Lilah was starting to get used to her family's pampering but the more they did, the more skeptical and suspicious she became.
It could've been that the vampires had already come to propose while I was unconscious. In that case, they suddenly changed their attitude so that she would want to go with them without much struggle.
If she received so much warmth from them in such a short time, something they had never done before, she would feel grateful and go with the vampires.
That was what she thought was behind their sudden kindness.
If not, there was no other explanation.
In the original novel, they didn't go this far. They didn't even care about how Lilah felt and simply sent her off. It might be different this time but the end was the same.
'I wasn't planning to refuse to begin with.' Lilah thought. 'I know how my fate ends. I know that I'll have to die at the hands of the vampires on my 21st birthday. I know it, and I was prepared for it, but these days...' she clutched her cane tight. 'Their actions are making my resolve go soft.'
She was ready to die because she knew that changing her fate was impossible. She did not even try to entertain thoughts that she might actually get to live or that her family would refuse to send her off. She became good enough for them to love.
She had no hope.
But as they treated her so kindly and did everything for her, it made her see a glimmer of hope. A poisonous hope that would only come back to bite her.
Having baseless hope was the most painful thing. Even more painful than death because at that moment that it seems like all the hope one has is all for nothing, the despair kicks in and rips the heart apart.
That pain... She did not want to feel it again. The pain of having her hope, her strong fate, and her beliefs ripped to shreds by the devices of the world.
"Shall we get going?" She heard her first brother's voice and raised her head.
She nodded and stood up. He held her hand and smiled even though she would not be able to see it.
"The car is ready." He said. "Since you couldn't get your measurement from that famous artisan and your birthday is in a month, we'll have to get you something else."
"Thank you, Harry." Lilah said with her sweet and clear voice.
"I told you, call me brother." He said and she pressed her lips together.
This kindness and warmth she was feeling from them... It was making her have hope.
"Alright," she smiled. "Brother."
Hearing Lilah call him that, Harry felt happy. He was doing his best to make up for his mistakes and how much he left his sister to suffer but he knew that nothing he did would be enough.
"Is Dawn coming back today?" Lilah asked and Harry nodded.
"Yes. She should be on the plane now." He said. "She'll probably land in an hour or two."
"Then, shouldn't you get ready to pick her up?" Lilah asked but Harry's face did not look so bright after hearing her say something like that.
"I'm spending time with you today." He declared. "Why should I leave you to go pick up Dawn?"
*Badum*
There it was again. That kind word was directed to her. Why was he being like this? He was making her heart beat so loudly, lightly, and hopefully.
She was feeling like this was a life she would want to keep living. A life where her brothers would wrap their arms around her as they sought to protect her from any harm.
Harry and the rest of the family usually went to pick Dawn up from the airport every time she came back from school, but his attitude towards her had changed completely.
"Besides, Patrick will go to the airport to pick her up." He said and opened the door to help her in. "She doesn't need both of us to pick her up."
Lilah's cheeks burned lightly as she nodded and said,
"I see."
"Watch your head." He placed his hand on the door frame so she wouldn't bump her head while entering the car. Afterward, he closed the door and turned around to enter the other way.
Lilah could count how many times she had entered a car on one hand. Mostly because she was always left at home and it wasn't like she could go anywhere with her eyes like that.
Lilah turned to Harry, the glow of his heart in her view.
Though she did not have her sight, she was gifted with an ability that allowed her to see the hearts of the people next to her, or rather still, the people talking to her.
And currently, the glow of Harry's heart, which used to be dark as he used to resent her a lot, had become lighter. She could almost find no traces of that darkness anymore and that was why she was so confused.
If he was being honest with his treatment towards her then did that mean this was not all an act?
She couldn't understand it but she chose not to get ahead of herself and think that this was all done for her own sake. Because she would only end up in disappointment and pain once it all backfired on her.
She chose not to believe the glow for now, even if it had been right all along.
'It was thanks to this ability that I was able to see that my sister wasn't a good person. No matter how much she smiled at me and acted nice, her heart was always so black and cruel.' She bowed her head. 'If I had believed the front she put up when talking to me then I would've been betrayed and hurt when I least expected it.'
"How are you?" Harry asked. "Do you feel sleepy?"
"No, I'm not tired and I..."
*Bam!* The car suddenly went turbulent and another car hit Lilah's door.
Harry immediately pulled Lilah, protecting her head with his arms from the broken chards and holding her close.
Then, the car screeched and came to a stop.
"Lilah, are you okay?"
His first concern with Lilah made Lilah, whose heart was thumping violently, wonder... Why?
"Dammit! What was that?!" He turned to the driver. "What happened?"
"I'm sorry, young master, but the car in the opposite direction was coming in full speed and didn't seem like it was going to stop, so I turned the direction of the car to avoid it, but it ended up hitting the side door where Miss Lilah was."
The driver sounded confused and Harry got mad.
"Who's the idiot driving a car so fast in traffic?" He yelled and looked at Lilah. "Lilah, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" He looked at her carefully to make sure she hadn't been cut by the shards.
She was fine but she was trembling.
"Don't be scared, it's fine. I'm right here." He hugged her and then got out of the car with her.
On the opposite side, the car that the driver identified to have been driving at full speed had crashed into a street lamp.
"Who is it?" He wondered and watched the door fly out.
The person in the car had kicked the door and then got out, his head bleeding and his clothes ruffled.
Lilah turned, wondering what the commotion looked like and what exactly could be happening but she could not even see, so why wonder?
But then, she saw it. The heart of the person who had stumbled out of the wrecked car.
'A heart of gold.' She thought.
The reason she said that was because his heart glowed with pure golden hue. There was no darkness and there was no simple light.
This man... He was someone with a good heart.