Sweet Revenge With My Billionaire Vampire

Evans scoffed, already growing tired of the conversation. "We’ve talked about this already, and yet you keep bringing it up. I told you—we had a change of plans."

"Yeah. A change of plans you didn’t bother telling me about." He ran a hand through his hair before shaking his head. "Whatever. You two can keep doing whatever complicated shit you’re doing. I’m going to go spend some quality time with my wife."

With that, he turned toward the door, pulling it open and stepping out. The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Evans standing there, staring at the spot where Alfonso had just been.

—--

Andrei pulled into the parking lot of Mansion Lumière, smoothly maneuvering the car into a vacant spot. Once the engine was off, he stepped out, making his way to the back seat door and opening it.

Enzo emerged first, turning back and offering his hand to Adeline, who took it, allowing him to assist her out of the vehicle.

Turning to Andrei, Enzo gave him a single nod, before leading Adeline toward the building’s entrance.

As they walked, she found herself slowing down, gasping as she took it all in. The exterior of Maison Lumière was nothing short of breathtaking. It had towering glass windows that offered views of the lavish interior. Golden hues spilled from within, casting a soft glow onto the sidewalk.

The entrance was lined with marble pillars, and the name of the restaurant was elegantly engraved above the double doors in gold lettering.

She had been to plenty of high-end restaurants before, back when her grandmother was alive, but this one was on a completely different level.

"Do you like it?" Enzo asked, watching her reaction with an arched brow.

She nodded enthusiastically, stepping just a little ahead of him to take in more of the scene. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

But just as she did, Enzo suddenly stopped walking.

Realizing the lack of footsteps following her, she paused and turned back to glance at him, only to find him standing still, his attention fixated on a tall building visible across the street.

"Is something wrong?"

He let out a soft chuckle, closing the distance between them and reaching out to take her hand, his fingers curling around hers. "Come on," he murmured, leading her inside.

A well-dressed maître d’ approached them as they stepped into the restaurant, offering a polite smile before escorting them to their reserved table.

The table was set near one of the restaurant’s tall glass windows. It wasn’t the safest spot, considering Adeline’s current situation with her uncles, and Enzo was well aware of that, but it was the only available table

Besides, he was here. He would protect her. If anyone so much as looked at her the wrong way, they wouldn’t live to regret it.

Soon, their meals were served.

Adeline wasted no time digging in, starting with the perfectly cooked steak on her plate. She hummed with satisfaction, savoring the taste, but when she glanced across the table, she noticed that Enzo hadn’t touched his food.

Instead, he was sitting there, sipping from his wine glass, his gaze fixed on the untouched plates before him.

Raising a brow, she pointed slightly at one of the dishes with her fork. "Aren’t you going to eat?"

He blinked, as if pulled from his thoughts, then gave her a small, nervous smile. "I will."

He just needed a moment to muster up the courage to eat.

Vampires weren’t meant to consume human food, only blood. No matter how beautifully prepared it was, it would just taste like ash on his tongue. Even the wine he was drinking, despite its rich aroma, tasted like nothing, but it was tolerable, like water to a human, but that was the extent of it.

Setting down his wine glass, he picked up his fork and stabbed it into the plate of pasta in front of him. He twirled a portion of it around the silver prongs, rolling the strands neatly before lifting it to his lips.

The moment the food touched his tongue, his stomach twisted in protest. It was as bad as he expected. As he chewed the pasta, he did his best to appear natural, but no amount of composure could mask the sheer disgust crawling across his face.

His nose scrunched, every fiber of his being screaming at him to spit out the awful food, but he couldn’t.

Adeline, who had been cutting another piece of her steak, caught the change in his expression. She paused mid-bite, eyeing him with mild concern. "What’s wrong? Is the pasta not good?"

Enzo struggled to swallow, holding back a gag. He hastily grabbed his wine glass, taking a quick sip to wash the food down, and e then forced a smile, raising his hand in a thumbs-up. "No," he lied, shaking his head. "The food is delicious."

Adeline raised a skeptical brow. "Uh-huh. Well, your face is saying otherwise."

He held his strained smile for a moment longer, then cleared his throat and reached for more pasta, hoping to move past the conversation. Adeline shrugged, returning her focus to her steak.

He twirled the pasta onto his fork again, bracing himself for another mouthful, but just as he brought it near his lips, his ears twitched—the tiniest movement, barely noticeable to the human eye.

A distinct shift in the air reached him—something cutting through it unnaturally fast.

His body reacted before his mind fully registered what was happening, and in a blink, he was out of his seat, grabbing Adeline and yanking her out of her chair. He pulled her into his arms as he crouched down, shielding her.

At that exact moment, the restaurant window exploded. Shards of glass rained down, scattering across the floor in sharp, glittering fragments.

A bullet whizzed through the air, slicing right through the space where Adeline had been sitting just a second ago. If Enzo had been even a fraction of a second slower, it would have struck her clean in the side of her head.

The entire restaurant fell into chaos. Gasps and startled cries filled the air, followed by the clatter of chairs and dishes as people scrambled to get away from the shattered glass.

Adeline squeezed her eyes shut, her hands flying to cover her ears.