Nyra's point of view.

I wake up feeling like someone relocated every bone in my body. It takes a moment for me to remember why everything aches.

Wedding night.

Consummation.

Then nothing.

I haven't seen him since he took my virginity last night. I slip out of bed and make my way into the massive bathroom. I stare at myself in the mirror. My face is lined with dried tear streaks and my hair is tragically mussed up from last night.

"You survived", I whisper to myself. But it doesn't make me feel any better.

I head downstairs to the kitchen. A woman in her early fifties stands near the counter sorting fresh produce. She's human, judging by the way her eyes widen slightly when she sees me.

 What kind of Vampire hires humans? Probably one that marries them I would assume.

"Good morning Mrs. Stepanov," she says gently.

"Nyra," I correct softly, forcing a smile. "Please. And I'd like to make breakfast, if that's okay."

She hesitates. "We usually-"

"Please," I repeat. "I just...need to do something normal."

She nods stepping aside. And then leaves the kitchen.

I crack eggs into a bowl and grab a whisk to beat them.

The small television screen above the counter plays the morning news. A news reporter stands outside a government building that looks half destroyed.

"-third attack this month on human administration facilities. Authorities suspect extremist vampire factions protesting the recent rise in deaths linked to "Heamatodipsia" a nerve disease killing majorly the vampires..."

Images of vampires being dragged into armored vans fill the screen.

"-leaders claim the virus was engineered as a targeted biological weapon. Tensions between humans and vampire communities continue to escalate...."

I freeze.

Engineered?

Before I can process the thought, the screen goes black.

I turn. Ardonis stands at the doorway, remote in hand. Fully dressed, black suit immaculate. He looks like last night didn't exist.

His tone is sharp. "Don't watch that."

I set the whisk down. "It's just the news."

"Its unnecessary." He steps further in. "You don't need to involve yourself in political matters."

"It's my world too," I say quietly.

He doesn't respond. Instead, he grabs his coat.

"You're leaving already?" I ask

"It's a workday."

"I was.... making breakfast," I offer. "Would you like some?"

"No."

I swallow. "Do you want me to do anything while you're gone?"

He sighs. "Just stay out of my way."

"I took leave from work," I remind him. "For our honeymoon."

He pauses for the smallest moment.

"Honeymoon?" he scoffs. "Honeymoons are for real couples in a real marriage... this" he points between us. "This is not a real marriage so do whatever occupies you. Just, don't expect anything from me."  

My chest tightens. "So, I just occupy myself then?" I pause then continue. "at least tell me...is it always going to be like this?"

Silence.

Then-

"That depends on how efficiently this arrangement achieves its purpose."

And then his gone.

***three months later***

The morning sickness had been subtle, then violent. For three weeks I blamed it on the stress from working at the lab. But this morning, I went to the hospital for routine tests.

When the nurse confirmed I was pregnant, I became overwhelmed with a sense of hope. That perhaps there was a chance that this marriage could be real. Maybe this was a bridge, that would finally change things between us. A baby. An heir. A family. He was a man of duty, after all and a child was the ultimate duty.

I head straight to the penthouse. It was the middle of the workday; the house should have been empty. But a distinct sound drifted down the hallway from the master bedroom.

Laughter. A woman's laughter.

My heart pounds against my ribs as I moved down the hall as if being pulled by an external force. I stopped in the doorway, and my world shatters.

The sheets, usually pristine and spotless, were a tangled mess of white silk. Ardonis lay his back against the headboard, his chest bare, looking more relaxed than I'd ever seen him. Beside him, her head resting possessively on his shoulder, was Elara. They were both naked as the day they were born.

I clamp my hand over my mouth, pressing myself against the doorframe hidden against the angle of the wall.

"You have to go soon," he murmured, using his fingers to idly trace patterns on her arm. "Nyra usually returns from work by three."

"Let her come," she scoffed, shifting so she could look him in the eye. "I'm tired of hiding, Ardonis. This bed is more comfortable than the hotel anyway." She paused, her voice turning sharp. "Did you keep doing what we discussed? With her?"

He sighed, "Yes. I slept with her again last week. I made sure of it."

My knees almost give out. I grab the walls to steady myself.

