From Shadow to the Longest Sun

I turned, then I met Ethan’s flustered gaze.

He heard nothing, I knew.

I’d sealed my mind tight—no cracks for his telepathy to slip through.

“Another Johnson’s student,” I said, voice smooth as silk. “Says her husband’s cheating.”

Ethan’s eyes locked on mine. Three silent seconds.

No tremor. No flicker in his eyes.

He exhaled, arm sweeping me close.

A kiss brushed my forehead—soft and practiced.

“Sweetheart. Infidelity? Impossible for me.”

I held his gaze.

My telepathy hummed between us like a drawn blade.

His mind chanted, slick and sure:

“As long as Lena doesn’t know, it doesn’t count.”

“What if it did?” I whispered.

He stilled. Then laughed—a gentle, rehearsed sound.

“It won’t. I love only you.”

I didn’t blink. “I’m asking… if.”

He nuzzled my cheek, voice dipping between sincerity and jest.

“Then punish me. Vanish so completely I can never find you. You’re my mate. Losing you… I wouldn’t survive.”

Flawless delivery.

Almost believable.

But his mind flashed—Celia reclining on his office sofa, fingers hooking his tie, breath hitching.

I smiled,said nothing.

Ethan. Your punishment has already begun.

Three days later, you won’t see me again.

He opened his mouth—

A crisp voice sliced the night.

“Ethan. It’s all set.”

Celia stood poised at the terrace entrance.

Burgundy bodycon dress. Hair coiled in a flawless chignon.

Impeccable makeup. Professional tone.

A stark contrast to the woman pinned against his office window yesterday—shirt torn, bare-shouldered, breathless.

Ethan’s expression froze. He gave a curt nod and a dismissive wave, the space between them perfectly measured. I almost laughed.

Oscars to both of you. I’d have believed the act forever—if I hadn’t seen the truth.

Suddenly, his palms slammed over my eyes.

Ice-cold. Steady.

His whisper grazed my ear:

“Sweetheart… I prepared a surprise.”

“Five.”

“Four.”

“Three…”

He released me.

Beneath the blood moon, an ancient vampire rite unfolded: threads of liquid moonlight wove through Manhattan’s skyline, coalescing into a single luminous numeral:

“10”.

Ethan’s arm tightened around my waist, his thumb tracing the scar where our blood-bond was sealed.

Voice thick with nostalgia:

“Ten years. Since I first saw you in that MIT lecture hall. Time flies.”

I stared upward.

Dizziness washed over me.

Ten years.

From a twenty-year-old lab novice to a thirty-year-old vampire.

A decade could twist devotion into betrayal.

Stain pure love with blood and lies.

Ethan turned to me.

Amber eyes holding only my reflection.

He leaned in—lips a breath from mine—

Chime.

His phone lit up in his pocket.

Annoyance tightened his jaw.

“I made it clear—no interruptions tonight.”

Voice dropped to ice.

He angled the screen away—but not fast enough.

“Assistant.”

Celia.

His thumb swiped rapidly.

His thoughts bled into mine, raw and hungry:

“Just a little longer. Wait downstairs. In the car.”

Pupils contracted. A flicker of hunger in his gaze.

Then—apology smoothed his features.

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry. It’s our anniversary… but clan business—”

“I understand,” I cut in.

“Work comes first.”

Relief flashed across his face.

No goodbye kiss. Just a hurried hug.

Then he vanished into the crowd.

I stood alone on the terrace.

Watched his silhouette dissolve into Manhattan’s glittering dark.

Glanced once at the fading numeral burning in the sky.

Then I followed.