Page 62 of Married to the Vampire Prince

It was another day of working in my office. A paper detailing a request to build a new hospital rested on the desk before me. I carefully analyzed every point, making notes on the margins for what had to be improved for me to accept the proposal. The humans needed a new hospital soon, but the request had to be worded perfectly first.

There was a knock on my door.

“Come in,” I called to the person who wanted my attention. My guards wouldn’t have let anybody through whom I didn’t want to see, which meant my visitor must be either Luke or Grace.

Indeed, my wife stepped into the office, a warm smile on her face. She wore a gorgeous deep blue gown today that accentuated her curves. I gave her an appreciative look.

Grace approached my desk and sat down in one of the guest chairs.

“What brings you to my office, Lady Hoyt?” I flashed her a fanged smile.

“I wanted to see you, Lord Hoyt,” she replied in kind. “I was wondering about your plans for dinner.”

“For you, I’m always free,” I replied. “I’m happy to spend time with you.”

“Do you really not have any plans?” She arched her eyebrows. She knew how busy I always was.

I glanced into my planner. “I have dinner with one of the nobles, but he certainly isn’t more important than you.”

Grace gave me a long look. “Are you sure he won’t get mad if you move him to another day?”

“He won’t if I say I need to spend time with my wife,” I smiled at her again. “The whole court knows how deeply in love we are.”

Grace groaned, blushing a deep red. “They’ll never let us live down that one time the media caught us making out in the garden?”

“Or that other time when we were kissing in the main square?” I arched my eyebrows.

Grace shook her head. “We have to… hold back more on our displays of affection.”

“Why?” I was genuinely curious. “Everyone knows we’re mated, and it’s normal that mates can’t keep their hands off each other.”

“But,” she protested, “it’s not proper to display one’s love so much.”

“The media likes it,” I shrugged. “And the fact that I’m madly in love with my wife has improved my image too. One cannot truly fear a man who’s under his wife’s thumb.”

Grace sighed.

I continued. “One should fear that man’s wife instead.”

Grace gave me a defeated look. “You’re not going to keep your hands off of me in public no matter what I say, are you?”

“It’s not like you aren’t a willing participant,” I raised my eyebrows. “Really, Grace, the country is happy we’re happily married. We need to feed the media enough content so that they’ll have something to report and not be tempted to dig further into our private lives.”

She nodded. “Alright. I get it. As long as you’re happy.”

“Excuse me? I’m the happiest man on Earth. All thanks to you.”

She sighed. “Of course you are.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“Really, Silas, if there’s anything I can improve about the way I act towards you…” She trailed off.

“You’re perfect just the way you are,” I frowned.

“Are you sure?” She bit her lip.

“Perfectly sure,” I confirmed. “You’ve accepted me the way I am; me, the jaded man broken by the war. What more could I ask for?”

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