Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

"Your Grace, she attacked me all of a sudden…" he gasped weakly.

Isabelle was bleeding from being thrown over the table, her arm dripping red, but nobody noticed her as they fussed over the very man who had destroyed their daughter's life. They helped him out of the room and locked her in once again.

True to Deven's words, a doctor from the asylum came the next day to examine her. He told her parents that she was sick in the head and in need of treatment meant for the insane urgently or she might hurt innocent people and herself.

The Dawsons did not even hesitate to give the doctor permission to begin to treat her.

"Don't worry, little one, very soon I will turn you into a woman with no sense at all and get you into where you won't be able to talk anymore. You must have heard of the madhouse? You will like it there. Now, be a good girl and drink this medicine," whispered the doctor who was supposed to treat her as he smirked down at her where she was tied to the bed so she wouldn't fight the man.

With time, Isabelle became more violent, her hatred extending not only to Deven and the doctor who always forced her to drink medicines that were never meant for sane people, but also to her own parents. Her resentment grew until she despised everyone, her family, her helpless situation, and the world that had turned against her. Yet, her determination to expose Deven for who he truly was never waned; instead, it grew stronger with each passing day.

Everyday, she would overhear their household staffs talking about her and how a loose woman like her deserves everything she was receiving. The news letters talked about how she had betrayed Deven, with men coming out to even claim they had slept with her in the whorehouse, and all that began to drive her to the brink of madness itself because they were lies.

But despite everything, she never once thought about ending her own life to escape the scorn of society and family. She wanted to restore it. She wanted everyone to believe her truth and to make those who wronged her pay, she wanted to be free again.

Yet someone else decided to end that life for her before she would succeed.

"My son is not taking this lightly, Your Grace," said Deven's mother, who had come to visit. "He's suffering so much, and I can't help him. I can't help but feel sorry for him. He is in so much heartache because of an undeserving woman who doesn't even love him."

Deven had made a public promise to marry Isabelle after she became "sane" again, claiming to love her, while pretending to fall into despair and drowning himself in drinks. Day after day he played the part of a broken man, until his family began to assist the Dawsons in finding a cure for their daughter. They hoped that once she recovered, she would help set their son free from his despair and save him from his so-called self-destruction.

It was only when Isabelle heard whispers that she might be sent permanently to the madhouse that she decided to change course. She stopped raging, stopped screaming, and instead became calm, realizing that her fury only played into his hands.

"Ma, if I prove to you that I didn't do all this, will you finally listen to me? Will things turn back to the way they once were?" Isabelle asked her mother one day, even though she knew nothing could ever be the same again.

"You killed a doctor, Isabelle. He didn't survive the bite."

"Good, because he was a paid doctor who wanted to turn me mad. I will show you the truth. I will make Deven himself tell you, perhaps then you will all see."

"Deven is a nice person. He still wants to marry you. He said if you become better, he will make you his wife no matter what the world says. Get a hold of yourself, Isabelle."

Using the fact that everyone wanted her to get well enough to marry Deven, she decided to act composed and look for other ways to expose him, rather than lose control every time.

She had already killed one man, the asylum doctor, and she did not want any more deaths staining her hands.

So, Isabelle began to act calmer, eating her meals, attempting to smile, and forcing herself into silence whenever anger began to rise in her at the sight of Deven, who came to visit her almost everyday.

For the first time in months, a fragile hope took root in her chest. If she could convince them she was healed, if she could be free again to gather her own evidence, her day of justice would come and Deven and those men would pay.

But someone else did not like this change. Someone preferred her raging and wild, easier to condemn and send away forever than this composed woman she became.

Deven.

He had only put on the act of a lovesick fiancé so everyone would believe his affection was genuine and would never doubt him about what happened to Isabelle. But now his performance had backfired, everyone had bought into it, and he would have to marry a "used woman" who looked at him with eyes promising to kill him given the chance whenever he saw her.

How could he live with such woman?

So Deven decided to take matters into his own hands.

One night, he slipped into the Dawson residence. The guards, seeing him, did not even bother to question him; after all, he was like family to the household. He went straight to Isabelle's room, which they no longer locked now that she had stopped raging like a madwoman.

When he entered, she was lying on her back, hands resting on her stomach where a small bump had begun to form, showing the life growing inside her. Deven shuddered in disgust at the sight, the thought of marrying her and becoming a father to a bastard whose fathers, he knew, were gamblers and drunkards, repulsed him.

He did not need anyone to tell him, he already knew she had changed her plans. He knew she still intended to take her revenge on him, only waiting for the right moment. And because her parents still held some love for her in their hearts, they clung to the hope of marriage, taking Deven at his word even though those words had never been sincere.

Furthermore, his own parents, who had long hoped to form an alliance with the duke's family, relatives of the royals, did not mind the fact that she was already pregnant and used. They were still pleased with the marriage arrangements and continued to hope he would marry her.

Deven stared at her sleeping face for some time, his expression hard, before carefully reaching for the pillow beside her. But before he could make his move, her eyes snapped open, locking with his.

Deven acted quickly. He pressed the pillow down over her nose and mouth, pinning her head down as her hazel eyes widened in terror. She fought wildly, clawing and hitting at his hand that pressed the pillow down, but he held firm.

"Die you bitch! Die and set me free!" He whispered through clenched teeth.

Tears welled in her hazel eyes as her body struggled desperately for air, but couldn't get it. She didn't even get the chance to scream or take her last breath.

He watched coldly as the light in her eyes dimmed, watched as the tears rolled slowly down her cheeks and her body slowly went weak.

She died with her eyes wide open.

"You brought this upon yourself, Isabelle. You should have continued to act like a madwoman. Or you should have let things go, instead of plotting revenge for something I did to save our future. I hope you find peace now and rest. I hope we never cross paths again in another lifetime."

Deven did not hesitate. He dragged her body off the bed and onto the rug in the center of the room. Then he lifted a burning lamp from its hook, poured the kerosene over her lifeless form, and dropped the lamp. It shattered on the floor, it's glass breaking, flames sparking and catching onto her body, the fire slowly spreading across the room.

He left the way he had come, without looking back.

"Free at last." Deven whistled with a smile.