SWNOVELS Chapter Beginnings
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Viola
From that day forth, at his request, Darius becomes Dae. It will require getting used to, yet since his transformation, it feels like the natural order of things. Darius Kane is no more, and Dae Han has been resurrected—he is a living, breathing Dhampir.
Initially, Dae contemplated burning down the Spencer manor, but now that it rightfully belongs to Elliott, we decided against it. Ultimately, it’s just a structure. The malevolence within it now lies submerged, decaying at the bottom of a lake.
During breakfast, which I shovel into my mouth at a rapid rate, needing more food than normal to heal after being drained last night, I inform Mr. Norris that I intend to visit my friend Pollyanna.
I hand Mrs. Norris two letters. “Have this sent to Polly and this one is for her father, Mr. Argyle, so they know we’re coming. I’ll be taking Elliott and Sophie with me.”
Mrs. Norris, however, protests my intention to drive myself, all the way from the breakfast table to when I head outside to the car.
“It’s unbecoming for a lady to drive,” she admonishes as I slip on my driving gloves.
Sophie and Elliott eagerly climb into the car and wait. Dae will accompany us from above until we’re out of sight of the manor.
“Edmund should drive you; a Lady should not be traveling alone,” she continues.
“Thank you for your concern, Mrs. Norris, but driving was a pastime I enjoyed with my father, and I sorely miss it,” she goes to continue to argue on the matter, but I stun her into silence with a hug,
“Take care of yourself, Mrs. Norris. When my husband returns, assure him we’ll return by the 21st. I don’t want William to worry,” I add with a reassuring smile.
Knowing I’ll never step foot in this house again, this is the last time I’ll be seeing Mrs. Norris, though she remains unaware. Without a moment’s hesitation, I slide into the driver’s seat and start the engine before swiftly pulling away, eager to begin our journey.
I watch the house diminish in my mirror until it’s finally gone, hidden behind scenery—the tightness in my rib suddenly releases, and I’m free to breathe.
Sophie shoots me a subtle wink in the rearview mirror while Elliott occupies himself with a toy soldier and horse beside her.
Once we’ve put enough distance between us and the house, Dae gracefully lands on the car’s roof and slips gracefully through the window to sit beside me.
“You’re an excellent driver, my love,” he compliments—his gorgeous smile nearly has me swerving off the road as he plants a quick kiss on my cheek.
“I’ve always wanted to learn how to ride a motorbike, but my father drew a hard line. He said they were dangerous,” I tell Dae.
Dad smirks. “He wasn’t wrong. I will teach you.”
Sophie clears her throat behind us, clearly disapproving of my learning to ride, but I suppose she’s beyond mothering me now that I’m half dead already.
We journey throughout the day, pausing only for refueling. The inn we discover is modest, but for our first meal as a family at the restaurant, I’m filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. We’re finally on our way to freedom.
Reuniting with Pollyanna proves a surreal experience. It’s as if I’m seeing a ghost from an old life I could never return to—too changed by all I’ve endured. I find myself reticent to divulge too much of what has happened since we last met, and the last thing I wanted to do was lie to her. How could I possibly tell Polly of such awful things and the story of how I met Dae and who he is to me? I’m still legally married, after all.
Sensing there’s more beneath the surface, Pollyanna refrains from prying. It’s evident she’s influenced by Dae’s aura, almost rendered pliable as if swayed to agree with his every word and reticent to challenge the stories we tell her. She hangs off every word he says and even begins to flirt with him, and here I am, stuck pretending he’s my chaperone, unable to reveal the truth that Dae is my everything.
After meeting with Polly, we proceeded to meet with her father, Mr. Argyle. I had long been aware of his desire to acquire one of the buildings my father owned in London. He had repeatedly approached me, urging me to persuade my father to sell it to him. However, that particular building housed my mother’s flower shop, and for him, it held sentimental value as a monument to his love for her.
As much as I wanted to be sentimental about it, my parents are gone, and my life’s trajectory has shifted away from England. I’ve never truly planted roots anywhere—I’m akin to a dandelion seed, carried by the wind until I find a place to settle.
In exchange for what seems like an unbeatable offer, Mr. Argyle turns a blind eye to several significant legal discrepancies in our paperwork. He even opens an account for Elliott at his bank, with me as his guardian, despite the adoption not yet being legally finalized. With this arrangement, we can sustain ourselves for quite some time without relying on William’s inheritance for Elliott, a considerable portion of which once belonged to my father.
“If you ever decide to sell any more property from your father’s portfolio, you know where to come first,” Mr. Argyle says as he escorts me to the exit after finalizing the paperwork with our lawyers.
I nod. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know you’ll look after it.”
“I’d like to re-open your mother’s store as a floristry again; that’d be nice, I think, in her memory. We can name it after you. Or Willow’s and Viola’s? That has a nice ring to it,” he suggests as we linger at the door of his bank.
“That’s very sweet; you’re going to make me cry,” I pout, trying to suppress tears as I imagine a sign with both our names on a shop window.
“It’s done then,” he says proudly, holding his hand out for me to shake.
We say our goodbyes, and I’m barely around the corner when Dae comes swooping from nowhere and drapes his arm around me.
Dae kisses me tenderly as he begins to escort me back to our hotel. “Well done, my love, you were brilliant.”
