I’m The Option You Shouldn’t Have Chosen- Part twenty five- Birthday Surprises
“Come in.” I yelled from my bathroom as I heard a knock on my bedroom door. I was in the middle of towel drying my hair after my shower and boy did I smell like raspberries!
“I’ve got your dress.” Darcy called back happily. If she was happy that meant the dress was meant to be nice and not embarrassing. God help Slade if he thought he was going to try and embarrass me on my own birthday!
I walked out of the bathroom with a towel around my body so I could take a look at it. Darcy unzipped the plastic carry bag and held out a stunning primrose coloured dress that was floor length. It had a heart-shaped neck line with a thin strip of material going around the bodice to separate the top of the dress and where it starts its flow to the bottom. It was gorgeous and I knew that I would feel pretty in it. Excitement bubbled up inside of me. Surely I could have this one night to enjoy myself! I then decided that that’s what I was going to do. Life here had been miserable from the start and I knew the situation I was in wasn’t good. Deep down I had a feeling that this may be the one night of fun I may ever get.
Darcy helped me into the dress and zipped it tightly at the back. I asked her kindly to French braid my hair and to have it going to one side which she happily agreed to. She then secured some pins into my hair that had little diamonds on the end of each one to add sparkle. I felt and looked like a princess.
I wanted to prove to Slade that he could trust me. I wanted him to be able to know that I was going to follow his every word. But in the end, I was going to make his world come crashing down like he did to mine. Whatever plans he had made for me, I was going to make sure they would be thrown out the window. I didn’t quite know how I was going to do this, but I would find a way.
“Master Slade is going to think you look beautiful.” Darcy commented as I sat on the end of my bed and she strapped white high heels onto my feet.
“Are you sure?” I questioned nervously. “I mean, it doesn’t seem like he has an affectionate bone in his body.”
Darcy gave me a small smile as she stood up to leave but stopped at the door. “Slade has affection for you. Trust me on that one. If you were anyone else you’d probably be dead. It’s not common for him to let anyone walk all over him.” She then scurried off before I could question her more. And by the sparkle in her eyes, she knew I had more questions.
Did I really get away with that much?
I stood up from the bed and walked over to the small mirror in my room so that I could put on some makeup. After searching through the makeup bag in my bathroom I decided to put on a coat of mascara and a swipe of red gloss to match in with the dress. I gave myself a once over in the mirror before walking to my bedroom door on shaky legs. I was so nervous and had no idea why! But it wasn’t a scary nervous, I was just full of excitement.
I slowly walked down the stairs, because let’s face it; heels and stairs don’t mix. I didn’t want to fall and mess myself up before the night had even begun. When I reached the foyer at the bottom of the stairs I could sense that Slade was nearby. I turned my head and saw that he was standing in the kitchen facing me. I could feel his eyes gazing over my body as I tried to calmly walk up to where he was.
“You look amazing.” Slade commented with a grin before pouring blood out of a crystal vase and into a wine glass. “Drink?” he asked.
“Thank you.” I said as I accepted the drink and moved the glass to my lips. I took a delicate sip because I didn’t want to look greedy, which was pretty hard considering I just wanted to gulp the coppery stuff down and feel it wave throughout my body.
“The limousine should be here shortly.” Slade said while his eyes gazed upon me. I felt nothing compared to the man in front of me though. Slade looked stunning in a black, tight-fitted Armani suit with a white dress shirt underneath and a red tie that matched the color of my dress. His face was clean shaven and his dark hair had been cut so it was short and stylish. He looked like a business man.
“Where are we going?” I asked with excitement in my voice. I would be glad to get out of this house for a while. The happiness pulsed though my body so much that I couldn’t keep the smile off of my face.
“We will be going to one of my favorite restaurants.” Slade replied with a grin. “I will need you to be on your best behavior. You are going to be on show for my people and I can’t have any mistakes being made on your behalf. Am I clear?”
I took in a shaky breath. Why did this all seem so serious? It is indeed my birthday. “I’ll try my best”
“Indeed you will. I’m sure you don’t want to find out what will happen to you if something goes wrong?” Slade questioned and I just shook my head before he continued on. “We’re in England. More and more vampires inhabit the land every day, though there are still humans here. They don’t know we exist and we intend to keep it that way. Do you understand Darling?”
“I do.” I replied with a cringe.
“Oh you’ll be saying those words very soon.” Slade said with his annoying, cocky attitude.
I wanted to glare at Slade and I wanted to scream and shout at him. Instead, I let him take his hand in mine and lead me out the front door and to the awaiting limousine.
I sat in the car with my hands folded nervously in my lap. I was scared. I was human, going out to impress vampires. What type of job did Slade have?
I was about to question him when he handed me an empty champagne glass. I gripped the glasses’ stem in my shaky hands. “Thanks”
Slade grabbed a champagne bottle out of the mini fridge and it made a ‘popping’ noise when he opened it. This was going to be so different from all of the other birthdays I had ever celebrated. I would never understand why fate thought it would be a good idea to put me through hell. Fate could have picked anyone else, but instead I was her target. In my opinion fate was, and still is, a bitch!
“To proposals.” Slade said as he filled my cup with the bubbling, red liquid. Oh the double meanings that those to words had. This was it; I was now fully committed to marrying him. Like I had a choice? I lifted the glass to my lips and took a small sip. It was literally fizzy blood with a hint of alcohol in the background. Who even made this stuff? It was good, so good that I gulped down the rest of the glass and then held it out for more.
“You’re a demanding little thing aren’t you?” Slade questioned with a smirk before half-filling my glass. He saw my questioning stare and answered, “We can’t have you getting drunk and making a fool of yourself now, can we?”
