Chapter １８

That night, I didn't let Liam enter the bedroom. I was already frustrated enough because of all the political mess. But he dared to hide the fact that he had already considered getting married to me without even asking twice? Not only that, he even selected a wedding date, a month from today! This infuriated me even more!

It wasn't like I would have rejected him, but I still had a pride that screamed for an adult discussion. What would happen if he ended up making my decisions in the future without even asking me?

This made me even more frustrated. I hated it when things weren't in my control.

From the next day, Olivia urged me to practice my magic in the morning, and the afternoon would be spent in practicing how to be a queen.

Honestly, I felt like I had suddenly entered into a princess movie or something. She made me walk for an hour carrying a stack of five books on my head. The entire time I glared at her, revealing my frustration. But she only ignored my reaction and added another book at the top of my head. After that, I didn't dare to complain.

But that wasn't the worst. The worst was when I had to practice my conversation with others as a queen, and Liam had willingly volunteered.

At first, I felt moved by his actions. But who would have thought that he wanted to use this opportunity to enact revenge against me for not letting him enter the bedroom anymore?

In between the conversation, he would suddenly grab my hands, pull me closer, and kiss me until I'm gasping for breath. And then, he would coldly say that this wasn't how a queen should act.

I wanted to complain to Olivia, but she had an amused expression on her face, making me swallow my words. She was actually enjoying this!

The entire vampire society was acting against me!

…

The day finally came when I would get married to Liam and become a queen officially. This day, a sacred mating ceremony would be performed by the officiating vampire priest.

In the morning, I sat before the mirror wearing white wedding robes, and I chewed my bottom lips nervously. Daleri combed my silky hair behind me.

"Don't be nervous. You're doing fine."

"But so many vampires are going to attend the ceremony!" The thought of a hundred sets of eyes judging me with squinted eyes sent a chill down my spine. "I'm trembling due to nervousness." Turning toward Daleri, I grabbed her wrist and made a pitiful expression. "I won't mess it up, will I? The hunters are after me." I mumbled the last words as I became even more nervous. My eyelashes fluttered and I looked at Daleri with a pale face. "What if they attack me during the wedding ceremony?"

After that, I kept muttering something about the wedding ritual and the hunters under my breath that I don't think Daleri understood. Just then, a hand patted my head bringing me back to the present. The maid smiled at me warmly. "Don't worry, my lady. You'll be fine. Liam and Lady Olivia will protect you." She said and caressed my head gently.

Seeing her motherly tone, I calmed down a bit and took a few deep breaths. "You're right. I'm worrying for nothing." But the thought that the hunters might attack stuck in my head making me even more nervous.

Just then, Daleri went toward the cabinet and searched everything with a frown on her forehead. For a long time, she kept searching. The noise of things colliding inside the cabinet echoed and it made me even more nervous.

"What're you doing?"

"My lady, I can't locate your favorite hair clip. Where did I keep it?"

My eyes widened at that. Anxiety climbed at its peak in my mind and I exploded. "What do you mean you can't find it?" I got up and stared at Daleri with widened eyes as if the maid had committed a crime.

Daleri bit her lips and said, "Don't worry, miss. I'm searching for the clip."

"No, this can't happen!" I knew something would go wrong at the wedding. If not the hunters, it had to be my missing clip! "Find it! Otherwise, I won't be able to get married!"

I was practically shaking because of how nervous I was. Thankfully, before I could become mentally unstable due to stress, Daleri finally found the clip. She closed the cabinet and smiled at me, waving the small clip that complimented my wedding dress. "See? I told you I'd find it. You were stressing out yourself for such a small thing."

After hearing her words, I realized that I really was nervous. After taking a few deep breaths, I tried to calm my nerves. "Don't worry Emily, everything's alright. There's no hunters, I got my clip, and my Gramps is standing just outside the bedroom. Nothing's wrong!" I muttered to myself, feeling stable after a long time.

I got ready, my Grandpa waited outside the room as he wiped his tears. Patting my head gently, he said in a tearful voice, "My baby girl has grown up and is going to get married."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm already living with Liam. What are you crying for Gramps?" It didn't make sense. I should already be married in a sense since I have been living with the prince for a while now. What was the point of crying now when I was getting married to the same person? It was almost like I was in a dorm while studying, and finally got a job in the same city! I'd still be living somewhere else, then why become sad over the fact that I'm getting married?

Seeing Grandpa's helpless face after hearing my comment, I swallowed my words and gestured to him to walk. He took me toward the wedding hall.

People were bustling around from a distance. But as soon as they saw me, they gasped and showed an excited expression, murmuring amongst themselves.

Until now, everything felt normal. Liam and his subordinates arranged the wedding ceremony, which looked almost like how an American couple would get married. Nothing felt out of the place.

My thoughts drifted off to the mating ceremony. Even thinking about it made my ears turn red. Daleri had said that Liam would share his aura with me during sexual intercourse. As soon as I remembered this, millions of images flashed in my eyes of the times me and Liam spent together on the bed almost every night. The blush spread on my cheeks at that.

"Why is your face so red?" Grandpa was confused when he looked at my expression, not understanding why I would suddenly turn red. Seeing his innocent expression, I turned even redder. How could I tell Grandpa what exactly I was thinking about?

