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“A vampire,” I whispered.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mei yelled, attracting the entire restaurant staff toward her.
“It’s best not to clue in everyone on what we’re talking about,” I said.
“Sorry, but when you drop news like that, what other reaction could you expect?” she asked. “So your past, future husband is a vampire,” Mei whispered.
“Well, he wasn’t always. He became one when I returned back in time on my own.”
“Don’t tell me he became one for you. Have you met other vampires there? I’m asking for no particular reason.” Mei perked up her ears.
“Yes,strigoi. But they were wilder than vampires. Gabriel was the first one to become undead since he turned when he was still alive.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but don’t tell me Gabriel is the real Dracula,” Mei interjected.
“Bingo.”
“What about Count Vlad? And the cape? And the garlic?”
“Nothing of it resembles reality,” I said.
“There goes my childhood innocence. Instead of a balding middle-aged man hiding behind a scraggly cape, the real Count is a young, handsome, and, worst of all, married knight. The fangirls will be devastated.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Well, that explains a lot. At least, now I understand he’s not a serial killer. Wait. Is he a serial killer?”
“No, they have laws in place and an entire underworld kingdom that doesn’t resort to killing anymore.”
“Anymore, huh?”
A pause settled between us. Mei was still ruminating on everything she had learned in the span of ten minutes. Then she said, “Did you know my parents had a customer pay a million for one of their pieces? It was a custom order from an anonymous buyer, but still, a million dollars was the biggest paycheck my parents ever received for their work. I wondered who would be interested in solving all my parents’ problems. Now I believe I know who. You don’t have to be a genius to figure it out once all the missing pieces are there.”
“Gabriel didn’t tell me anything.”
“He didn’t have to. As long as your dear friend’s life is settled, his beautiful past/future wife can enjoy her wedding. You know, my parents taught me never to take more than what I believe my work deserves. If I told them the reason why the buyer decided to buy the custom piece, they would probably return the check. And then they’ll be back to square one.”
“I’m sure Gabriel didn’t mean it like that. He wanted to support your parents’ business. I can talk to him.”
“No, let’s not make this harder than it is. Do I believe my parents deserve to be paid a lot for their work? Yes. How much is up for debate, and let’s leave it at that.”
I felt so uncomfortable with the whole situation. Wealth could change anyone, but I hoped Gabriel wasn’t one of them and didn’t feel the need to control other people’s lives with his money.
“He’s still better than your other boyfriend,” said Mei, returning to her bubbly self.
“I’ve been meaning to ask. Have you heard anything about Elijah?” I asked.
“I thought you knew,” said Mei.
“Know what?”
“The day you flew to Romania, he went missing.”
Chapter 17
Ireturned home after almost two weeks, and no one bothered to tell me Elijah had gone missing?
“They believe he ran away due to a large gambling debt,” Mei said.
