Meanwhile....

Hayley standing alone within the crowd of guests. She wasn’t engaging with anyone, wasn’t even pretending to be interested in the polite chatter happening all around her.

Instead, she kept taking glasses of wine from passing servants. One after another. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The wine was good, and smooth. But she wasn’t drinking it for the taste. She was drinking because she needed something to dull the storm building inside her chest.

At first there was this lingering jealousy from earlier. From how Ethan had mostly engaged just Isabella at the party.

She hated that she felt it and hated that it was there at all.

And then there was the anger.

The white-haired vampire, Andrea. A princess who had attacked and nearly killed them was here, walking freely through this gathering like nothing had happened.

Hayley’s thoughts blurred together and the alcohol wasn’t helping. It was making everything louder.

She took another drink, draining the glass in one go, and handed it off to a passing servant without looking.

Then she saw her again. Andrea, moving through the crowd. Hayley froze for a second as her eyes locked onto the white haired vampire.

"Stay calm," Hayley muttered under her breath. "Stay calm."

But her feet were already moving. She pushed off the column and started forward, keeping Andrea in her line of sight.

The crowd was thick, bodies shifting and blocking her view every few seconds.

Hayley tried to weaved between them as quickly as she could, never letting her gaze leave the white-haired figure ahead.

Andrea turned a corner, disappearing into a side passage, and Hayley followed.

The noise of the gathering began to fade as she moved further from the main hall. The passage led toward the outer sections of the mansion where it was less populated.

Hayley’s pulse quickened.

She stepped through another archway, emerging into a smaller courtyard. The space was dimly lit, with only a few lanterns hanging from iron posts along the perimeter.

The sounds of the gathering was distant now.

Hayley looked around, scanning the area, but saw no one. She turned again, breathing unevenly with her hands curling into fists. "Where did she go?"

Then a feminine voice came from behind her.

"Why are you following me, you dozy bint?"

Hayley spun sharply, her amber eyes flaring.

Andrea stood a few paces away. She had removed her mask now, revealing her face fully. Her red eyes glinted and she no bore no expression whatsoever.

Hayley’s anger flared instantly. "You... you attacked us.... You fuckin’ bitch!."

Andrea tilted her head slightly, looking unbothered. "Did I?"

Hayley took a step forward. "Don’t play games with me."

Andrea smirked. "Oh, I’m not playing anything, love. But you might want to reconsider what you’re doing right now."

Hayley’s fists clenched tighter. "You think I’m scared of you?"

"You should be," Andrea said simply. "If this weren’t a public event filled with almost every important family in Grayfort, I’d have already dealt with you."

"Stay away from me," Andrea continued, her voice dropping lower. "Because if I see you again, outside of a place like this, where I’m not being watched..."

Then she stepped forward, brushing past Hayley without another word.

Hayley’s entire body was tensed from it all. She wanted to move and lash out at this vampire princess

But then Ethan’s words echoed in her mind.

"Stay calm."

Her hands trembled as she turned, watching Andrea’s figure disappear back into the house.

For a while, Hayley just stood there, then, suddenly, she yelled.

It was with frustration and fury.

Then she stopped and looked down at her hands, then up at the empty space where Andrea had been.

"What are you even doing?" she muttered to herself, sounding almost bitter.

After a while more, she sighed and walked back toward the house.

Ethan had stepped back into the room where the others still gathered.

That was when Beatrice Morgenstein finally saw him. For a moment, everything else seemed to blur as her breath caught.

A strange, sudden flutter stirred in her chest. Her fingers curled slightly as her gaze lingered on him longer than she intended.

What the hell is this?

It wasn’t supposed to feel like this. Not anymore.

She thought and had convinced herself that whatever had once existed between them had faded.

And yet...

Her heart betrayed her. It beat faster and Annoyingly so.

Beatrice exhaled quietly, trying to steady herself, but the feeling refused to settle. "...You’ve got to be kidding me," she muttered under her breath, almost irritated.

It couldn’t be that.

There was no way she still—

No.

Beatrice cut the thought off before it could fully form.

-

Ethan rejoined Isabella, who had been speaking with Maya. She turned toward him immediately, looking rather curious.

"How did it go?" she asked. "What did she want?"

Ethan was going to respond, but before he could say anything, the atmosphere in the hall changed again.

Conversations dulled out as heads turned towards Lady Audrey whose presence had commanded their attention.

She stood at a point in the hall where her gaze swept across the gathered nobles and elites.

"Before the evening concludes," she began, "there is one more matter I would like to address."

The room quieted further. Then she turned her gaze toward a specific section of the crowd.

"Prince Alistair Tudor... Would you join me?"

A ripple of surprise moved through some of the guests.

From across the hall, Alistair stepped forward. There was wore no mask on his face as he crossed the space and came to stand beside Lady Audrey.

Their eyes met briefly as some level of acknowledgment passed between them.

Then they both turned to face the crowd.

"I am pleased to share with you all," Lady Audrey began, "that Prince Alistair and I are expecting a child."

There was total silence but only because the shock spreading through their faces had been too great to let them utter a word.

Heads turned toward one another with disbelief on their faces. Whispers began, it subtle and low at first, then it grew louder.

"Did she just...?"

"A child?"

"With him?"

"She’s... how old is she?"

The murmurs filled the room. Some guests stared openly, unable to hide their shock. Others looked away, though their discomfort was obvious.

A few faces showed calculation instead of surprise. These were the ones who immediately began thinking of what this meant politically.

Ethan’s eyes widened. But it was nothing compared to Isabella, who looked more confused than he had ever seen her.

She was genuinely unable to fully process what she had just heard.

Audrey, for her part, remained perfectly composed. Her smiling expression didn’t waver one bit.

There was no sort of shame for her, in fact, it looked as though she had just announced the most natural thing in the world.

Alistair was equally calm as he met the gazes of those who stared at him without flinching.

The silence stretched on for brief moment. Then, from somewhere in the crowd, a single person began to clap.

Slowly and Hesitantly, another joined. Then another.

The applause built gradually, spreading through the hall. Some clapped out of politeness. Others out of shock, unsure of what else to do.

Both Alistair Audrey inclined her head graciously, acknowledging the response from the crowd.

The applause continued for a few moments longer, then began to taper off, leaving behind a lingering tension that filled the room.

—-

A/N: The App isn’t letting me put up Andrea’s picture. So check or join discord to see.