I averted my eyes. "Nothing."

Grandpa was still confused, but he let it go and smiled. Did he think I was nervous? He better think that rather than realizing that I was thinking of doing 'this' and 'that' with Liam on the bed.

I bit my lips, trying to hide my emotions that were almost visible on the surface. Soon, we reached the door that was wide opened. If I just walk a few steps ahead, my wedding dress would be visible to everyone inside the chapel. Suddenly, my heart thumped against my chest. Perspiration formed on my forehead at the thought of standing in front of so many vampires.

And then there were hunters. What if there were spies among the guests? What if they tried to attack us while we were busy in the wedding rituals?

Millions of thoughts swirled in my head, but I simply took a deep breath and turned toward Grandpa. "Let's go, Gramps."

As soon as I entered, the surrounding quieted as a soothing music played in the background. Everyone was present except for Olivia. She didn't want my Grandpa to remember someone he should have forgotten about.

It's too late for her to resume her love story. My Gramps was already old enough.

So it was just my Gramps, Liam, Derrick, and Daleri, who rushed in after I was already at the door, as the family members. Oh, and Daleri and regular maids acted as bridesmaids. Lucy wasn't here because Liam didn't want to invite George. To be honest, I felt depressed on this, but I didn't whine this time and asked for Lucy's presence. If George was one of the main members of the hunter's group, it was dangerous to have him here.

I hoped Lucy would forgive me for her and my sake.

The guests included Liam's subordinates and Derrick's old friends. I couldn't find any men in black that was a relief. Even though I had never seen these people, I had gone through the list of guests before the wedding.

And then I turned my gaze toward the one person who would spend his entire life with me. My heartbeat went faster after seeing his lips curling up into a dazzling smile upon seeing me enter. He didn't smile widely, but his lips curved up a little to give an impression that Liam perhaps hadn't even realized that he was smiling.

My eyes were stuck to his smiling face. He was wearing a white tuxedo with a red flower stuck on his pockets. Golden cufflinks shine brightly in the light.

As I walked near and stood right before him, my heartbeat went faster and faster. I even forgot that we weren't at the palace at the moment.

I nervously fidgeted my fingers. Eyes everywhere but toward a certain man wearing white clothes. For some reason, I was glad this Liam was wearing white, not black. Otherwise, I would have fainted due to anxiety and overthinking.

The hired priest seemed to be a human. He uttered a few words in a different language that I can't tell.

In a Spanish accent, the priest said, "Now you may say the vows."

Vows!

I froze. I didn't write my vows. How could I forget such an important thing? I really wanted to travel back in time and hit myself. What the hell was I doing when Olivia was explaining everything to me? I could already imagine her angry expression if I failed to utter a single word today!

I shuddered and became even more nervous. I swallowed my nervousness and took a deep breath. If I wasn't wearing any makeup, I would have sweated profusely due to nervousness.

Gripping my own finger for comfort, I said in a shaky voice, "I-I um I-I never expected to get married today." Damn it! Why was I saying this? What should I say? I didn't dare to lift my eyes to watch Liam's expressions. I could hear murmuring in the background as a few people chuckled. This made my limbs tremble. My knees went soft. If not for the reminder of Olivia's fuming face, I would have dropped on the ground out of extreme exhaustion due to nervousness. Thinking of her, I shook my head and pursed my lips. I had to say something! It's the wedding vows. But why was my mind blank?

I parted my lips and said whatever came in my mind. "I never thought I would be selected. It's absurd. I was a normal human being, but I suddenly became the human partner for a vampire prince! Imagine my surprise!" God, what was I saying? People were laughing at me! I just wanted to find a hole and jump inside it to hide myself. Gritting my teeth, I continued. "What I never thought was this guy would be completely opposite to what I had expected. I had thought he was a cruel person willing to suck any human's blood and kill them. I had also heard in my college that Liam was just another greedy and selfish person. Some rumors even said about how ruthless he was toward the criminals." More laughter echoed across the hall making me blush in embarrassment. I wanted to die. Why was I talking about Liam's rumored cruelty? Someone just shut my mouth! "But then he behaved completely differently. None of those rumors were right, an-and…" What now? Should I continue to ramble or should I just make shut my mouth? I gnashed my jaw and decided to continue. I had already embarrassed myself so much. It wouldn't be worse than what I had already said!

After taking a deep breath, I calmed my nervous heart, and continued. "And my heart started to change." I paused and bit my lips before saying the next words. "Liam, I promise to be with you for my entire life in sickness and in death, loving and caring for you. I-I'm willing to spend my life following you around. And if you try to make me mad somehow, be ready to be kicked out of the bedroom!" A loud echo of laughter emerged as people chuckled. Ah, I wanted to hide my face. What the hell did I just say? My words had been emotional until I uttered the last words! Damn it!

I reluctantly raised my head. I didn't want to see the expression on Liam's face. I was afraid of him right now. He wouldn't kill because of my useless unprepared vow, will he? My lower lips quivered. But when I looked at him after a long time, my heart skipped a beat.

He had a warm smile on his face that almost felt affectionate.