Married To The Mad Vampire Lord novel Chapter 199

Chapter 199: The reflection in the mirror

Belle was helped by the two human servants to bathe and to dress into a gown that had been purchased by the servants for her when they first arrived here, as she had not brought any of her outing dresses when leaving Nightbrook.

The dress was not that extravagant, but it was beautiful enough to put her in awe at how it looked. It was maroon in color with a full skirt and a fitted bodice, and it had its own corset, which meant she didn’t need to wear one underneath.

But while Belle watched herself in the mirror, smiling upon noticing how her coloring had improved overnight and still recalling how charming her husband had been a while ago before he left, the servants tightened the corset lace from the back.

Suddenly, she felt sick to her stomach. A suffocating sensation consumed her, and her eyes swirled in dizziness. Her knees weakened, and she quickly supported herself with the bedpost she had been holding onto.

"Is something wrong, my lady?" the servant helping her with the corset asked as she noticed the lady breathing with difficulty and leaning heavily over the bedpost, holding her stomach like she was in pain. "Should I get Master?" she asked in alarmed concern, as the lady was not replying and was still clutching her stomach and breathing strangely.

Hearing that she wanted to go and get Rohan, Belle quickly managed to shake her head to stop the young maid. "No. It’s nothing serious, just loosen the corset. I think it’s too tight," she said with a little difficulty, as she could not breathe enough air into her lungs. Her stomach was cramping painfully, like it had once done many weeks ago when she first returned from the land of the dead and was preparing to go into Grimvale, only it felt worse now.

The servant hurriedly loosened the lace of the corset from behind and then peered at Belle, who had her head bent slightly, her hair pouring on both sides of her face, covering her expression of controlled pain. "How about now? Does it feel any better?"

Belle did not reply. She remained in that slightly bent position, trying to get her bearing by taking in large gulps of air into her lungs and trying to calm her heartbeat. To her great relief, the pain began to subside quickly, and her breathing began to return to normal.

She slowly straightened as her vision began to clear from the swirling black dots, and when her eyes adjusted enough for her to see her reflection in the mirror again, she froze.

For a fleeting moment, she saw something in her reflection, dark veins crawling across her forehead, down her neck, even spreading faintly beneath her eyes. Her hazel irises seemed to flicker, overtaken by a flash of deep, unnatural black.

She almost gasped aloud in horror at the sight, her breath catching sharply in her throat. But the moment she blinked, it was gone, like a trick of the light. The veins had vanished, and her eyes were back to their normal warm hazel, leaving her wondering if she had imagined it all.

"Did you see that?" she asked the servant girl who was standing beside her, but the girl looked confused at the question as she asked, "See what, my lady?"

"In the mirror, I mean, on my face. Didn’t you notice something just now?" She turned to the girl, who was a brunette and young, and had been looking at her in the mirror as well.

The young girl blinked. "Did you mean if I noticed your skin coloring has improved, my lady? Yes, I noticed the good changes in your face this morning. You look more beautiful. Is the dress corset loose enough or is it still too tight?" The girl asked, returning her attention back to the lace she had yet to tie, believing that the lady was only fishing for compliments just like most nobles do by asking if she noticed something in the mirror when there was nothing there.

She had not seen the dark veins and eyes, Belle decided as she turned back to her reflection, doubting now whether she had imagined everything, including the intense pain that had momentarily gripped her, as it was now completely gone, and she felt normal again. This was strange, so strange she couldn’t point a finger on the feeling.

She was in a daze the whole time the girl helped her finish preparing, doing her hair, and applying a little makeup to her face. However, looking at her reflection again by the time the girl finished, Belle’s mood improved a great deal and she forgot about the momentary nightmarish experience of pain.

Throughout the month and weeks, she had not bothered to cut her bangs at the front, and the hair had grown long enough for it to be combed back. She cared little to no more about the small scar across her left brow now, and for some reason, even when she looked into the mirror, her eyes barely lingered on that part, as it wasn’t that obvious to her anymore and did not bother her. She had made peace with that past, that the scar was just there.

Her hair was styled so that it poured down her shoulders in soft golden waves and curls, it almost looked like melted gold catching the morning light. For the first time in weeks, she felt a renewed sense of confidence, more sure of her appearance than she had the night before.

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