Chapter 38 — Khloe’s POV
When I woke up, only two things first registered in my mind: it was too early for me to be awake, and Nico was moving to get out of bed.
Apparently, part of my brain decided the latter wasn’t okay, quickly wrapping my arms around his as the reasonable part of my brain struggled to fully wake.
He stopped moving once I did, surprising me enough to make me open my eyes a little.
The first thing I noticed was the small amount of light filtering through the curtains, showing that the sun was just barely rising.
My groggy eyes then shifted to Nico. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning on the arm I was holding onto.
He was just looking at me, his eyes widening ever so slightly.
I couldn’t tell what he was thinking—and part of me didn’t really care.
So, the part of my brain yelling at me to go back to sleep decided the most logical move was to tighten my grip on him and practically curl myself up against him.
It was only then that I realized what a completely horrific idea that was.
Luckily, I heard Nico let out a quiet laugh before panic could set in.
“Sorry, Khloe. That’s not going to work this time,” he said, his voice showing that he was tired.
I lifted my head, brows furrowing.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he replied, lightly pulling his arm away.
I reluctantly let go, watching him step away.
“Why are you up so early?” I partially whined, pushing myself up with my arms.
I ran a hand from the front of my head to the back, brushing my hair out of my face.
“The blood collection starts early, and I have to get there before it begins to make sure everything is in order,” he explained, pulling off his shirt.
Okay… now I was awake.
I sat up, stretching my arms over my head as he stepped into the closet.
“Oh, yea,” I sighed.
It was the day I was going to see everyone—every single person who lived in the city.
And they were going to see me.
Maybe I could wear something to hide my face. After all, it was going to be cold.
“Xander is going to be here in about fifteen minutes, so you need to be out of my bed by then,” Nico called from the closet.
I sighed again, throwing the blanket off.
“Okay,” I said simply, not wanting to question him.
If I had fifteen minutes, I’d stay here a little longer. After all, it didn’t take me long to get ready.
Even though my mind was awake, my body was still catching up.
“I still can’t believe that you two are brothers,” I said quietly.
For some reason, my mind refused to accept the fact.
It made so much sense, yet at the same time, none.
“You’re still thinking about that?” Nico asked, walking out of the closet in his formal attire, holding a long black dress jacket.
“Well, yea,” I began, “I just never would have guessed it if he hadn’t pointed it out.”
Nico hummed, fixing the collar of his shirt, amused by what I said.
“Believe me, if we weren’t related, I probably would have killed him by now.”
I couldn’t hide my smile.
“Then again, he’s kind of the only person in my immediate family I want to deal with right now,” he added casually.
My eyes widened as he put on his dress jacket.
It was times like these that I realized how little I actually knew about him and how little he talked about himself unless asked.
“You don’t like your parents?” I questioned.
Maybe he had more siblings I didn’t know about.
Nico thought for a moment before lazily shrugging.
“My mom is fine. She raised me like any other mother would, when she had time.”
When she had time?
He continued.
“My dad was like any caring father until I reached my teenage years. Then it was nonstop work, nonstop pressure to be like him so I could take his place when the time came.”
My brows furrowed, trying to piece together what he was saying with what I already knew. Some of it didn’t make much sense.
He spoke so normally I couldn’t tell how he really felt about it.
But I wanted to know more.
“What happened then?”
He looked back at me for a second.
“Then just like that, my parents were pretty much replaced with slaves and teachers who coached me in etiquette and thousands of other things I didn’t care about, while Xander lived his life like every other vampire my age.”
Okay… now he was showing some emotion—and it wasn’t pleasant.
Though I understood why he disliked them, some details still didn’t make sense.
He carried on.
“A couple hundred years passed, and I still hadn’t done what I had to do to take my father’s place—mainly because I didn’t want to—and he kept getting more aggravated. So when Xander told them he wanted to move to this city for a while, they decided to make me tag along, hoping I’d find a wife.”
My eyes went wide as I listened.
“They sent me here to get a wife, and I became a doctor instead. So I guess they don’t like me as much as I don’t like them,” he said with a shrug.
He actually shrugged.
He was talking about family troubles and just shrugged them off…
“I see,” I said, looking down at the deep maroon sheets.
I couldn’t imagine shrugging off my family.
Though it was clear our lives were very different.
Still, some details didn’t add up.
What kind of job did his father have that Nico would need to take his place—
Wait…
My head shot up toward Nico.
“Wait, you said Layla only wants to marry you for the title and power, right?” I asked excitedly, finally feeling like I’d solved the mystery.
“Yea?” he responded.
Oh my gosh…
I could feel excitement building inside me.
“So that means you’re the son of a—”
“Khloe.” He cut me off, his voice not annoyed but close.
It actually surprised me.
“I’ve already talked about my family more than enough today and don’t feel like dwelling on my duty in it right now.”
I stared at him, unsure what else to say.
“Sorry…” I managed.
Nico sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“It’s fine. Just hurry and get dressed. Xander will be here soon.”
