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Haider’s POV:
I nced at the outfit Mom had carefully set out for me. It was a Ralph Lauren polo and Loro Piana jeans. She always did this. The thought made a soft, amused smile y on my lips. Don’t get me wrong, she was just trying to help, she loved doing that, but her fashion sense… it was so damn expensive, <i>so </i>tantly loud. My goal for university this year was to be low–key. Blending in was not her strong suit.
I folded the outfit before setting them back neatly in the cupboard. I didn’t me her for it; Dad never really let her go to department stores or normal shops at the mall. I was all too familiar with it.
Freshly showered, I pulled the towel from my waist. The steam from the hot water had fogged up the mirrors, blurring the reflection of the bandage on my neck. I peeled off the old one and carefully applied a new bandage. The two punctures truly had turned into one. Making me believe that maybe, I had truly hallucinated.
I pulled on a in white T–shirt–a cheap butfortable one from a department store I had found myself- and a pair of dark jeans. Then I slipped on my go–to leather jacket, a worn,fortable thing I had bought from Global Vige when Ist visited Dubai. All together my outfit was just below a hundred dors. Which, for me, was pretty cheap.
Having dried my hair with a towel, I ran a hand through the damp strands, pulling them away from my face. I grabbed my keys and wallet, stuffing them into my pocket. My phone, a iPhone 15 with a huge crack spiderwebbing across the screen, sat on my bedside table. I sighed as I picked it up. I didn’t like getting new phones. Transferring all the data was just too much work, too much of a hassle. For years, I had been using the same phone, and in all these years this was the first time the screen had cracked.
Just as I grabbed my shoulder bag, a sudden knock on the door made me pause. I turned to find Dad entering, his posture rigid and his expression unreadable. I hooked my brow, a wave of confusion washing over me. “Weren’t you guys going to take a nap before heading to work?” I questioned.
“Is something wrong?” I added, my voice dropping to a serious tone.
He nced back, a quick, furtive look to check if someone was outside. The action, so unlike his usual open demeanor, made me frown. He shut the door softly and sighed. He motioned for me to sit down on the bed, and I did, my heart beginning to pick up its pace.
He stood for a long moment, just looking at me. His gaze was searching, as if he was trying to find something in my eyes.
“Tell me exactly what happenedst night,” he ordered, his voice low and serious. “Don’t lie.”
My brows quirked up in surprise. We were still talking about this? I thought that was the end of it back at grandpa’s.
“Didn’t I already tell you?” I asked, a small, uneasy smile quirking my lips.
But my smile fell when he looked at me with that no bullshit gaze.
“What did you mean when you mentioned a vampire?” he asked. The question caught mepletely off
guard. My brows shot up.
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“You… actually believed that?” I questioned, my voice filled with a genuine shock. I didn’t think he would take it this seriously. My mind raced, putting together the pieces of the puzzle: his grave tone, his furtive nces. It all pointed to something I couldn’tprehend. “Have… you seen one before?” I questioned back, my eyes narrowed.
He pursed his lips, then sighed, a long, weary sound. “Haider. I never went through something like this. But I do know about it and I need you to understand that there are things in this world that people like us can’t understand and shouldn’t try to either. It would onlynd us in more trouble, alright?” He was speaking in hushed tones, his voice filled with an urgency that I had rarely, if ever, heard before.
Holy shit. I never thought something like this would happen. All my life, I had lived in a world where everything had a reason, a name, a price. But now, my father, a man of power and logic, was telling me that there were things beyond ourprehension. The thought was both terrifying and exhrating.
He narrowed his eyes, as though sensing my excitement, and the look was enough to bring me back down to reality. “Haider. I am very serious. Things like this could upturn your life… and NOT in a good way. I need you to reinstall the tracking app on your phone for a while and make sure to ept my calls whenever I do. No excuses.” His voice turned grave.
I pushed my excitement down, realizing it would be better to just go along with him. I nodded, a somber expression on my face. “Even during ss?” I questioned, a hint of amusement in my tone.
He rolled his eyes. “Even then.”
I frowned, but then nodded. “Alright,” I said. He rarely asked me for something like this, and my parents had always been open–minded, even when I was a teen. So I didn’t mind when they asionally became overprotective after something like this happened. He was just trying to look out for me.
“No going outte at night for a while. Or in alleyways either. The driver is waiting for you downstairs. Go with him,” he said, his voice firm.
I went rigid. “Is all that really necessary? I was gonna take a bus… it’s pretty saf-” He cut me off, his hand raising in a gesture that told me the discussion was over.
“Just for a little while, son. It’s for your own good. It will give your mother some peace of mind, too,” he said, the softness returning to his voice. Damn it. He always knew how to use the “mother card” just right. It was his ultimate weapon, a low blow I could never fight against.
I clenched my jaw and sighed. “Fine,” I said, getting up from the bed. “If that’s all, then I’m leaving. I’ll bete.” I walked toward the door, my shoulder bag in my hand.
He nodded, a faint smile on his lips as he got up. “Good luck. Study hard,” he said, then paused just as I was about to open the door. “And Haider?” he questioned.
“Hm?” I asked, putting on my sneakers.
“Try to find a girlfriend, alright?” he said, and I snapped my head to him with a quirked brow, augh bubbling up in my chest.
“Are you serious? Aren’t parents supposed to be all like ‘no going out and falling in love‘ during school?” I
asked.
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Dad quirked his lips, a knowing look in his eyes. “You aren’t a child anymore, son. You’ll be twenty soon. You’re going to university, not school.”
I couldn’t help scoffing. I turned around, waving my hand dismissively as I walked into the corridor. “Go to sleep, old man.”
The drive to uni was long. But I asked the driver to drop me a few miles away from the main campus. If I was seen driving a Valencius exclusive car, it would be obvious who I was right from the start.
Contrary to what others might think, most people didn’t know myplete name. For others, I was known as Haider Vetrov–that was mainly to protect me from danger. And barely a few people from the upper echelons had seen my face, as my parents preferred I stayed away, at least until I made my choice about whichpany I was going to take over.
I stepped out onto the sidewalk, the cold air hitting my face. The campus was a stunning, state–of–the–art marvel of modern architecture, all ss and steel and sprawling courtyards. I walked inside the massive building, the sound of student chattering growing louder with every step. I nced around, taking in the throng of students everywhere. Some were in tight–knit groups,ughing and talking, their faces open and full of energy. Others were alone, their heads buried in their phones.
I made my way inside, deciding to head to the administrative office to greet Shinichiro. He was another one of Mom’s countless strange friends, a brilliant professor whom she had been friends with for years. We had met on multiple asions, and Mom had asked me specifically to greet him, telling me he’d help and guide me. Not that I needed much help, but since she’d asked me to, I would go greet him. Not to mention his older brother was a world–renownedwyer whom I really admired.
Only, as I turned the corner to the administrative office, someone collided into my chest with a hard oof. The impact sent me stumbling back a step, but the person who hit me fell back on their ass. The coffee cup in their hand flew into the air,nding on the floor with a wet thud. It sshed across their clothes, and into my own white T–shirt.
I was startled at first, thinking it was a kid. Because, obviously, only a kid could be so short–around four feet ten maybe? My eyes traced their legs, which were so pale they were almost white, and my brows rose at the short shorts they were wearing, which weren’t very appropriate for a university in the middle of a cold winter. But then the person’s ck hoodie fell back, revealing a mop of jet–ck hair and bangs, and my eyes widened. My heart kicked into overdrive, a frantic, thunderous beat against my ribs.
Those phoenix eyes…
“You?!” I gasped, the word escaping my lips as if against my will. It was her. Fromst night.
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