A/N: sorry for the lateness. I'm not feeling very well today x.x

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When his bitter laughter faded, a deep silence followed. He had lowered his head and did not lift his face to look at her for a long while. But Evie waited patiently, not taking her gaze off of him. She could only sympathise with him on what he is currently going through, as there was no way there was anyone who could understand his suffering. What intense confusion and upheaval of emotions must it be to suddenly find out there was another deeper truth that was hidden and suddenly unearthed all of a sudden.

It was then that she really wanted to know what he was thinking. She also wished he would lift his head to look at her. She wanted to ask but she was still a little wary because right then, he seemed to be having a hard time accepting everything that she had just told him. And honestly, she would not blame him. Even she found it so unbelievable the first time she had heard it from Claudius.

Evie decided to give him more time to process everything in his mind and wait for him patiently. However, as time ticked by, and he still remained silent and unmoving, Evie could no longer keep her peace. She was worried he would get caught in a loop of endless whys and hows – trapped by his own regrets or 'what ifs'.

"Gav…" she called out softly and thankfully, he slowly lifted his head to look at her. His eyes were deep and unfathomable. She could not quite figure out what he was thinking nor feeling at that moment. And her heart just went out to him even more.

"Do you believe all these, Evie? Do you truly accept that all those things that you have just said as truth?" he asked, and Evie saw what seemed like pure and unadulterated anguish flashing momentarily across those intense blue eyes of his. "There is no proof that all the things Claudius told you are the truth –" His voice seemed to be without emotions – as though he was withholding them back from gushing forth.

"I believe it." She cut him off without any hesitation. "I can't explain why but I believe it." She added, her eyes locked onto his with sparkling determination, as if willing him to believe in it as well. "You believe it too, right? I know you do." Her eyes then widened as she suddenly had a sliver of fear that he might want to deny it.

He stared at her for a few moments and then a soft chuckle bubbled out of him again. It came out sounding like a lovely, and sinuous, yet a little sad and bitter laughter. "I don't have a choice but to believe it, right?" he shook his head as he asked her. And then he let himself fall back on the bed.

Evie stared down at him and he looked as though he was incredibly tired as laid there, unmoving. His sallow and wan features looked as though exhaustion had suddenly hit him hard, right below the belt, and now, all he could do was nothing but to lie down and accept whatever that comes his way. Somehow, the sight of him behaving this way at that moment made Evie suddenly feel an immense tiredness surge within her and she let herself fall on top of him.

She rested her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat as it beat on steadily and rhythmically, calming her down. And then, she allowed her eyes to slowly close. It felt as though their souls that were overly exhausted were now finally given the chance to feel that sweet rest of relief, they had both been longing for so long. It was the feeling like the both of them had finally emerged from an underwater cocoon with stale air after being stuck down there for so long. And what a breath of pure and fresh air that had seemed to greet them once they surfaced from that suffocated condition.

For a long time, they just stayed that way in silence. It was as if they were trying to just bask and relax in that moment that had been so hard to come by. 

"I saw your portrait with Gavriel…" his voice suddenly echoed beside her ear after a long silence and Evie looked up, surprised.

"Portrait?"

"I had asked my men for Gavriel's portrait. So they had sneaked into Gavriel's castle and took it." He explained, quite unapologetically.

Evie's eyes widened and then narrowed. "Why? Wait… could it be because you were planning to kill him?"

When he smirked wickedly, Evie gasped in shock. And then she burst out laughing as she imagined how his reaction was when he first laid eyes on the portrait. This was the first time she had laughed genuinely after so long, and Gavrael's eyes gleamed tenderly as he watched her as he enjoyed listening to the sounds of her laughter like a dozen little bells chiming in harmony. That sound alone was able to warm up his stony and frozen heart. It also seemed to have caused the iciness in his eyes to finally start melting now.

"You want Gavriel back, right?" he asked suddenly, and Evie stilled. She never expected that he would ask that question and she could not immediately answer him. She did not know why she suddenly felt a lump in her throat. Was it because of his expression right now?

"I…" she struggled to find a way to reply to him diplomatically. Yes, she badly wanted Gavriel back. But why was she having a hard time saying it to him?

"Y-you and Gavriel are one and the same person." She said after a long while and he smiled wryly at her. She felt that he was about to say something, but he closed his eyes instead.

When he opened his eyes again, his gaze was intense.

"I am going to keep my promise to you, Evie…" he told her, "I am going to make you queen.. But first, I am going to make myself the king of the vampires first."

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