"Good," Elara purred. "Because my patience is wearing thin. I want to be the lady of this house, not the secret kept in the dark."

"it's a matter of biology now, Elara," he says, his voice clinical. "The moment she conceives, the clock starts ticking. We will need the heir to secure my bloodline and my place in the clan."

"And the mother?" Elara asked tracing a finger down his chest. "What happens when the baby comes?"

Ardonis chuckled darkly. "Once the child is born, we will take custody. The lawyers are already drafting the paper work. We'll paint her unstable. Unfit. She'll be cast out with a settlement, and the baby remains here."

"With me." Elara corrected softly. "I'll be a mother to it. A better one than she could ever be."

"With us," he agreed kissing the top of her head. "Just wait a few more months. Once we have the child, we discard the vessel."

The vessel.

That is all I am to him. A means to an end.

The tears stream down my face. Hot and silent. The ultrasound picture in my purse felt like it was burning a hole through the leather. they didn't want a family, they wanted a product to use as they pleased. They were planning to steal my child and hand him to this woman-this woman who was plotting to destroy me in my own bed.

A moment of clarity hits me. If I walked into that room now and screamed, I would lose. They would lock me up and monitor my every move until I gave birth, and then they would take everything.

I had to disappear, become a ghost.

I backed away, step by careful step, until I reached the foyer. I grabbed my keys and the emergency cash stash I kept in my old box. I don't pack any bags, not even a coat. That would look too suspicious if they checked the cameras later.

Once in the car I drove with no sure destination in mind. I drive aimlessly for a while until I reached a grimy gas station on the outskirts of the city. I parked in the shadows, and took out my cell phone and dialed the only person I could count on now.

"Hello?"

"Kelly," I choked out, the dam breaking once more as sobs racked my body. "Kelly please I need your help...I'm in trouble."

"What do you need?" she asks with a resolve that told me that I could count on her.

"I have to disappear. Now."

"Done. Tell me where you are and I'll come pick you up."

I tell her my location and hang up.

Then I pulled the Sim and battery from my cell phone and tossed it in the dumpster.

Ardonis' point of view.

***6 years later***

"Mr. Stepanov...., your blood analysis confirmed it. You have stage three heamatodipsia." I don't move as Dr. Halloran hands me the test results.

For a moment I imagined that perhaps the doctor made a mistake. in the past, Vampires never got truly sick. They were weakened, starved, harmed-but disease didn't touch them.

Until now.

The doctor continued. "It's the same strain recorded in the recent medical reports. Your nervous system will gradually deteriorate. Paralysis begins in approximately six months, and then-"

"Death." I cut in.

Silence thickened the room like fog. Halloran swallowed.

"I'm sorry."

I stood up and left without another word.

I had seen others brought down by this disease. Proud clan lords, brought down gasping for breath while human reporters whispered that perhaps they weren't gods after all.

The drive back surfaced a memory from six years ago.

I remember sitting in my office when the phone rang. The hospital number flashed on the screen. I'd answered casually expecting normal checkup results. Instead, the doctors voice had sounded cheerful.

"Congratulations, Mr. Stepanov. The pregnancy has been confirmed. Mrs. Stepanov is six weeks along."

I'd erupted into joy thinking that yes, finally all my sacrifices were paying off. But by the time I'd gone home, she was gone. I had gone to her father to ask of her whereabouts, even shook him up a little to get him to talk. But he denied knowing where she was. The private investigators found nothing. No travel records, no credit card uses, no footprint, nothing. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.

My wife. My unborn child. No note. No trace.

And now six years later, I was dying with no heir to continue my bloodline.

Elara my partner and countess had left me for another Lord. I suspect she must have sensed the disease eating at me and she decided she wanted no part of it. Typical.

I barely remember walking into my office suite-into the board room, where the directors sat in hushed tension.

A project flickered on the wall: Acquisition finalized.

Human government pressure, economic sanctions, pharmaceutical accusations-they had pushed the company to the edge. And now it had been bought by an investor I never heard of.  I had been removed as CEO since the new owner had bought the most shares.

"Ardonis," chairman Vale began, "The transition has been approved. The new owner is assuming leadership directly. We-"

The conference room doors opened.

High heels clicked across the marble floor with a slow, calculated precision.

