Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

So Belle bathed that night without soap, rinsing her body with only the warm water, quietly telling herself that she would not let Eve keep what was not hers.

When she was done, she wiped her body with a rag-like towel and was then helped into one of her old shabby dresses, which was now far too tight around the bodice. It clung painfully against her sensitive, milk-filled bosom, making her grimace as the maid pulled and tightened the corsets.

She hadn't nursed Angel for the whole day, and her breasts were already swollen, the heavy ache throbbing with every movement. The pressure of the corset only forced the milk to press harder against her skin until she could feel it threatening to seep through the fabric.

Many of the dresses in her trunks had been made to her current body measurements, comfortable and forgiving in their fit. But this one, she doubted if she would even be able to bend or draw a proper breath in it.

The tightness made her chest feel both stifled and unbearably heavy, to the point that even the maid noticed her discomfort and the strain at the bodice.

"Dear Lord, this is too tight, my lady. Should I ask Lady Louisiana for another dress?" Anna asked in concern, but Belle shook her head.

"No, I will be fine." She would never ask her mother for anything, and she knew this dress would displease her far more than the one she had worn earlier, for what it exposed. Belle was done trying to please them.

As uncomfortable as it was, the dress still hugged her waist and emphasized her hips, giving her a perfect hourglass-shaped figure.

The plain yellow dress barely dulled her beauty as it once had in the past, but she realized the figure it revealed would make her mother roll over in displeasure. After all, it was her mother who had given her the old dress, believing it would make her look the way she used to.

By the time Belle finished dressing, night had already fallen, and the grounds were brightened with torches while the halls glowed with lit candles. She was eager for supper because she was certain she would see her son and her husband, as well as the others who had journeyed with them here and she had considered more family than the Dawsons.

By the time she reached the dining hall, everyone was already present except her sister, and they all turned to her when she walked in. Her father sat at the head of the table, with her mother at his right side.

Rav sat on the left side with Evenly, who looked paler than usual and drowsy, her head resting heavily in her hands on the table. But at the sight of Belle, she managed a faint smile of greeting, which Belle returned with a subtle nod.

Belle couldn't help but wonder what had made Evenly look so sickly and fatigued when she had seemed perfectly normal that very afternoon when they first arrived. Could she be sick because of the long journey? she wondered, noticing how Rav's eyes kept shifting sideways to watch the weary-looking vampiress.

Angel was not there with them. Belle noticed immediately, her brows knitting together in more concern as he was supposed to be with them. Where was he? she wondered, fighting the rising urge to ask if anything had happened.

But feeling her parents' sharp gazes fixed on her, she bit the words back. If anything terrible had occurred, Rav and Evenly would not be calmly seated here. After all, Angel was posed as their son, and they had the right to panic openly about his wellbeing, unlike her, who had no acknowledged claim to him while they were in this house.

Furthermore, she recalled Rohan saying they would try to avoid having the baby in the same space as her when the Dawsons were around.

Though the excitement of seeing her son had waned when she didn't see him, it had not vanished completely, for Rohan was there, sitting opposite Rav at the long table.

His chair was not pulled close to the table like the others; instead, he lounged in it with casual carelessness, the front legs of the chair tipped back and balanced recklessly in the air. One arm rested loosely on the armrest while the other hung lazily at his side, his entire frame stretched out in an unbothered sprawl. His expression was blank and unreadable, the very picture of nonchalance, yet the weight of his presence seemed to thicken the air in the hall.

It was as though his indifferent posture alone commanded attention, unsettling the room without effort. Belle's parents sat stiffly, looking as though they were perched on the edge of swords, something she had never witnessed before. Her father always carried himself in the house like the king, but now he seemed not to have that control.

Rohan's gaze swept over her. Belle could see that he had only intended to glance at her once and then take his eyes away, but upon noticing what she was wearing, his gaze stayed on her. A subtle displeased look crossed his dark eyes as he sized her up, and then he looked away, his jaw tightening and working in restraint.

Nobody noticed his displeasure or anger, but she did. And then her mother's hardened eyes made her look towards her, and Belle saw she wasn't pleased at how she looked in the old dress.

"About time you finally came out, Isabelle," came Lady Louisiana's soft voice, laced with displeasure as she eyed her elder daughter, taking in the yellow dress and how tight it looked on her before a small frown settled on her face. "Don't you think a shawl should be put around you, with how tight that dress looks on you, before stepping out where everyone can see you?"

Of course, she would never be pleased with whatever she did or wore, Belle thought with an inner sigh, before quietly responding, "I... I don't have a shawl, and I can't seem to find my trunks in my room," she said, hinting at the fact that her trunks had been taken to the wrong room. She had not given them to Eve, and Belle would find a way to have them back.

Lady Louisiana glanced at her guests around the table, who were listening to their conversation, and then said with a small laugh, "What are you saying? What things? You didn't bring anything of yours here, my dear. I heard you telling your sister that everything you brought in the trunks was for her, as you missed her birthday months ago." She then added for the guests, who were listening but didn't look like they cared, "My girls are so close and best of friends, you see."

Turning back to her elder daughter, she continued, "You spoil your little sister so much. I didn't think you should give her those trunks as gifts, but don't worry, I will send for our family seamstress tomorrow to make you a new set of dresses and design something that will make you more presentable and respectable."

Belle couldn't believe how her mother had twisted things, making it look like she was the foolish one who had given away her belongings without thinking. If she argued about not giving her trunks of attires to Eve, no doubt her mother would think she was rebelling against her and make things harder for her here. But then, she couldn't let Eve keep those things she had taken.

"Mama, I didn't give Eve—" Belle began to voice out the truth, ready to tell her mother that her precious daughter had manipulated her into giving away those things, when she suddenly saw her mother's attention shift away from her, her eyes brightening as they swept to look behind.

She didn't have to turn to know her sister had walked into the hall, the strong flowery scent that wafted through the air gave her away.

"Oh my, Eve, you look lovely in that dress," exclaimed Lady Louisiana as her younger daughter walked into the hall in a maroon new dress with a beaming smile on her face.

Belle turned, and her eyes narrowed as she noticed her new dress on Eve's body. She clenched her fists at her side. She hadn't worn this particular dress yet; it was brand new and a gift from Rohan the night before their departure.