My Half-Vampire Son Painted Another Woman as Mom

I married my vampire husband ten years ago and gave him a half-blood heir, abandoning my career as a painter to become a full-time mother.

Fortunately, my son inherited my talent. At just six years old, he held his first solo art exhibition, inspired by the theme "My Mother."

But he never let me attend, and he never let me see his paintings.

My husband said my presence would make Luke nervous---that I should stay home and do the housework as a good wife and mother, and wait for them to come back.

I told myself he was just young and didn't know better, that he was only pushing back against my discipline, not truly rejecting me.

Until the day I snuck into the gallery wearing a surgical mask pulled low.

In the center of the crowd, my husband held our son's hand while tenderly pulling a woman in a red dress into his arms. He turned to the guests and announced:

"This is Luke's mother---my wife."

The three of them stood together, beaming with perfect happiness.

And I---the one who'd stayed up all night setting up this exhibition---stood before the paintings while not a single person recognized me.

That was when I finally understood.

My seemingly gentle, caring vampire husband had long ago given our son a replacement mother.

And I was nothing more than the human nanny who'd served her purpose by producing an heir.

Iris's POV

I hid among the crowd, the world spinning around me.

My husband and my son greeted the woman in the red dress with warm smiles, standing together at the center of the crowd like the picture-perfect family.

Meanwhile, I stood with a surgical mask pulled low, invisible as a stranger.

Lucien and Luke were still wearing the suits I'd ironed for them. I'd tied their ties that morning.

Yet now, they were calling another woman "wife" and "Mom."

"My mom is so good to me. She encourages my art and never pressures me. She takes me on trips and walks all the time. Most of the paintings in this exhibition are about my mom."

My son flashed a bright, innocent grin, clinging to the woman's hand with complete trust.

At home, he'd never once smiled at me like that. All I ever got was cold indifference and impatience.

I'd thought it was because Luke was half-vampire, half-human---that the pressure of being different made him act that way toward me.

Now I knew the truth. There was another mother out there indulging his every whim.

"That's right, we go on family outings all the time so he can find inspiration in nature. My wife has always believed in nurturing through joy. She's poured her heart into cultivating our son's artistic talent. This family's happiness is all thanks to this selfless, devoted mother."

Lucien pulled the woman in the red dress closer, his eyes brimming with tenderness.

My entire body trembled. My nails dug into my palms until they nearly broke the skin.