 I freeze. The last person I expect to see walks in.

Nyra Hearthe. In the flesh.

She wore a black fitted corporate suit emphasizing her slim waist and full hips. Sleek blonde hair is pulled back, chin raised high, eyes cold as mine had once been. There were no traces of the timid bride I had disvirgined. No hesitancy. No warmth just pure power.

She doesn't look at me.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," she said smoothly. "As of today, I am the new chief Executive officer of Vosper Pharmaceuticals."

The board members rise to greet her. She shook hands with each of them. I couldn't speak.

She finally reached me and then casually, her gaze brushed over me.

There is no hatred, no rage.

Just indifference.

"Mr. Stepanov," she said with polite formality. "You're still here?"

I stare at her, shock blocking my words.

"Nyra." I finally managed.

She didn't flinch.

"Ms. Hearthe," she corrected. "We're not familiar. Remember you work for me now."

She turned back to the board.

"Thank you all for the warm welcome. I'll keep this brief."

She opened the folder on the table. "Effective immediately, I am assuming full operational control of Vosper pharmaceuticals. Departments will be restructured, starting with research and development. This company has spent the last few years trying to manage losses-my intention is to regain purpose."

I leaned forward at that. "What purpose?" I asked.

She doesn't look at me. "The development of the cure for Heamatodipsia."

Silence.

Several board members looked at each other uneasily. Their expressions show intense worry. Not for people but, their investments. Chairman Vale speaks up first.

"That disease is theoretical, Ms. Hearthe. We still don't even know the cause of it, talk more of a cure."

Nyra shoots him a glance, and he falls quiet.

"It's real. Deadly. And its not just killing vampires any more. Some humans have begun to show early symptoms of a new variant of the disease."

I felt a jolt move through me. I keep my face neutral.

Nyra places a small USB drive on the table. "Over the last four years, my research team has developed a treatment blue print. We're ready to begin phase two-live testing."

Another board member Anthony asks. "You're saying you already have a cure developed?"

She nodded. "A prototype. It requires genetic calibration using infected vampire subjects."

I stiffened. She has it. She has the cure.

Nyra continued, "Funding will be reallocated from non-essential divisions. All research teams will report directly to me. I expect written confirmation from department heads by end of the day."

She closed the folder. "Any objections?"

Murmurs. None dared to speak. She finally turned her gaze to me. Her expression was calm, professional and cold.

"I expect everyone's cooperation. There will be consequences for those who intend to stand in the way of progress."

A few board members turned, shocked. They just realized they have gotten more than they bargained for with the new CEO.

"Meeting adjourned." Nyra says then promptly leaves the board room and almost immediately the room burst in chorus of complaints against the new boss. I tune them out and leave to my office as well.

With sudden urgency, I reached for my phone and dialed my private investigator.

"I need you to get me everything there is to know about Nyra Hearthe from the last 6 years. Her address, contacts, anyone she's close to. Everything. And start searching also for any information regarding a child."

"Understood sir," he responded and hung up.

she has the cure.

 She came back stronger than ever. This cure is the chance I need to get close to her, my second chance.

Nyra's point of view.

I close the door behind me.

CEO.

Funny how the title falls into place. It took five years of blood, grit, and strategy to get here. But the single look he gave me in the board room.... for a moment, almost made me feel  like that girl again. The one who walked down the aisle hoping her vampire husband would love her.

I remind myself: that girl is gone.

The office is elegant and modern, overlooking the city. Mine now. I own everything.

Six years.

Six years since I ran away with nothing but the clothes on my back and a few dollars I had saved up that could barely cover the hospital birth. Lucien was born in a private clinic under a false name. The safest choice.

He came out quiet. Almost didn't cry. Just opened his eyes and stared at me.... like he understood the world already. My boy.

The first few months were survival. But I knew science. I knew formulas. My father might have sold his soul to create something that kills.... but I used what I learned from labs to save. Thanks to Kelly, my best friend and partner, I was able make this a reality.

We started out in a basement lab. Recalibrated old formulas. Developed treatments for blood toxicity, lung degradation in humans living in hybrid zones, and a serum for mutation fever. When the first drug was approved, I signed my name as N. Hart. Half the industry thought was a ghost.

