girl could do about it.
It didn't matter whether she wanted it or not, and that was the worst part.
And all she could do now was move forward, but even that wasn't one hundred percent certain.
It was no wonder she was torn by conflicting emotions, which didn't help her make this important decision.
Especially since her newfound power wasn't truly stable.
Consequently, she had to keep her emotions in check, which, as we all know, wasn't possible at the moment.
“Whatever, I'm lost! Holy shit, lost! What possessed me to throw that stupid ring? If I hadn't thrown it then, I wouldn't have it now, but then again…,” Words flashed through Charlotte's terrified mind like a machine gun.
Until she realized that if it weren't for him, she'd probably be smelling the flowers from the bottom by now.
Not to mention discovering a family secret she'd never know!
No wonder she couldn't control the feeling of her heart pounding in her chest because of it.
Hence, she tried desperately to catch her breath, but it didn't help, and that was the worst part.
It was because she hated being the center of attention.
She was suffocating in it and sweating profusely from nerves, which, as we all know, wasn't her fault.
Not to mention the fact that she felt faint every time she had to speak anywhere.
And now those awful flashbulbs would simply kill her.
They would burn right through her, and just like that, she would leave this cursed world.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw those stupid bulbs flickering dangerously.
As if they were about to blow out with a loud bang, blowing them apart from the inside.
Maybe it would be for the best, because then she wouldn't have to answer questions from these bloodthirsty, unscrupulous people.
With each passing moment, she was more and more certain that she would simply collapse.
That was because she could barely stand, and their gazes were piercing her.
She was finished, and yet she hadn't done anything to deserve this.
Or maybe she was only going through this now because she hadn't listened to her grandmother, who always told Charlotte.
That as soon as she got the engagement ring from her mother, she wouldn't get rid of it and would keep it with her.
Especially since that ring had been passed down from mother to daughter in their family for generations.
How could she have known then that something like this would happen?
Considering that it wasn't her fault, but her idiot father, who had decided to choose a husband for her.
Even though she told him she didn't need him to be happy, because he would only get in the way of what Lotte wanted to achieve.
She was completely out of the mood to listen to the other candidates her father sent her.
That's why she agreed to appear at that stupid birthday party for her boss's daughter, the one where her father worked.
Although he never bothered to tell her what he actually did.
She knew one thing: she had to find a way out of it, which wasn't as easy as she thought.
Lie, anything, because Charlotte knew it was impossible for vampires to actually exist.
And one representative of that race was currently gazing at her from behind his black glasses.
And on his face was a sort of strange and suspicious smile.
Although Lotte wouldn't have named it, she was sure of that.
“Please, say something... Anything! I kept repeating it like a mantra that it was just a stupid coincidence and wasn't serious at all!,” Charlotte muttered under her breath, unable to believe she was now accompanying him to this damn press conference.
A conference that only made matters worse, not better!
But he had no plans to help her, which she really didn't like.
It all started innocently enough a dozen or so days ago, and back then, Lotte had no idea what was about to happen.
As soon as she remembered, she went to a certain lady's birthday party.
Under the pretext that she preferred going to it to accepting more husband candidates.
Candidates whose list, instead of shrinking, was growing even larger.
Which was slowly starting to drive her crazy, to the point where she even pretended to be sick.
To not accept anyone, which, as we know, didn't work because her father saw through her lie.
It was as if he'd completely forgotten that the world had moved on and such things were now a thing of the past.
Charlotte knew he was worried about her, but on the other hand, she didn't want to get stuck in a relationship that had no future.
Where there was no emotion, just to please him, which, as we know, was out of the question.
Lotte had no intention of struggling with anyone, just to make her father happy and leave her alone.
That's why Charlotte was even more shocked when she heard his next words, which she'd been expecting anyway.
Because there was no way he was going to keep them quiet, the dark-haired girl was one hundred percent sure of that, and she wasn't wrong at all.
“How dare you, little brat, talk to me like that! If you don't choose one of those I've chosen for you, I'll choose one for you myself, and then you'll have no say in the matter!,” Arthur Lane replied after a moment, slamming his hands on the desk and glaring at her with murder written in his eyes.
As if he were relenting in his decision and refusing to understand that she wasn't a little girl anymore.
Therefore, there was no way she would just agree to this and be as afraid of him as she once was.
But now it was completely different, and she wasn't afraid of him at all, which is why she answered him as she had just heard him say.
“What are you asking?! You're not expecting me! I'd rather die than marry someone I've never even seen before! Do you want to ruin my life with such a meaningless marriage, where neither party will have any feelings for the other? Do you just want us to be married on paper, while having someone on the side in the meantime? That's sick, are you insane?! I don't know how my mother married you, it's some kind of misunderstanding! And I'm warning you, as soon as I find out the wedding date has been chosen, I'll kill myself that day before it happens! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for the party you insisted I attend!," Charlotte roared after a moment, before turning on her heel and leaving his office.
