Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

To show just how little she cared about other people's lives, she called for a servant and ordered her morning blood tea to be brought. Only then did she turn to face Mr. Clifton and, with a bland tone of disinterest, inquire, "Who died?"

No doubt one of his human acquaintances had lost their fragile life, and he had thought to come and tell her, as if she cared, Cordelia thought with an internal scoff.

Josh ran his hands through his black hair and gritted out, "Your friends. Our only connections to the ancient, wealthy pure-bloods in Nightbrook, the Rothbarths, the Greywolves, and the Morgans. They were attacked by rogues last night, and no one survived, not the families, not even the workers. I can't believe this happened when they were the ones helping our connections grow!"

Cordelia, who had moments ago been utterly disinterested, was struck by the news as though she'd been punched in the gut. She shot up from the sofa and exclaimed, "What?! How is that possible? They were all here with me last night!"

"Well, they were attacked afterwards. They all live in White Valley town, and the rogues were said to have infested the town last night. They died without complete remains for burial," Josh Clifton explained.

Heated rage surged through Cordelia as the realization of what this could mean for their business, and for her, hit her hard. Without those three families backing her, Josh Clifton's wealth alone wouldn't keep her afloat in the turbulent sea of what she was planning to build. How could they have been attacked by rogues?

She had gone to bed last night in high spirits, believing Eddie Rothbarth would take care of the job of ridding her of that useless human, and she would wake up to news of her unfortunate death. But now this? Why would the rogues attack at this exact moment, when she needed those vampires alive?

Cordelia was so angry that she didn't care about her image in front of Josh when the servant walked in carefully with her tea.

"My lady, your morning tea."

Turning irritated eyes on the useless human servant, she snatched the tea and tray from the girl and slammed it against her, the porcelain cup shattering against the maid's head.

"Get out, you filthy, useless dirt!" she yelled.

Mr. Clifton, who was in the parlor, was startled by her sudden display of rage. He turned in time to see the bleeding maid run out for her life, then watched as Cordelia screamed and yanked at her own hair in anger. He had never seen her show any emotion other than sweet smiles and kindness to others. This side of her gave him pause before he told himself she must be feeling emotional over the death of her childhood friends.

"Cordie, get a hold of yourself," he said calmly.

But she turned dark, furious red eyes on him. Then, as if suddenly realizing who she was facing, she quickly composed herself. Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her hands over her hair, as though she hadn't just been in a fit of rage. Her lips curved into a bitter smile, her beautiful face now shadowed with grief, and she moved toward him.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest, as if seeking his support.

"I am sorry. I was just so sad that I lost my friends and partners in business. It's unfortunate, not only for the relationship I shared with them but also for our business," she said, forcing tears into her eyes and rubbing her body against him the way she knew the stupid human liked. He liked vulnerable women who relied on him, and just as she had expected, he wrapped his arms around her.

"I understand, my dear. Vincent and I had even made plans just a few days ago. He had promised to introduce me to some family members who, he said, bought beautiful slaves at a higher rate. He also mentioned that they were close relatives of the Greywolf, and he planned to invite them to attend our next auction. But now that he is no more, we will not only have setbacks in our plans, Cordie, but we will also have to find ways to make these plans work by ourselves," he told her, stroking her hair before continuing.

"I decided to switch my work to this establishment because I believed it would give me something bigger than my father, who insists on me having a son before I can inherit. But now that I think about it, I wish you would consider what we discussed last time. Having the entire Clifton name to myself will not only help us, but it will also make us the wealthiest in Nightbrook."

Cordelia gritted her teeth, knowing exactly what he was hinting at. The human wanted to marry her and father a son with her so he could inherit the Clifton legacy. As much as she would have loved to be the madam of a well-known jewelry maker and business owner, she was not about to lower herself to be the wife of a human and give birth to some brat who would be a half-breed.

She wanted to be a Duchess or a queen, or even a princess to a vampire man. Now that Eddie and Stephanie had died before they could have gotten rid of the human for her, Cordelia needed to think about something else. And while she did her thinking, she needed to get this fool out of her house first.

Pushing back from the hug, Cordelia looked up at Josh, who was staring at her with his love worn on his sleeve. She smiled at him and looked deeply into his eyes.

"I want you to leave and don't disturb me until I send for you. Send someone to get me that diamond necklace I requested the last time you were here. Also, find ways to make more connections so we can get more humans and also sell out more. Now go." She stepped back after compelling him and then watched him leave like a fool she believed he was.

She had to be careful with the compelling, which was why she didn't use it often, as one could only compel the same person about five times. This was her second time; by the time she used the last one, it would be to end this stupid relationship, which she needed to replace with a better one by then, with a man she knew thought so much like her.

"And only one man can fit that position. I will make him mine, no matter what I have to do to make it possible. We were meant to be, cousin Rohan, and fate has just made that possible by bringing you back."