My Most Precious Human
Chapter 23

I gasped and stared deeply into his eyes. "My father... did what?" I muttered, fearfully.

"You heard me. Now, tell me... would you be so eager to "protect" a child of your mother's killer?" Sariel smirked coldly.

"I am nothing like him!" I burst out, "I don't even resemble him in the slightest! You know very well that his features are determined by the wolf gene, which I don't have!"

"Is that supposed to be the reason why I should protect you from him?" He chuckled mockingly.

I clenched my teeth. There was no way I could cover my tracks in New Argent City after three days. Until then, my father would surely mobilize an army of wolves to block every possible communication road out of the city. I could as well give myself in. Duke's protection was the only chance I had to survive...

"I'm... begging you..." I mumbled, "You have a reason to hate my father, but so do I..."

"Oh, poor little princess! Do you think I care that you rebelled because you and your father had issues?" Sariel sneered.

"What my father had prepared for me is not some political marriage!" I cried out, "I would be expected to give birth to a male wolf, and then I would surely be killed once I'm not needed anymore!"

"I seriously doubt that D'Apolito would let anyone hurt his own blood," Sariel claimed, still mocking my desperation.

"His own blood? You know nothing about him, do you?" I chuckled bitterly. "He is a person that forcefully took me away from my mother and then made sure that no one would adopt me. He experimented on my blood, and because of that, the nuns at the orphanage mercilessly drained me every three days! If it wasn't for the fact that some of my special genes were supposed to activate after I became an adult, I would probably have been sold when my first period appeared! And... when I turned eighteen and I was brought before him, do you know what he said to me? He said, "Good that I didn't kill that thing right after birth, now it can at least bring me a fortune." Those were the words of the person who called himself "my father"! Now, tell me that I don't have a reason to hate him?!" I shouted while swallowing tears. Sariel glanced at me and smirked. Then he grabbed my hand and pulled me up from my knees.

"So what? Do you want me to pity you? I don't keep around me people that are useless," he stated harshly.

I wiped the tears off of my cheeks and looked straight into my eyes. I knew that it was my only chance. I had to give him a reason to keep me. I had to prove to him that I was worth keeping. "Before you say anything," he started, not letting me open my mouth, "I don't want your blood. If you think you could just sign a contract with me and become my donor, forget it."

I sighed. Obviously, that was the first thing that came to my mind, but fortunately, my blood wasn't my only asset.

"I can bring you money," I said confidently.

Sariel burst out laughing and then called out, "Look around you! Do you think I am in need of money?!"

"I know you are a wealthy pers... a wealthy vampire. I know that you practically own most of New Argent City, but money is power. You can never have enough power, especially when you are the next one in line for the throne..." I smirked.

"How do you know that?" he asked curiously.

"Martha and Mr. Gotha told me a few details, and I found the rest on the internet and matched the dots," I explained, shrugging.

Sariel chuckled, then sat comfortably in an armchair that stood in the corner of the room.

"I'll give you a minute. Talk," he ordered.

I took a deep breath. I had to thank my inquisitiveness for doing a small research on Sariel's companies beforehand. Surprisingly, at this moment, this knowledge could save my life...

"The Argent Investment Bank that you own is currently looking for new projects outside the city. One of the projects that received early approval was a villa estate that was supposed to be built by Estelle Development. Unfortunately, this project is going to be a complete failure," I stated seriously.

"How is that?" Sariel inquired.

"The area that they bought for the construction site had an extremely cheap price, but no one from your company was even curious about why. The truth is that the whole area was once an old cemetery. The ground there is a wetland that may easily subside, even during the construction. It cannot be used to build anything, unless you plan to do something cheap and sell it at a high price just to make a big profit, and then quickly escape with the money before anyone realizes that those households are uninhabitable," I analyzed, smirking.

"Who gave you all this information?" Sariel gazed at me suspiciously.

"I have my own resources. I have been doing things like that for years. I have dozens of clients from companies around the world. I can do risk analysis for investment projects, financial audits, and financial predictions. I can easily tell which investment is going to gain profit and which one is not, and I am never wrong," I claimed assuredly.

Sariel seemed intrigued, but not completely convinced.

"If you are as good as you try to make me believe you are, why hasn't anyone hired you? Headhunters should have been fighting over such a talent, so why aren't you already working for some huge company?" he kept asking suspiciously.

I took a deep breath and gazed at Sariel. "No company run by humans can offer me protection from my father's pack. That is the only reason why I have never chosen to take the position I've been offered, no matter how tempting it may seem."

Sariel chuckled and got up from the chair. Then he stepped closer and leaned over me.

"I'll look into what you said about the Estella Development. If it turns out to be true, I will consider giving you a position in my company," he whispered directly to my ear, nearly touching my earlobe.

His enticing voice messed me up entirely. It didn't matter what he said, but the way he said it... I stepped away from him, feeling my face uncontrollably turning red. My flusteredness made my mind blank. It took me a while to process Sariel's words. He smirked, watching my inability to regain composure.

"You may go back to your room. I will let you know when I make my decision," he stated and walked towards the door.

"O-ok..." I mumbled, breaking out of bewilderment.

Watching him go out of the room made me sigh in relief. I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to cool down my pounding heart. When he was about to close the door, he suddenly stopped and turned around. "By the way, that dress looks good on you," Sariel tossed, then carefully looked me up and down. "It makes you look... tasty," he said, slightly biting his lip.

I gulped, then chuckled hysterically. He smirked and left the room while I was ineptly trying to force my heart not to beat so loudly. Then I started to wonder if I made the right choice in asking Sariel for protection. It certainly was the lesser evil, but almost anything would be better than letting someone treat me as a living incubator that could be easily disposed of when not needed. Now, I realized that I would have to make an iron shield to protect my poor, unreasonable heart from Sariel's wicked banter.

I went back to my room and stood in front of the mirror. One slit of my dress was torn. It must have been Sariel's doing... Of course, I recalled that embarrassing moment right away. It wasn't only my mind that brought back the image of his lustful, sharp eyes gazing into mine, my body memorized his touch as well. Goosebumps covered my skin, and I instantly felt a wave of tickling sensation that shamefully filled me with excitement.

"Why do you react this way, Lilith?! You know that he is playing with you! It's his game! You are too wise to be carried away by something like that!" I scolded my own reflection.

Then I noticed my bruised wrist, which was also Sariel's doing. Only then did I try to move it around and felt how hurt it was.

"You see this, Lilith? This could only turn to a toxic relationship, filled with domestic violence..." I mocked myself, laughing bitterly.

I undressed myself then took a long shower. While washing off my anxieties, I decided to be stronger. I knew I had to hide my emotions deep inside me, and never reveal them. After I got out of the shower, I splashed cold water onto my face as if I was trying to stiffen my mimic muscles. Then I changed my clothes like I was putting on new armor and waited until Sariel called me. Fortunately, my restlessness didn't last too long. Mr. Gotha came for me, just when I finished my preparations...

He cleared his throat and said, in a serious tone, "Master awaits you in his study."

I walked towards him and smirked. "Then we should get going, Mr. Gotha."

I was about to hear the verdict...

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