I let out a breath that I feel I’ve been holding for hours. Before I can respond, I notice how women admire Dae as we pass. It bothers me immensely to witness their admiring glances as we go about our business. I can see their desire for him practically oozing from their eyes as they watch him. The creature within me stirs with a jealous possessiveness every time we go out.
With my magic, I can manipulate the strength of my Dhampir aura—I attract far less attention that way and pass as seemingly human. As for Dae, his captivating aura remains ever-present, ensnaring women in his perilous allure. It was difficult at first—it still is—but Dae says exposure therapy might be the best way to get used to it.
“I rather enjoy your possessiveness over me darling, but it’s in our best interest to control it. We don’t want to be accidentally decapitating women wherever we go; you’d leave a trail,” he quips.
“It wouldn’t be an accident,” I mumble as we walk. “We’re supposed to be keeping our heads low, and you’re making that impossible.”
Dae pulls me closer under his arm and inhales my scent, grumbling with satisfaction as he releases his breath.
I slowly go from wanting to rip their heads off to only wanting to claw their eyes out, which I think is a vast improvement.
“A few more weeks, a month at the most, and we’ll be ready to sail out of here. Just be patient, little mouse,” Dae says, planting a kiss on the top of my head.
Ultimately, to quell my jealousy, all I need to do is gaze into Dae’s eyes and feel the intensity of his love burning through our connection. In that simple moment, the world around us fades away, and no one’s in danger of being decapitated. Additionally, I extend my aura to match Dae’s, and men begin to ogle me rather obviously. Dae immediately decides that we need to do better at staying unnoticed and insists we pass the time waiting for all the legalities to finalize by staying at our hotel and making love every minute of every waking day.
I didn’t protest.
We quickly learn that the child growing within me isn’t human. We can’t tell for sure if she’s a Dhampir or a Vampyre until she enters the world. Whatever she is, she’s growing fast and is always famished.
In order to ensure I stay strong enough to carry our daughter Dae teaches me how to hunt and feed on humans discreetly to avoid detection.
Watching him talk about stalking prey, hunting people, and knowing when to stop drinking their blood, it’s as if these tasks are routine for him. He also teaches me how to distinguish a witch from a human, mainly by closely examining their eyes or blood to detect the blue light they possess. Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of using the correct amount of venom to erase their memories without inadvertently transforming them. It’s evident that Dae has been honing these skills for centuries, as he’s brimming with invaluable guidance and insights.
While we can still eat regular food, our daughter’s insatiable hunger is likely due to her rapid growth rate, and she requires blood to satisfy her thirst. Otherwise, there are days that I can barely move from fatigue, but those are the days that Dae raids the blood bank.
We travel around for almost a month, doing our best to stay low, until we receive word that all the documents processed by William’s lawyer have been finalized and legally binding. At last, I am officially Elliott’s mother. When I share the news with him, he envelops me in the most heartwarming hug, nearly shattering me with its sincerity.
Shortly thereafter, an anonymous tip leads the police to a potential location where William might be found. His disappearance, declared a week after his death, had cast suspicion on me due to all the conveniently timed documents now making me the guardian of a very wealthy three-year-old—not that they could prove anything. Mr. Collins made it very clear in his statement that it was Lord William Spencer who quite forcefully insisted that all of those documents be drawn up and lodged.
The police had been checking the surrounding area around the house for clues but hadn’t thought to check the bottom of the nearby lake.The mystery of how his vehicle ended up at the lake’s center remains unsolved. However, I am absolved of any suspicion—it’s inconceivable for any human, let alone a woman, to maneuver him there.
I am now officially a widow and finally free of William. The last tether binding me to England is finally cut, and we board a ship to Dae’s homeland—Korea.
Sophie is skeptical—she’s never been outside of Europe, and neither have I, but this is yet another dream come true. Everything is finally falling into place.
Every night, Dae teaches me his mother tongue. He showed me the alphabet and different ways of writing words. It’s unlike anything I’ve encountered before, and it’s difficult for me to grasp, but I’m captivated when I listen to him speak—he makes learning effortless, though he can be a bit distracting.
Dae and I lie naked in bed as he prompts me with random words to repeat and corrects me if I make any mistakes.
Then, he utters something new that leaves me puzzled.“Nae anaega doesibsio.”
I look up at him and repeat the words. “Nae.”
“My,” he explains the meaning of the word before repeating the second. “Anaega doesibsio.”
“Nae anaega doesibsio,” I repeat quietly, and he smiles at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. I wait for him to explain the meaning but he says nothing.
“Dae, what does it mean?” I ask.
Dae moves his large hand, rubbing a big circle on my growing belly. “Be my wife.”
I start to chuckle, but given the way his face twists, Dae is disappointed by my response.
“It’s a little late for that,” I say, looking at my belly. “Can you imagine the look on any preacher’s face at mine showing up like this just days after being widowed?”
Dae smirks. “It’s not ideal, no, but we can always be married by the captain. I know marriage for you might mean something very different than it means to me, and you’ve had an awful experience of it. I love you, Viola. I already consider you mine, and I hope you know I am yours for all eternity, but I am a traditional man, and you would honor me by accepting my hand.”
How does he always know the right things to say? He’s right—marriage has been more of a curse than a blessing in my experience, but when I look at Dae, I don’t even hesitate to say the words. “I would do anything for you, Dae—”
“Including marry me?” he interrupts with a hint of amusement in his tone.
I laugh. “Including marrying you.”