“I just think I will need a little bit of help to get me through this night.” I responded with a manic laugh before trying to snatch the bottle from his hands. Slade was too quick though and had the bottle stored back in the mini fridge before I could even get to it. Of course he could see right through me. In an instant Slade gripped my wrists and panic shot through my body, but his grip was neither mean nor playful.
“Violet, Violet, Violet,” Slade mumbled while shaking his head. “I don’t want to be angry on your birthday, so please don’t give me the need to punish you. And besides,” Slade gestured with his arms to the car’s windows which I couldn’t see through, “We’re here.”
The night breeze was chilly as we stepped out of the car and the street wasn’t too busy with people. Slade led me in through the main doors and to a lobby where a waiter was awaiting our arrival. A crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling and made the room look expensive. The floors were carpeted in red and the walls were painted a creamy white, reminding me of a strawberries and cream dessert.
“Mr. Vladmont.” The waiter greeted with a formal bow. “Shall I take you and your Miss Violet to your table?” Slade agreed kindly and we were lead to an upstairs dining area that had a view of the downstairs dining area and front lobby.
“It’s amazing up here.” I commented with a small smile as Slade pulled my chair out for me and I took a seat. Who knew he could be such a gentleman?
“Look up at the roof.” He replied with a grin as big as a child’s on Christmas morning. I looked up and a gasp escaped my mouth. The roof was made out of glass so you could see through to the night’s sky. An array of stars shined down upon us and this all felt very intimate. “This was always my favorite place to come.”
“I can see why.” I agreed as the waiter came back to our table with an ice bucket that held a bottle of the champagne that I had in the car. He poured us a drink each and then left us with our menus and said that he’d be back soon. I couldn’t ever imagine Slade coming here for dinner, but then again I didn’t really know much about him at all. Would he have had a date like me? Or would he be the type to come solo just to see the beautiful view of the stars and to enjoy the expensive champagnes? I took a sip of my drink while scanning my eyes over the words on the menu. I saw the words ‘steak’ and I could feel my mouth watering already.
As if Slade could read my mind, he took a sip of his drink and then asked, “Would you be interested in getting the steak?” A cute smile toyed on the edges of his mouth. I think he loved the fact that I was getting so used to blood and it made me wonder whether he had even been in love before. Well, besides the obvious of the douchebag being in love with himself. I almost giggled at the thought!
“Yes please.” I said while resting my cheek in the palm of my hand, trying to contain my straight face and gazing up at Slade’s angled face instead.
Slade clicked his fingers in the air and the waiter was there in a matter of seconds to take our orders. Slade and I both ended up getting bleeding, juicy steaks covered in blood gravy. When the food arrived it looked and smelled delicious. I moaned embarrassingly when I took a bite of mine and the flavors melted in my mouth.
There were few people seated on the upstairs floor around us but they didn’t seem to notice the noises that came out of my mouth. I noticed when I walked in that they had given Slade a nod of acknowledgment before continuing on with their own business. Every now and then I would make eye contact with someone, and strangely, they would smile at me. Maybe Slade was right and I did have the upper-hand over Isabella. One thing I would never understand though was why they would want a human to be in the royal family. What were Slade’s plans behind all of this? I finished my steak in silence while pondering over the questions I would never have answers to.
After dinner Slade insisted that we go for a walk. I let him take my hand in his on the way out because there was no way I was going to reject him in public. So far the night had gone well and he seemed pleased. We took a stroll around a lake that was lit up with streetlights; they illuminated the rippling water and made it look majestic.
Slade turned to face me with a smile on his lips. “You truly did look stunning tonight. You’re probably the most beautiful human I’ve ever seen.” My face flamed at the comments and a deep blush swept across my cheeks. Slade being affectionate was something that I didn’t get to see very often and it felt nice.
“Thank you for the night out, Master” I said while wishing I could just call him Slade. Master was such an embarrassing word. My heart skipped a beat as Slade took a step closer and cupped my face in his hands. He pressed a gentle kiss on my lips and my body froze up, not knowing how to respond. I didn’t get time to think as Slade started to trail a line of kisses down my neck. My heart thumped, I knew what I wanted him to do and he knew it to. Without question, his fangs sank into my neck and I let out a blissful moan. I’d never felt anything better in my life and I didn’t know if anything could be better.
My legs wobbled as Slade retracted his fangs and took a step back. He saw that I was unsteady and wrapped an arm around my shoulders to keep me up right.
“Come on Darling, you look exhausted.” Slade grinned and we started to walk away from the lake. I couldn’t help but feel that somewhere deep down, I had just played into his hands.
We made it back to the car and I slid into the back seat in a state of sedation. Slade slid into the seat across from me with a smirk on his face. It took me a second to realize that the car hadn’t started moving yet. I was about to ask why when Slade casually pulled a small black box from his suit jacket.
I instantly felt sick. I didn’t want there to be a ring in that box. Wearing a ring would make everything official. It would make it all seem real and I wouldn’t be able to pretend that this was all a dream. A ring would be a constant reminder of how messed up my life was. I gripped the seat and tried not to hyperventilate.
“All wives to be need an engagement ring.” Slade said with a shrug while lifting the lid off of the small box. A sparkling, diamond ring appeared back at me. It was stunning. Shining crystals lined the band while the chunk of diamond sat in the middle.
Slade edged towards me and picked up my hand. He slid the ring onto my wedding finger with ease. I was so dazed from the bite that I couldn’t say anything; I couldn’t even fight back about it.
I then realized that this was his plan all along. I had been tricked into accepting another offer I didn’t want because I was under the sedation from a vampire bite.
I scoffed. Happy Birthday to me.