Chapter 70 Ch. 41.1
”What do you mean?” he asked, his eyes flicking to her face.
“You’re sabotaging my career,” Ivanna said, her voice low but clear. “For what exactly?”
He blinked. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t lie to someone you love,” she said, staring out the window.
“I… I don’t understand,” Dylan said, running a hand through his hair, then resting it back on the wheel. “What do you mean I’m lying to you?”
“What I don’t get,” she said, turning to look at him now, “is why you’re protecting Ethan.”
His grip froze.
She gave a short laugh. “Oh, I have it all figured out.”
He stayed quiet, his jaw tight.
“You’ve been messing with my head,” she said. “I can’t even remember what we talked about the night I wrote that note. Every time I’m close to something, it’s like it disappears.”
“Ivanna…” He let out a breath and slowed the car near the side of the road. “I was going to tell you. I swear.”
She folded her arms. “Really?”
“I never meant to lie to you. I never wanted to ruin your big break.” He turned the engine off and faced her. “It wasn’t only about Ethan being my nephew or what I am. It was about keeping you safe.”
“So he's your nephew," she laughed. "Safe from what though? From the truth?”
“From people who would kill you if they thought you knew,” he said. “My kind are ruthless. They don’t care about human lives.” He looked down at his hands. “I didn’t care either, not until you.”
Her eyes widened. “Your kind?”
“I compelled you,” he said, meeting her gaze. “I made you forget so you wouldn’t end up dead. I admit, if I’d seen that note in your phone I would have erased it. But it was to protect you, not to hurt you.”
She shook her head, tears stinging. “You still lied.”
“I was going to tell you,” he said. “I had a plan. I just… I didn’t know how to start.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver ring with a dark stone. He held it out to her.
She looked at it, confused. It didn’t look like a proposal ring. “What is that?”
“It’s a daylight ring,” he said. “Only vampires who have one can walk in the sun. Originals don’t need it, but the rest of us do.”
Her breath caught. “You’re saying you’re—”
“A vampire,” he said quietly. “I wanted to tell you. And if you accepted me, I wanted to turn you so we could have forever. This ring was for you.”
Ivanna stared at the ring, her mind spinning. “You were going to… turn me? Without even asking first?”
“I would never force you,” he said quickly. “I wanted you to choose. I love you. I wanted eternity with you.”
She wiped at her eyes, her voice breaking. “You know what, Dylan? I need space. I need to think.”
“Wait, mia cara,” he said, reaching for her arm.
She pulled away. “It’s too much. I need time.”
He looked down, his voice low. “At least let me drive you back.”
“No,” she said, already opening the door. “I’ll get an Uber.”
She stepped out and closed the door without another word. Dylan stayed where he was, watching her stand on the curb with her phone in her hand.
Her mind was spinning. She still couldn’t believe it that vampires were real and Dylan was one.
The daylight ring, the stories, the things he had said... everything clicked into place, and yet it felt like her mind was too slow to keep up. So in this ordinarily looking world, the supernatural really existed.
She had been obsessed with finding things out, but she never expected her wild theories to ever end up true. She was willing to admit she was crazy for even thinking human looking beings with strange... Powers? Quirks? Roamed the earth.
She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. Well, if vampires existed, and she had been dealing with compulsions and memory blanks, she supposed she didn’t need therapy or psychiatry for her forgetfulness anymore. The truth was stranger than anything she could imagine.
Then a new, chilling thought hit her. How many times had Dylan compelled her before? How many times had he erased memories or twisted what she remembered? Her chest tightened and she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering slightly.
The Uber’s headlights appeared down the street. Relief washed over her, and she stepped forward, holding her phone in one hand and her bag in the other.
But as she opened the door and climbed in, a figure appeared from nowhere beside her. Before she could even react, pain lanced through her neck like fire. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. Everything went blank. Her vision blurred, then darkened, and her body felt impossibly heavy.
Dylan’s eyes snapped towards there at that exact moment. He had been standing nearby, running over scenarios in his head, and something instinctively told him to look toward Ivanna. The moment he saw the car with the driver at her side, he knew.
He raced forward, his mind moving faster than ever, heart thundering in his chest. By the time he reached the curb, he saw Ivanna slump forward, her body collapsing into the backseat.