Chapter 17：What's wrong?

"Let's end our engagement, Thea." Gavriel's tone was hard and firm. The atmosphere in the balcony abruptly turned incredibly chilly. Gavriel was berating himself for actually forgetting about this. He should've dealt with Thea first before bringing his wife in the palace. But the matter of his prior engagement to Thea absolutely slipped his mind. It would be fair to even say it probably didn't weigh much in his mind in the first place. He should've spoken to Thea as soon as he arrived in the capital while his wife was still asleep!

"No." Thea didn't even hesitate. Her gaze on Gavriel was serious and unrelenting. Looking as though she would never give in no matter what Gavriel say or do to her.

Gavriel looked surprised at Thea's answer. It never crossed his mind that she would refuse. To the vampires, engagements were as serious as vows. Even if it was an engagement made by politics, it was something that wasn't easily severed. The engagement could only be legally severed if both parties are in mutual agreement to break it. If one of them refuse, no one could break the engagement. This was why Gavriel had hated his forced engagement to Thea. He knew that the emperor had arranged this engagement so he would be tied to something, since Thea's father was the emperor's loyal general.

Gavriel didn't hate Thea because it wasn't her fault and since they were young, Thea had never clung onto him like some desperate female. Before he left the empire, the two of them rarely see or even talk to each other. They had never even tried to form any romantic connections with each other before and that was why Gavriel even forget that he had a fiancée sometimes. He knew that the same was true with Thea. Even when they first met, they never enjoyed each other's company. And Thea had never tried approaching him before. She only started approaching him and talking to him when he returned just more than a month ago. So why was she refusing the annulment of their engagement now?

"I don't mind, Gavriel."

Her answer made Gavriel's eyes narrow. "I mind. You know I will never have more than one wife."

"I know."

"Then why are you refusing? Did your father threaten you?"

Thea played with her dark brown locks as she answered. "No. My decision has nothing to do with father or anyone else. This is my own decision."

Gavriel's jaws tightened. "Then what exactly do you want to happen for still refusing like this?"

There have been many cases of vampire engagements where one party refuses to end the engagement. But because of the vampire's law allowing polygamy, the man can always marry someone else even if he was still engaged to another girl. Thus, most of the females who refused to sever the engagement gave up in the end while some just let it until they got married to someone else.

"She's a human, Your Highness. If she's a vampire, I'd give you up right here, right now. But she's a human."

"What exactly are you trying to say? So what if she's human?" Gavriel didn't know why but he was ticked off. He wasn't usually like this. He had dealt with so many sensitive and political issues before and nothing could make him lose his cool. So why was he suddenly pissed that Thea was pointing out that his wife was just a human?

"Your Highness, I'm certain you know what I'm trying to –"

"Just say it, Thea."

Thea was surprised. Was he testing her? She knew just how intelligent this man was. This prince wasn't someone who needs explanations about obvious things such as this. And why does he sound irked and angry? Was he so pissed and angry his emotions were getting the better of him? Thea silently gnashed her teeth. She knew what kind of man this prince was. In fact, she had never seen him so emotional and worked up like this before. He was always calm and collected even in battles and even in front of the emperor so why was he acting like some short-tempered and dumb now? There was just no way he didn't understand what she had meant! But fine, if he wanted her to spell it out for him, then she'd be happy to say it.

"She's a human so she can only be your wife for the next few decades, Gavriel. When she –"

"Enough." He cut her off and Thea was once again surprised at the intensity of his voice.

"I can wait for you so there's no need to end our engagement. A few decades isn't that long –"

"I said, enough." His voice wasn't loud but the harshness and coldness in them skyrocketed. Even his calm demeanor was gone Thea's lips parted in shock because of the darkness he had emitted just to make her shut her mouth. Why? Why was this man acting like this now? Her relationship with Gavriel was no different with that human girl. That human was married off to him because of mere politics too. So why was he reacting like he hated the fact that she pointed out blunt facts?

Thea felt her blood boiling, unaware that her eyes were turning red. "No matter what you say, I will never let our engagement end. I told you, I don't mind waiting for you. And besides, it didn't seem like your wife mind it at all, Your Highness."

As though something had snapped inside him, Gavriel froze for a moment. His reaction didn't escape Thea's eyes and she smirked inwardly. "I could tell she's fine with it. From what I observed she might not even care if you take another wife. Now I can't help but wonder… does she even like you at all, Your Highness? She must be seeing you as nothing but a monster like all humans th –"

"Thea."

With just that one word, Thea clamped her mouth tight. The chill that enveloped her body forced her to subconsciously flinch back. No one ever uttered her name that way before. That voice was filled with dangerous warnings that sounded so much like death that came knocking early on her door, terrified her more than the emperor's or her father's raging voice. W-when did this man change so much? When did he become this scary?

He stepped closer to her and leaned over. His killing aura was barely kept veiled and eyes dangerously cold, as if something sucked up all the light in his pair of beautiful moon-kissed eyes. "Listen, and listen very carefully," he whispered. "Evie's going to be my one and on-"

Before Gavriel could even finish his sentence, Samuel emerged from the door. As soon as Gavriel met Samuel's eyes and received the report that his wife had left the ballroom, he leaped from the veranda and his three men followed behind him, not even throwing a glance at the woman he had left behind.

While he was in the air, he spotted his beautiful rose under the moonlight rushing down the staircase as if she was trying to run all the way across the vast garden, right up to the palace's gate.

He landed right in front of her, causing Evie to gasp. "Wife," he said as he approached her. "You want to go home now? Come, I'll carry you –"

"No!" Evie's exclamation was sharp against the silence of the night and Gavriel's low baritone. Her voice even cracked as she stretched out her hands to stop him from touching her.

"What's wrong? Are you alright? Did something happen?" he asked worriedly, but Evie gritted her teeth and pushed his outreached hands away.

"Nothing's wrong! Nothing happened! You just go back to your fiancée now. Elias can bring me home!" she yelled at him as she kept pushing his reaching hands and was actively avoiding his touch like the plague.

Gavriel caught her wrists and made her look at him. He was no fool as he heard and observed how her voice trembled and sounded strained as she said the word 'your fiancée' and considering how frantic and distressed her movements were. His eyes smoldering and filled with wonder as he looked at her. "Wife, are you jealous?" he tilted his head slightly as he asked and Evie turned to a frozen statue. Oh my! W-what was she doing?! What was she doing?!! This can't be… she can't be acting like this! No! No! This can't be happening!