Chapter <b>190 </b>
Sienna’s POV:
“Sienna Nishikawa Legacy! Come down here this instant!”
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The sharp,manding tone of my aunt’s voice echoed through the cavernous halls of the mansion. I sighed. I didn’t even flinch. My eyes, fixed on the television screen, were following the clinical, detached exnation of a serial killer’s motives.
I was lounging on the living room sofa, my feet propped up on a ss coffee table. I paused the program, the images of crime scene photos frozen on the screen, and sat up straight. A quiet sense of resignation settled
over me.
I made my way down the grand, winding staircase slowly. Aunt Seraphina’s voice followed me, a running tirade that I had heard countless times before.
“I’m here,” I announced, my voice t, as I reached the bottom of the stairs and walked into the sprawling kitchen.
“Oh? You are? Really?” Aunt Seraphina rolled her eyes. She was making her evening coffee, her back to me as she stood next to the colossal marble kitchen aisle. Her snow–white hair was pulled back in a severe, low bun, not a strand out of ce. She was wearing her usual attire: cks and an office shirt, the very picture of a corporate CEO. Only on holidays did she ever stray from this uniform, preferring simple dresses.
“I did as you asked. I went to university,” I said.
She turned to face me, the steam from her coffee mug curling around her face like a halo. Her expression was one of pure, unadulterated frustration, a look that said she was fed up with me. Honestly? I would be too <b>if </b><b>I </b>was in her ce. But I wasn’t. My head was so messed up with this constant, underlying thirst that the me who once preferred to forgo sleep for studying nowy around the house doing nothing but watching bloody documentaries and sipping from week–old bloodbags that tasted nothing like the real deal.
My throat went dry, a phantom craving taking hold as my mind, for the millionth time, recalled his taste. I had never tasted blood so… appetizing? I wouldn’t call it sweet. No, in fact, it had a touch of spice to it, a tang that was so unique, so intoxicating, it was baffling. It was the taste of pure, unadulterated adrenaline, and it had left an indelible mark on my mind. Did all humans taste like that?
I rarely, if ever, felt the emotion called happiness in my life. The closest I ever got was a vague sense of calm after solving a particrly difficult problem. Butst night? When I finally felt the year–old thirst calm down. after so long, I finally felt it. Relief. A quiet, profound joy that was so foreign to me, it was frightening. The memory of his face<b>, </b>the way his eyes had widened in shock, the sheer power in my hands as I pinned him to the ground, it was all so vivid. I didn’t know if it was real or just a figment of my imagination that I had run into him… the same person in the morning. I could tell just by his scent. It was a mix of moss and rain and something else I couldn’t quite ce.
But I guess the hoodie lying in theundry basket, now with a fresh, brown stain from the coffee, would be a testament to the truth of it.
“Sienna!” Her hand pped the concrete countertop with a sharp, percussive sound, and I looked at her with a hooked brow. She knew these tactics didn’t work on me. Even as a child, getting scolded, or getting hit, never
<b>10:21 </b><b>Mon</b><b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>15 </b>
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made me feel fear. I wasn’t capable of feeling emotions that well. A fully certified psychopath they called me.
However, I wasn’t sure if the reason for that was my so–called childhood trauma, or if it was because <b>I </b>was basically a test subject. An abomination. A mixture of a wolf and a vampire. Something impossible, yet something that happened, something that should have never existed. And this so–called miracle of mine ended up taking my own mother’s life. I guess I should be happy that ‘they‘ decided never to try such an “experiment” again after seeing my results. The thought brought a bitter taste to my mouth.
“Sienna. Please,” she finally spoke, her voice softer now, her shoulders slumping. She looked exhausted. “I want you to actually give university a chance. Not just go in the morning ande back before even attending sses.” Her gaze was imploring, something I rarely ever saw in her eyes.
I frowned, a small, genuine sense of frustration bubbling up inside me. “I just don’t understand the reason for me going there. I already have all the knowledge I need to lead Legacy.” I had studied thepany’s financial records, memorized corporate strategy, and analyzed market trends since I was a child. I had a photographic memory, and a mind that could process information at an inhuman speed. I didn’t need a ssroom to teach me what I already knew.
She sighed, a long, drawn–out sound that was filled with a world of weary patience. “Sit down,” she said, taking her own seat on a bar stool. I did as I was told.
“Sweetheart… running apany isn’t like giving a test. It’s not just your own self that’s at stake. Just studying will not be enough. When you run apany, you need to have propermunication skills, you need empathy and understanding.” She paused, her gaze, steady, her eyes locked on mine. She reached over and ced <i>a </i>finger on top of my chest, her touch surprisingly light. “This whole thing only works when you think with your mind… as well as your heart.”
Theoretically, I understood what she meant. I knew the words. I had read about them in countless corporate leadership books. They were concepts I had mastered on paper, but in practice, they were meaningless.
“Haven’t I already tried that? Many times? During so many gs and-” I began, the memory of those forced, social gatherings shing in my mind.
She cut me off. “That’s what I mean. You tried, but you never can. And I get it, it’s partly my fault for homeschooling you all your life. But… honey… I am getting old… I don’t have much longer to live-”
I sighed, cutting her off. “Please don’t say that. You’re only seventy, vampires can easily live up to a hundred.” It was a logical, scientific fact. She looked at me, a rare, vulnerable expression in her eyes. I didn’t know why, but whenever she talked about herself dying, my chest ached. It wasn’t a pain I could describe, just a quiet, hollow emptiness that I didn’t like. It was obvious. After all, she was the only one in my world who knew me, and cared.
Not that it would be hard for me to live alone. I was already alone most of the time. I just wouldn’t prefer it.
“You’re not listening. One day, someday maybe not now, maybe decadester. You’ll end up alone, and I don’t want that for you. I want you to be happy. I understand that you don’t want to get married… or have a rtionship. But you need to understand that people need other people, even if it’s just in the form of friends. Even I, having never had a boyfriend, have had countless friends. That’s why it’s easy and I enjoy my
life.”
I pursed my lips, a thousand thoughts swirling in my mind. “But that’s because you’re normal. I don’t feel like you do. Hell, I can’t even <b>see </b>what you all can. Most of the time, the scenes in front of me are ck and white
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–“I paused, a pair of mossy green eyes flickering before me, a sudden, vivid burst of color in my mind’s eye. I pushed the image to the back of my mind.
“Honey… You are normal!” I knew she was going to begin another one of her tirades, another one of her long, winding lectures about how I was a perfect vampire, just like everyone else. Just like her. But I pulled my hand up. I was tired of hearing the same lies over and over again.
“Alright. Alright, I get it. I will go… if you insist so much. But on the condition that no one knows I am Sienna Legacy.” I said.
She frowned, pondering for a long while. Her gaze was fixed on me. “Is there a reason for that?” she questioned, her voice low and suspicious.
I nodded. “You said I didn’t have any social skills… well, I can’t prove you wrong if people think that I am the heir of Legacy. However, once I prove to you that it isn’t hard for me, you won’t force me to attend university.” I said, holding my hand up, my palm open. “Deal?” I questioned.
She frowned, her eyes <b>still </b>narrowed, before she sighed and brought her hand forward to shake mine. “Alright… fine. Deal.”
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