Chapter 153 The price to be paid

Chapter 153 The price to be paid
The Price to be Paid

Liam’s POV

“What did Rosalie say to you?” I asked, taking a cautious step closer even though I could still feel the anger pouring off Betty. “What could she possibly have said that made you send us away like this?”

Betty folded her arms across her chest and stared at me for a long moment before finally speaking.

“She told me to stay away from you,” she said. “She warned me never to have any contact with you again because it could destroy everything they’ve been planning. The sacrifice you’re asking for is too important, and the risk is simply too high.”

I frowned, trying to make sense of her words, but they only left me more confused.

“What sacrifice?” Vivian asked, stepping beside me. She looked just as lost as I felt. “What are you talking about?”

Instead of answering, Betty looked straight at me.

“Hold out your hand.”

I hesitated. Every instinct told me to question her, but something in her eyes made me stop.
Reluctantly, I stretched out my hand.

She pulled out a small blade and made a quick cut across my palm.

I flinched as the sharp sting hit, and a few drops of blood rolled down my skin. Betty immediately stepped back.

“Now watch,” she said quietly.

A few seconds later, heavy footsteps echoed through the building.

The sound grew louder with every passing second until several men came rushing toward us from deeper inside the warehouse. Their eyes locked onto my bleeding hand, and it was obvious what had drawn them.

My blood.

Betty lifted a hand, signaling them to stop. They obeyed without argument, though I could still see the hunger burning in their eyes.

She turned back to us.

“That’s your answer,” she said. “Your blood is powerful enough to attract vampires from a distance. But if your blood is mixed with Dylan’s rare blood, it might save him but it might kill both of you. That’s what Rosalie is avoiding, she knows you can save him but the after consequences is what she’s scared of.”

Her words landed like a punch to my chest.

“The only safe way to bring Dylan back,” she continued, “is to turn him into a vampire.”

My entire body stiffened.

“No.”

The word came out before I even had time to think.

“No. Absolutely not.”

I grabbed Vivian’s wrist and turned toward the door. I had heard enough. There was no way I was even going to consider something like that.

We had barely taken a few steps when Betty spoke again.

“Rosalie already knows you’re here,” she said calmly.

I froze for half a second.

“She can feel your presence.”

A chill ran down my spine, but I forced myself to keep walking.

Vivian glanced back, clearly wanting answers.

“What does that mean?” she asked. “How does she…”

I didn’t let her finish. I gently pulled her along until we reached the car.

The moment we got inside, I started it and drove away without looking back.

The silence only lasted a few seconds before I finally broke it.

“Do you even realize what she’s asking us to do?” I said, gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white. “Turning Dylan into a vampire isn’t some magical solution. It changes everything. His entire life would be different. No! I don’t want him to be miserable.”

I swallowed hard, my chest tightening as I thought about everything Vivian had been through.

“You know what that life is like better than anyone,” I continued, my voice softer now. “You’ve lived it. You know the pain, the loneliness, the constant struggle. Being a vampire isn’t some gift.”

I shook my head, unable to accept the idea.

“I could never wish that life on someone I love.”

I waited for Vivian to say something, but she stayed quiet.

I glanced at her, expecting at least a nod, but she wasn’t paying attention to me at all. She was staring at her reflection in the side mirror, her expression distant, as though she’d drifted somewhere far away and forgotten I was even there.

“Vivian?” I reached across the space between us and gently touched her shoulder. “Are you even listening to me?”

She blinked a few times before looking at me. It was like she’d just returned to reality. Then, without warning, her eyes filled with tears. A second later, they spilled down her cheeks.

“I went on a date,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “The whole time, all I could think about was how I’ll never have children. I’ll never get to grow old with someone the normal way.” She let out a shaky breath and wiped at her face, but the tears kept coming. “I hate this, Liam. I hate what I’ve become.”

My chest tightened.

In that moment, I understood more than ever why I couldn’t let the same thing happen to Dylan.

“That’s exactly why I won’t let them turn him,” I said quietly. “I don’t want him carrying this kind of pain for the rest of his life. No one deserves that.”

Neither of us spoke after that.

After a while, I reached over and turned on the radio. Soft music drifted through the speakers, filling the empty space between us. It didn’t erase the sadness, but it made the silence a little easier to bear.

Little by little, Vivian began to relax. The tension left her shoulders, and after a few minutes, I heard her quietly humming along with the song. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to tell me she was trying.

I turned the car toward Rosalie’s estate, but before we had gone very far, Vivian spoke again.

“We need some space,” she said softly. “We can’t keep going back there pretending everything is fine. Let’s just… breathe for a while.”

I understood exactly what she meant.

Instead of driving back to the estate, I found a hotel a short distance away. We checked in without saying much, though I couldn’t help noticing people in the lobby staring at us. Their eyes followed us as we walked past, lingering just a little too long. Maybe they recognized us, or maybe something about us looked strange. Either way, it made me uneasy.

Once we got inside the room and closed the door behind us, I finally relaxed.

As I pulled off my jacket, I noticed a dark stain spreading across the front of my shirt.

My heart skipped.

I hurried to the mirror, fearing the worst. The moment I looked up, I saw a thin stream of blood was running steadily from my nose.