Vanessa walked down the library aisle in search of a book that could kill her boredom. The recent challenges she faced had really taken a toll on her emotional well-being. About a week had passed since she last saw Stephan, Francis, or even Matthew, but she had heard some rumors about Matthew leaving school.
Thinking about the times they spent together, Vanessa felt pain flow through her entire body. At this point in time, there was no other person in this world she missed more than her father, but she felt too guilty to call him. Even writing him letters became a huge problem.
As she scanned the library for a book to read, her eyes eventually fell on a great title – Immortal Love: Reincarnated Resurrection. Curiously, she brought out the book from the shelf before walking to sit on the couch. Not so long after, Damon stepped into the library with some biscuits in hand.
"Hi," he greeted with a friendly smile.
"Hi." She put down the book and turned her attention to him.
"So, how have you been coping since then?" Damon asked with sincerity.
"I don't know. Sometimes I feel like all of this happened because of me – sometimes I feel like I'm the victim… I don't know who to blame anymore."
Damon sat beside her. "Trust me, if I were to blame someone, it definitely wouldn't be you. What happened wasn't your fault. You shouldn't shoulder the guilt of others."
"Thank you, Damon."
"Anytime." He glanced at the biscuits he was holding. "Do you want some?"
"Thanks, but I'm not hungry," Vanessa retorted.
Damon chuckled. "Why not? Do you think it's poisoned?"
"No, I just don't feel like eating," Vanessa laughed. "Why would I think it was poisoned?"
"Well, that's because I haven't tasted them myself." Damon tore the biscuit package open and ate one of its contents before passing the rest to Vanessa. "See, I'm not choking or dying, which means that the biscuit is perfectly safe."
"I'll only eat because you convinced me to," Vanessa smiled.
"When will you be returning home?" Damon asked.
"I don't know yet, but I'll probably decide before this week ends. What about you?"
"Well, technically, I live here."
"Lucky you." She pouted. "Unlike you, I'll have to book a flight back to New York."
"I'm sure your family would be very happy to see you," Damon replied.
"Yeah, they would," Vanessa sighed. "I miss him so much."
"Your dad?"
"Yeah. He's my only family."
"Umm… sorry."
"It's okay," Vanessa assured.
"Same goes for me. My dad is my only family," Damon said.
"Really? No uncles, no aunts?"
"Yeah, they're all dead."
"Same here," Vanessa chuckled. "How did they die?"
Damon reluctantly replied, "Well, at first, the doctors said it was an accident, but my dad told me an entirely different story."
"A curse. Was it about a curse?"
Damon furrowed his brows. "How did you know that?"
"Because that's exactly what my dad told me. Something about our ancestors committing a grave sin that nature had to punish them for."
"Did you believe it?" Damon asked.
"At first I didn't… Actually, I didn't want to believe it even after I saw solid proof of everything he said being true."
"What proof?"
"A book," Vanessa answered.
"Doombringer?" Damon added.
"You know about it?"
"Read about it once in my granddad's chronicle. I-I thought it was just a legend. I didn't believe it."
"Well, you'll have to because I've seen it," Vanessa replied.
"How? Where?"
"It's locked away in my dad's church."
After hearing what Vanessa said, Damon was overwhelmed. Although his dad did tell him stories of their heritage, it wasn't something he considered important. Just as Damon was about to ask her more questions, Stephan approached her. Damon stood up immediately and punched him, putting him down on the ground.
"How dare you come before her?" Damon questioned.
"I came here to apologize," Stephan answered.
"Well, too bad, your apologies aren't needed. Leave!" Damon commanded.
"I'm really starting to wonder if something's going on between the two of you," Stephan got up to his feet and shoved Damon. "It seems like you two planned everything right from the start."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Damon frowned.
"You got her to seduce Francis, Matthew, and me so that we could all get into a fight – a fight in which you'd be seen as the hero who saved the day."
Damon laughed at Stephan's stupidity. "And why the hell would I want to do that?"
"I don't know. You know your reasons."
Vanessa was tired of their arguments and stood up to leave, but before she could walk past Stephan, he grabbed her wrist. Seeing this, Damon frowned and grabbed Stephan's arms, "Let her go before I break your fingers!"
Stephan directly ignored Damon and said to Vanessa, "I'm really sorry for hurting you, and as someone who cares about you, I've decided to stay away from you; forever."
Vanessa was touched by his words, but Damon, on the other hand, didn't believe anything that came out of Stephan's mouth. He knew the guy to be a liar and a betrayer, so he wasn't just going to believe him.
Tears fell from Vanessa's eyes as she turned to face him, "I do not care!"
At this point in time, Damon kicked Stephan away from Vanessa. Stephan glared at Damon before turning to face Vanessa with a sad face, "Francis has decided to kill himself!"
"What?" Damon and Vanessa said in unison.
"He believes that the guilt of betraying you is not something he can live with. He has decided to end his life by jumping over the Love Bridge. I tried to stop him, but he did not listen to me! Only you can save him!"
Vanessa turned to leave but was stopped by Damon, "You can't believe a word he says. He's not someone with good intentions. This is definitely a trap!"
"A friend of mine is about to die and you dare stand in my way! Leave me alone!" Vanessa pushed Damon out of the way and exited the room.
"They are not your friends!" Damon shouted out, but it was too late, she was already gone.
Damon turned to face Stephan with a frown, "What exactly do you plan on doing?"
"I'm trying to save my friend. She is the only one Francis listens to," Stephan said as he slowly approached Damon.
"You were never her friend from the beginning. I heard of your plans to abuse her and I am going to stop you!" Damon replied.
"Damon the Reaper, there is nothing you can do." At that, Stephan put his palms between them and blew on them. From his palms erupted a powdery substance that covered Damon's face. Inhaling the substance, Damon was left to fall to the ground, groaning in pain, anger, and regret.
"Like I said, there is nothing, absolutely nothing you can do." Then Stephan left the room. He had to catch up with Vanessa.