**Ch 354: Orlando's Reflection

"You're wrong about me loving you because I was in love with the man you pretended to be. But I will never love the sadistic creature you hid behind the mask!" Victoria spit saliva in Orlando's face, and he hissed in full-on aggression. All four of his fangs expanded as he was about to rip into her neck, but before he knew what hit him, a loud crack came from his nose as he felt the effect of Victoria's blow. Upon the impact, he was immediately thrown out of her dream, and his body plummeted onto his foam mattress.

Orlando slowly sat up as he wiped the blood off his nose. "I knew I always admired her for a good reason." He chuckled to himself before he sucked the blood clean from his fingers.

"Are you done assaulting Victoria in her dreams?" Crystal asked him while she stood in the middle of the doorframe. She came here to see him, but she realized he wasn't anywhere in sight, although his lingering scent indicated that he was likely harassing Victoria in her dreams now that she knew the truth.

Crystal noted all her sleeping patterns from when they were roommates at the University. Truth be told, there wasn't much that she didn't know about her once they became besties, and then Orlando first became her boyfriend until he proposed to her. Up until Victoria woke Kai, everything was falling into perfect plan. Crystal recalled as she was partly annoyed that all their hard work was gradually slipping from their fingertips. 

As Orlando's nose was healing, he replied with an uncanny chuckle. "I'm in love."

The way he said it sent a shiver to her neck. She knew the horrifying things Orlando would do to women and vampiresses if they didn't heed him.

"I see she nailed you good. Perhaps you've underestimated her," Crystal remarked, then she narrowed her gaze at the thought. She hated the fact that Victoria was able to escape Orlando. Not too many people and sometimes vampiresses could manage that, but it seemed like Victoria somehow evaded her powerful cousin who was puissant in his solidity.

"She had Kai's help. Otherwise, I would've had a lot of fun with her," Orlando replied, licking his lips without realizing it, but he couldn't lie. Ever since he held Victoria as a newborn, she somehow managed to captivate him, and that infatuation with her only got worse as he watched her grow up into the beauty she is. Imagining her as a vampiress only made him slobber as he grinned without realizing he did.

But Crystal noticed, which caused her to gawk at him strangely for a brief second. Although, she wasn't about to ask why he was grinning stupidly. She knew her cousin too well for his high carnal urges for women and vampiresses. Nothing helped when his lust for Victoria made him mad at times. 

Every Blue Moon, he'd turn a young woman into a vampiress so he could use her. Young vampiresses were easy to manipulate until they got wise enough to move on from Orlando once they realized his charm was only guile in his ploy to keep his bed warm, which is why he'd always pick a special lady every Blue Moon for this reason. Women were known to stay in unfaithful relationships, whereas vampiresses eventually grew a brain and wouldn't tolerate being hustled and used anymore. 

Crystal has been waiting for the day Ashley would see straight through him, but she was transformed into a vampiress a thousand years ago, so she still needed time to mature. Unfortunately, Victoria would never get away from her cousin, and she could surely tell by his dazed eyes that he'd never be bored of her.

Of course, what he felt wasn't love, but it was more like a sinister game he felt he had won because he knew, for the time being, Victoria still loved him and not her mate. Orlando was too prideful to think he briefly had Kai's mate in his arms, which was like earning the grand prize in his eyes. 

Countless times, Orlando stole many vampiresses whom Kai was attracted to or dating. Too easily, he rolled those vampiresses into his seduction, with Samantha being one of them and Rose being the only faithful one. But to steal the heart of Kai's mate was better than licking the warm icing off the cake.

"Quit gloating in your head!" Crystal snapped at him for having that stupid look on his face as if Cupid had shot an arrow up his butt. Perhaps Victoria whacked him a little too hard in her dreams, she reckoned to herself.

Orlando hopped off his bed as he chuckled. "Relax. This is just the beginning of our victory." He guaranteed as he had full confidence since it was part of their plan to figure out if Victoria knew the truth. Now that she did, it was time to move forward with their malignant plans.

"Where are you going?" Crystal asked him as he pushed past her.

"To see my brother," Orlando replied as he felt the painful pang of his twin stinging through his heart. Being twins, they were naturally connected in a stronger hold compared to anyone else in their family. His brother's pain was his pain too.

"Grandpa Morbius is on the phone with Gaston Collin," Crystal informed him, and he nodded before he sauntered to Alejandro's bedroom from in the corridor. Without knocking, he entered and found his brother weeping over his detained wife.

"Kai will pay for doing this to Olivia." Orlando balled his fists to think back on how fast Kai detained her. 

They were winning the battle until Kai somehow seized Olivia. He detained her so quickly that there was nothing any of them could do. As usual, Kai knew the strategy to take any battle to gain his advantage, that a forfeit would be the only option to negotiate. Just when you think you've won, Kai somehow knew how to maneuver his tactics to win the upper hand, Orlando recalled as he concluded, the next time he faces Kai, he'll make sure the vampiresses aren't in the way for him to take the steal.

Not hearing a response from his weeping brother, Orlando touched his shoulder for a minute before he pounced himself to his grandfather's office. Grandma Aurora was on the couch as she was petting her hairless cat from on her lap. Beside her was his mother and his father, Mason Mill, whom everyone now called Mr. Mill. Aunt Emily and her husband Dwight were at the front on Morbius's desk as he sat in the chair. Everyone else stood around the room as they listened in on Morbius's conversation.

"...As of now, we won't cross territories, and the battle won't begin until after the vote. After all, Victoria is useless to me if she is dead." Those were the last words Orlando heard Grandpa Morbius say before he disconnected the call from his cell phone.