I am the young lady of the vampire house of Kaelaris. Having reached marriageable age, I chose, from a stack of portraits, the eldest son of the human family Norefax. My family indulged my preference and arranged our engagement, awaiting the day of my wedding.
I do not drink red wine, but for the sake of human ceremony, I secretly went out—without telling my family—to select a rare century-aged vintage, intending to prepare it for the engagement ritual.
The woman beside me glanced at the cabinet I had pointed to and immediately instructed the sales associate, “That bottle looks quite fine. Let me have a look.”
Without hesitation, the associate rudely brushed me aside and handed the bottle straight to her.
A chill entered my gaze as I spoke, “There is an order to everything. I selected that bottle first. What you’re doing is hardly proper.”
She looked me up and down with open disdain and let out a mocking laugh. “This bottle costs sixteen thousand six hundred dollars. Dressed like that, I doubt you even qualify to smell it.”
“I am Ethan Norefax’s stepmother. In New York’s Upper East Side, so-called ‘rules’ have always been decided by the Norefax family.”
What a coincidence—Ethan was precisely my fiancé, and the very reason I wanted to buy that bottle.
I dialed his number at once and said evenly, “Your stepmother has taken the bottle of wine I reserved for our engagement. How do you intend to handle this?”
I am the young lady of the vampire house of Kaelaris. Having reached marriageable age, I chose, from a stack of portraits, the eldest son of the human family Norefax. My family indulged my preference and arranged our engagement, awaiting the day of my wedding.
I do not drink red wine, but for the sake of human ceremony, I secretly went out—without telling my family—to select a rare century-aged vintage, intending to prepare it for the engagement ritual.
The woman beside me glanced at the cabinet I had pointed to and immediately instructed the sales associate, “That bottle looks quite fine. Let me have a look.”
Without hesitation, the associate rudely brushed me aside and handed the bottle straight to her.
A chill entered my gaze as I spoke, “There is an order to everything. I selected that bottle first. What you’re doing is hardly proper.”
She looked me up and down with open disdain and let out a mocking laugh. “This bottle costs sixteen thousand six hundred dollars. Dressed like that, I doubt you even qualify to smell it.”
“I am Ethan Norefax’s stepmother. In New York’s Upper East Side, so-called ‘rules’ have always been decided by the Norefax family.”
What a coincidence—Ethan was precisely my fiancé, and the very reason I wanted to buy that bottle.
I dialed his number at once and said evenly, “Your stepmother has taken the bottle of wine I reserved for our engagement. How do you intend to handle this?”
I had heard that after Mr. Norefax’s wife passed away, he married a woman the same age as Ethan. Ethan doted on her, their relationship… delicate.
If Ethan could not give me a reasonable explanation today, I would not marry him.
But to my surprise, his voice was cold. “Who are you? Whatever Lily wants is hers. You can buy something else. That’s my answer.”
I was about to state my identity when he hung up cleanly on the other end.
Anger flared in my chest. Ethan—so you haven’t even saved your fiancée’s contact.
Lily burst into laughter beside me, her eyes full of mockery. “Where did you get that number? You almost sounded convincing. Too bad Ethan doesn’t know you at all.”
Her gaze swept over my face, her tone growing sharper. “That thing on your face really saved you the cost of plastic surgery—though there’s nothing worth fixing anyway.”
I glanced at my reflection in the bottle. What she called a “birthmark” was in fact a seal left by my family’s secret art, used to suppress a vampire’s instincts.
My self-control was weak. Maintaining a human form under sunlight, keeping the thirst from driving me mad—it all depended on it. Yet she had made it a weapon to attack me.
“What era are we in,” I lifted my eyes, my voice calm and unhurried, “that you still judge people by their looks? Your perspective is rather small.”
After her disturbance, I lost all interest in choosing wine.
I turned and walked straight to the counter. “I’ll take this bottle. Ring it up.”
The associate hesitated, visibly troubled. “Miss… this is one of the store’s rare reserves. We always prioritize VIP clients.”
Lily grew even more smug. She pulled out a black-and-gold card and slapped it heavily on the counter. “VIP status requires an annual spend of one million dollars. A pauper like you—who are you trying to impress?”
I was never one to bicker, but Lily had truly lit the fire in me today.
Steadying myself, I took out a black card and handed it to the associate, my tone calm yet unquestionable. “Set up a VIP account. Then wrap the wine for me.”
Lily immediately turned to the associate, her voice laced with threat. “The Upper East Side belongs to the Norefax family. If you dare sell that bottle to her today, tomorrow I’ll have Ethan buy this store and have you thrown out on the spot.”
The associate shrank back, her voice trembling. “Miss… I’m just trying to make a living. I really can’t afford to offend the Norefax family…”
Whispers had already begun around us.
“Does that girl have no idea who she’s dealing with? Lily is Ethan’s favorite. Last time someone tried to take something from her, they lost their job the very next day.”
“Exactly. I heard they weren’t even given a chance to apologize—completely shut out of New York overnight.”
