The Bride He Hates-Chapter 55: Mortality or Eternity?

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Lyanna floated in darkness, aware yet detached from her body. She was in a void between consciousness and oblivion, where pain couldn’t reach her, but neither could anything else. It felt peaceful.

She could hear distant voices, like they were coming from underwater. She heard Azrael, desperately calling her name, begging her to stay alive. The words weren’t clear, but the emotion behind them was raw.

Adrian was coordinating something. Defense? The battle? She couldn’t focus enough to understand.

Healers were there, working on something she couldn’t see or feel.

The pain that had consumed her chest was fading as she sank deeper into the darkness. It was easier here.

Is this dying? It’s not as frightening as I had expected.

She thought about her life. Her family was dead. She had been forced into marriage with a vampire king who hated her. Over time, their relationship had changed; hatred had transformed into something complicated.

If she died now, at least she would have died having protected someone. At least the world won’t remember her as a weak sheltered human princess.

The temptation to let go, to stop fighting, was strong. The darkness felt peaceful. The pain was gone. She could just rest in peace.

Then she heard Azrael’s voice, clearly this time.

"Don’t you dare leave me. Not when I finally..." His voice broke.

The grief in his voice, the devastation, the fear, it pulled her like a lifeline. She had heard him angry, cold, cruel, and controlled. But she had never heard him like this, never heard him sound broken.

And somewhere in that peaceful darkness, something in her refused to be the one who broke him.

Her consciousness returned in fragments.

She felt pain first. Her chest burned, and each breath felt like a struggle. Then she felt sensation, soft sheets under her, the familiar smell of their chambers, the warmth of someone holding her hand.

Then she heard voices murmuring in the background. Finally, she opened her eyes, her vision was blurry at first, but soon it became clear.

She was on their bed, surrounded by vampire healers and magical practitioners from Eclipse Court, all of them monitoring her with concern.

Beside the bed, holding her hand as if he was afraid she’d disappear if he let go was Azrael.

He looked shattered. His usual coldness was completely gone, replaced by raw fear and desperate hope. His hair was dishevelled like he had been running his hands through it repeatedly. His clothes were still bloodstained, it was her blood. His face was pale, even by vampire standards, and his eyes were red, as if he had been crying.

She had never seen him cry. When she opened her eyes and looked at him, his relief was palpable, like he had been drowning and was just saved.

"You’re awake." His other hand cupped her face gently. "Finally, you’re awake."

His hand trembled on her cheek. She had never seen him lose control like this. She tried to speak, but her throat was dry.

"Did we win?" She whispered.

He laughed but it came out as a sob.

"You’re dying and you’re still asking about winning." He put his forehead on hers, closing his eyes. "Yes, we won. The Leader and Elise are captured. We won."

"Then it was worth it." She whispered.

"No." His voice was fierce suddenly. "It wasn’t worth it. Nothing is worth watching you die."

The healers moved closer, checking her bandages, and monitoring her breathing. The head healer, Cassandra, looked worried.

"Your Majesty, the blade pierced through your left lung, fractured two ribs, and nearly reached your heart. As a human, you could have died within minutes with these injuries.

But His Majesty’s immediate intervention saved you. He gave you vampire blood which slowed the damage and kept you alive long enough for us to begin healing. We’ve been working for hours to stabilize you.

But you’re still human, and weak. That blade wasn’t normal, it had strong, powerful dark magic, which is why even magical healing isn’t working properly on you.

Your recovery could take weeks, possibly months. And there’s risk of infection, complications, and the possibility that the damage is too severe for the human body to completely heal from." She paused, glancing at Azrael, then back to Lyanna.

"Or, His Majesty could complete the turning. Your body already has his blood in it. Adding more blood and draining you to the edge of death would trigger the transformation. You would become a vampire, and the wounds would heal completely within hours."

Everyone in the room went silent. This wasn’t an easy decision to make. Everyone along with the healers and magical practitioners quietly left, giving them privacy.

Azrael was still holding her hand, staring at their intertwined fingers like they held answers he desperately needed.

"I can turn you. But then, I’ll be making decisions for you, taking your humanity without your consent, forcing you to transform just because I can’t lose you. That’s not partnership. That’s possession.

But if I don’t...you might die from these injuries. The healers can’t promise you’ll survive."

His internal struggle showed on his face. Lyanna squeezed his hand weakly, making him look into her eyes.

"Then let me choose." She whispered. "Ask me, Azrael. Give me the choice."

He stared at her for a moment, took a deep breath and asked her the question that could change everything.

"Do you want to become a vampire? Knowing what it means? Drinking blood, never seeing sunlight again, living for centuries knowing you can never go back?"

This was the most important decision of Lyanna’s life; literally life or death, human or vampire, mortal or eternal.

She thought about everything that had happened. She thought about six years ago, standing at that altar, calling him a soulless monster, about how wrong she had been.

She thought about having centuries to understand him, to be with him, to figure out what they were to each other beyond the forced marriage that had brought them together.

"Yes. Turn me. Not because I’m afraid to die, but because I want to live. I want centuries to figure out what we are to each other. I want to stand beside you as an equal, not just survive as your human wife."

He broke completely at her answer. Every wall, every defense, and every bit of his control shattered instantly. Tears spilt from his eyes as he leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"Then I’ll give you eternity." He whispered. "I’ll make you mine, and I swear on my four hundred years of existence, I will spend every day of forever proving you made the right choice."