I Was His Substitute, Until I Disappeared With His Child

I was born into the noble Valerie family, gifted by blood with the rare ability to bond with vampires and bear them powerful hybrid children.

Since I was a child, I had been secretly in love with James, the vampire noble I was betrothed to.

Everyone knew his heart belonged to one person only — his childhood companion, Vicky.

But she was engaged to James's older brother.

The night of their engagement banquet, James accepted my confession.

He said we could try.

I nodded and told him I didn't mind. I was willing to wait until he let her go.

Then he gave the wedding I had designed with my own hands to Vicky.

He stood in the groom's place, holding her hand through the rehearsal.

And I stood below the stage, the laughingstock of the entire room.

That night, he got drunk.

He held me and said he loved me.

I thought he had finally laid down his obsession, so once again I forgave him and let go of my pride.

Until he called out Vicky’s name.

In that moment, I finally understood.

The one James loved would never be me.

I had stored up enough disappointment. The next day, I disappeared from his world for good.

Five years later, I ran into him by chance, a hybrid boy in my arms.

He came rushing toward me like a man gone mad, eyes red, begging me to come back.

Elena's POV

I was born the second daughter of the Valerie family.

In a family that measured everything by the value of a marriage alliance, a second daughter wasn't worthless — but wasn’t the first choice either.

Since I was a little child, my parents barely spared me a glance.

They brought me along to the social gatherings of the vampire nobility, where I was nothing more than a backdrop.

Not too dazzling or memorable.

Everything changed at the ball that year — the first time I saw James.

The second son of a noble vampire family, standing quietly beside his father and elder brother.

My parents told me he was the boy I had been promised to since the day I was born — that I should mind my manners and learn how to stand by his side.

He was still young then, but the cold, sharp lines of his features had already taken shape.

In that single moment, everything shifted. For the first time in my life, I wanted to fight for something. I wanted to be remembered.

His expression was distant. He gave me a polite, gentlemanly nod, but his gaze didn't linger on me for even a second.

I couldn't help looking up at him again. My heart was beating so fast it didn't feel real.

"Hello. I'm Elena."

In that moment, no one knew.

What rose up in my chest wasn't numbness or resistance anymore.

It was relief.

Relief that the man I'd been promised to was James — that he was someone I loved.