“Unless you’re from the Kaelaris family, what do you have to fight them? Better lower your head and apologize—maybe you can still walk away with some dignity.”
I am.
But I cannot say it—I snuck out.
Lily lifted her chin even higher, confidence written all over her face.
“Bitch, get on your knees right now and shout ‘I’m a dog’ three times. Maybe if I’m in a good mood, I’ll let you off.”
In twenty years of living, this was the first time I had encountered someone so arrogant and unreasonable.
“What did you want me to say? I didn’t catch that.”
“I’m a dog.”
I played the recording out loud, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips. “Good. Everyone heard it.”
Lily instantly realized she had been tricked. With a furious shout, she lunged at me, arms flailing.
Ridiculous. Though the mark on my face suppressed most of my vampire strength, dealing with someone like her—baring teeth and claws—was no more difficult than teasing a cat.
I stepped slightly to the left and, in passing, extended my foot just enough to trip her.
Lily fell to the ground in an almost theatrical fashion, utterly disheveled.
The crowd’s expressions shifted from shock to amusement; some even raised their phones to take pictures.
I heard someone whisper, “Oh my God, does she even know who Lily is? She’s Mr. Norefax’s woman—Ethan’s stepmother!”
“If Ethan finds out, she’s finished.”
“At this point, not even God could save her.”
Listening to their murmurs, I felt no ripple of emotion. Though my family concealed our vampire identity, we possessed very real power.
The Norefax family owed their current standing entirely to our cooperation. In New York, there was truly no one I needed to fear.
I slapped my card onto the counter again. “Checkout.”
The clerk seemed terrified, trembling as she processed the payment and carefully wrapped the bottle of wine.
I took the wine and turned to leave.
But Lily grabbed my leg, scrambling to her feet to block my path. “Who said you could leave? Leave the wine behind! Otherwise my husband—and Ethan—”
I raised my hand and waved it lightly in front of her. “What, do you want another lesson? If I’m not mistaken, your husband is bedridden. Whether Ethan shows up or not, this wine is mine.”
Lily instinctively recoiled. I let out a soft scoff and walked toward the exit.
At that moment, a black Maybach pulled up outside the store. As the car door opened, I saw a strikingly handsome face.
I sized him up. Not only was his face attractive, but his height and build were impeccable—no less impressive than the men of my own kind.
Lily immediately ran over, sobbing as she began to complain.
“Ethan, she stole the wine I wanted and even tripped me…”
Only then did I match his face to the one in the photograph I had seen before.
So, he was my fiancé. How forgetful of me.
I have always been someone who judges by appearance. I chose Ethan purely for his looks and did not mind that he was human.
Now that I saw him in person, the difference from the photo was negligible.
For that face alone, I decided I could forgive his earlier rudeness.
I offered what I believed to be a charming smile. “Hello, I’m Elaine—your fiancée.”
Inwardly, I couldn’t help but admire my own taste in choosing people.
The onlookers immediately burst into exclamations.
“What? She’s Ethan’s fiancée? No wonder she dared to act so boldly!”
“A stepmother and a fiancée going head-to-head—who do you think Ethan will choose?”
“Probably the stepmother. Mr. Norefax is in poor health and can’t take care of Lily, so Ethan has stood up for her many times. This fiancée is the first I’ve heard of.”
Ethan looked at me, his gaze cold, his tone unfriendly. “I didn’t know I had a fiancée. My family made that decision without my consent. Since you’re here, let’s cancel it.”
Beside him, Lily slipped her arm through his and leaned intimately against his shoulder, her eyes full of provocation. The two looked nothing like a mother and son.
“Just look at the birthmark on your face—how could Ethan possibly marry you!”
“Who knows? Maybe after Mr. Norefax dies, Ethan will marry Lily. Honestly, they look quite compatible.”
Someone chimed in, “Exactly. If Ethan marries at all, it’ll be someone of equal status. How could he marry someone who looks so plain and shabby?”
“Someone like her wouldn’t even be wanted as a servant in the Norefax household!”
I never considered myself a great beauty, but I am a vampire—I am certainly not ugly. The “birthmark” is small and hardly affects my appearance.
Just because I dressed simply today and didn’t bother with makeup, how had I become so unbearable in their eyes?
Human nature, it seemed, truly thrived on fawning over the powerful and kicking those who had fallen.
“Ethan,” I said coldly, “go back and tell your family—this marriage is off. You’re the one who isn’t worthy of me.”
The Kaelaris family is the wealthiest and most powerful in New York. If old Mr. Norefax were to learn that the engagement had been ruined by his own son, it might very well shorten his lifespan.
At the thought, my mood improved slightly. I no longer had any interest in wasting time with these people and turned to leave.
But Lily refused to let it go. Emboldened by having someone backing her, she stepped forward again and blocked my path.
“Bitch, don’t think you can run! You stole my wine and tripped me—I haven’t settled the score with you yet!”
I looked at her with disdain. “And how do you plan to settle it?”
Thinking I was afraid, Lily reached out to grab my hair, intending to slap me.
“By beating you until I’m satisfied, of course.”