Then the profits came.

One year. Two. Suddenly, I wasn't the runaway wife anymore. I was a name whispered in pharmaceutical spaces, the woman whose drugs have saved over a million lives.

When Lucien turned five, I bought our mansion. Private land. Off-grid security. Untraceable. Safe.

Then I bought shares. Vosper pharma had the research I needed to expand. I stayed quiet until I owned enough to take the chair and move into the helm of power in the company.

And now.... I'm here.

Creating the cure for the one disease that can kill a vampire. After all they put me through, creating a cure is not out of the goodness of my heart, but the influence and power it would give me in the world. No one, human or vampire would ever look down on me or disrespect me.

I hear loud footsteps approaching my office. My door opens without knocking.

Ardonis.

He closes the door softly behind him.

"How dare you come in here without knocking first.? what part of being your boss do you not understand. Is this how things are done here?

"I'm sorry for that, but there's something important I need to talk to you about."

"There is nothing we have to discuss."

We stare at each other in silence. He looks like me like he was seeing me for the first time. Truth is, he never bothered to look the first time.

"What is it?" I asked breaking the silence.

"You didn't say anything at the meeting."

"I said everything I needed to." I keep my voice steady

He steps closer. "You've made progress on the cure."

"I have."

"You're running trials soon."

"Yes and?"

"I want to be one of the first test subjects."

"But the trials are for people with-oh"

"Yes, I have recently been diagnosed. And I would like to volunteer my body."

I look at him. At the man who used me like a transaction. At the vampire who planned to discard me once I had given him what he wanted. And here he was, at my mercy with his life literally in my hands. I will use his body, just like he tried to use mine.

I won't waste my pity on him. Not when I've built an empire.

"You understand the risks," I say.

He nods.

"If the drug fails, you could lose motor function within weeks. Possibly sooner. If your nervous system begins to decline, there's no reversing it. You could die."

"I understand. It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"The trial team will not be responsible for any outcome."

"I accept."

"Fine then, I need your blood, full medical history, and genome sequencing. Testing begins when the compound is fully calibrated."

"Just tell me where and when."

I hold his gaze. "One last thing. My lead scientist Xavier Locke is going to work with me directly in the research."

"Who?"

Before I could reply, my office door opened without a knock.

"Nyra?" Xavier stepped in with a folder tucked in his arm, his usual confident stride." The compound statistics are ready. Figured I'd update you before your next session-"

He paused noticing Ardonis.

"Oh sorry. Didn't realize you had...company."

I straightened. "Ardonis, this is Doctor Xavier Locke, lead scientist on our haematodipsia project."

Xavier offered his hand to Ardonis but it remained hanging in the air.

Xavier didn't seem bothered. He casually turned to me instead. "The new molecular indicators are reacting just as you theorized. Your approach might actually stabilize neural degradation. Brilliant, Dr. Hearthe as always."

I give him a huge smile. "Thank you, Xavier, we'll review it later."

"Perfect," he replied, then added, "I cleared out the evening schedule for you."

"I didn't approve that, "I said.

"You will," he replied smugly. "You always do."

Ardonis' face hardens.

I return Xaviers smug look. "Fine, you know I can't say no to Chinese food. I'll come find you when I'm ready."

He nodded and exited. But not before giving me a lingering look.

When the door closed, the temperature of the room shifted.

Ardonis faced me. "Who is he to you?"

I didn't blink. "I already told you, Xavier is the lead scientist on this project so, you better treat him with respect, he is gonna be working hard trying to save your life."

The silence thickens.

Then he says finally. "I'm not asking to be cured you know," he said, softer. "I just ask that...you not give up on me."

Anger spreads through me. "You have no right to make any demands from me."

"You're right," he apologizes. "I'm sorry if I overstepped."

"Whatever, I'll reach out to you when we are ready to begin testing."

"Okay." He gets up and turns to leave.

At the door he pauses.

Then-

"I never stopped looking for you."

I don't answer.

He leaves.

I exhale.

For five years, I ran so my child wouldn't live as a pawn. Now I build so he has something to inherit.

And if Ardonis Stepanov thinks he could just walk back in our lives without repercussions, he has another thing coming.