I turned my head—her slap missed, but she yanked my hair hard enough to sting. Without hesitation, I grabbed a pair of scissors from the table, cut off the section she held, and slapped her across the face.
She stared at me in disbelief and roared, “You went this far just to hit me?!”
I backhanded her again, my voice cold. “So what if I did?”
Those two slaps completely crushed Lily’s arrogance. With tears in her eyes, she retreated behind Ethan.
“Ethan, what kind of fiancée did your father choose for you? Good thing you canceled it.”
Ethan pulled Lily protectively into his arms, glaring at me as he spat, “You dare lay a hand on my woman? You must have a death wish!”
He gestured to the bodyguards behind him to seize me.
I struck first, knocking one of them to the ground—but I could handle one, not the second.
After taking several blows in quick succession, pain wracked my body and I collapsed. Two bodyguards grabbed me and dragged me before them.
Ethan backed Lily up. “Lily, vent however you like. If anything happens, I’ll take care of it.”
With that assurance, Lily’s confidence surged.
She grabbed my throat, snatched up the scissors, and hacked off the rest of my hair. My scalp was left with multiple cuts. Then she spat in my face.
“You were ugly to begin with. Now you’re even worse.”
As she spoke, she pressed her high heel down onto my face.
Clutching my throbbing cheek, I lifted my eyes to look at her and Ethan.
“If you dare treat me like this, my family will never let you off!”
Lily laughed arrogantly. “The Norefax family is one of the three major financial powers in New York. What insignificant little family do you come from, daring to go against us?”
Her gaze fixed on my face. “That birthmark of yours is really an eyesore. How about I help you get rid of it?”
As I struggled, I accidentally knocked over the bottle of wine.
The sharp crash of shattering glass rang through the air, and the dark red liquid splashed all over me.
The color was too much like blood. My pupils shrank involuntarily.
Enraged, she picked up a shard and slashed it across the mark on my face.
A searing pain spread from my cheek. My skin swelled, thin streaks of blood seeping out.
Then, a powerful bloodlust surged within me—I wanted to sink my teeth into her arm and drink.
She shrieked and recoiled.
Lily sneered, “What? Trying to pretend you’re a vampire to scare me?”
Someone nearby sighed, “We told her not to offend the Norefax family, but she acted so arrogantly. Now she knows she messed with the wrong people.”
“I’ve never seen such pale skin before. It’s a shame—it’s ruined now.”
“For ordinary people like us, it’s better to endure when we’re out in the world.”
Lily raised the shard again, ready to carve into my face once more. Afraid I might lose control and bite someone—afraid of hurting innocent people, and even more afraid of the trouble if my family found out—I hurriedly begged for mercy.
“I was wrong. The wine is yours. I shouldn’t have fought you for it.”
A gentleman can wait ten years to take revenge. For now, preserving the mark was what mattered most.
But Lily slashed me again.
“Bitch! You realize your mistake now? Too late.”
“You should thank me—without me, how would that birthmark ever be removed?”
“I let out a scream and looked to Ethan for help. ‘Ethan, I’m the daughter of old Mr. Kaelaris! If you let her bully me like this, you’ll definitely regret it!’
Ethan sneered. ‘Cut the lies. If you really were old Mr. Kaelaris’s daughter, why didn’t you say so from the start?’”
A vicious glint flashed in Lily’s eyes. “Weren’t you trying to bite me just now? Those teeth of yours are quite sharp. I’ll pull them out right now—let’s see if you still dare!”
She reached back, and a bodyguard placed a pair of pliers into her hand.
“No—!”
My phone suddenly rang from inside my bag. The ringtone sounded especially piercing in the silent store.
Lily paused, then rummaged through my bag and pulled out the phone. Glancing at the caller ID, she raised an eyebrow. “Brother?”
She answered and switched on speaker.
My brother’s voice came through, “Elaine, I heard you wanted red wine for your wedding? I was going to have someone buy it for you—why did you go yourself? What if something happened?”
I immediately shouted for help, “Brother, come save me! I—”
Lily clamped a hand over my mouth and said into the phone with a smile, “You’re her brother? Your sister tried to take my wine and even attacked me. I’m disciplining her for you.”
My brother’s voice turned cold instantly. “Who are you?”
“Lily Norefax.” She enunciated each word as if announcing an illustrious title. “Your sister has a loose tongue. I’m helping you teach her a lesson.”
My brother said sharply, “I don’t care who you are! Release my sister immediately, or when I get there, you’ll regret it!”
“Then come if you dare. I’ll be right here waiting. Let’s see if I don’t pull out all her teeth—then we’ll see if she still dares to bite!”
With a sharp crack, she hung up and smashed the phone into pieces.
Lily kicked me and cursed, “When your brother gets here, I’ll pull out all his teeth too!”
In just a few minutes, several of my teeth had already been yanked out. Even so, I endured the urge, refusing to expose my identity.
Finally, a familiar private plane appeared in my line of sight.
My brother stepped down.
“Let me see who dares to bully my sister!”
