The Dirty Affairs of a Vampire and His Horny Stepmom-Chapter 40: The fall of a star

«You, Kimberly Almiris, should be ashamed of yourself! How dare you call yourself a follower of the God of Light, only to expose your body in such a disrespectful way? A shameless harlot — that’s what you are! Never dare show your face in my church again!» the elderly man exclaims.

It doesn’t take long for security to roughly escort the elderly man and the two youths with him outside, but by then it’s already too late.

Kimberly doesn’t say a word, but her body speaks far too clearly. Her eyes instantly well up and redden, and heavy tears begin to spill onto the runway. Then she collapses to her knees, shattered, sobbing in heavy, broken breaths.

Elenoire and the young designer rush to her immediately — they try to comfort her, but it does no good.

Kimberly is clearly struggling with everything she has not to let out a desperate scream under the worldwide live spotlight, but she doesn’t even seem to have the strength to stand back up and leave. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

I try to catch her gaze, but she deliberately avoids it, as if she were afraid of my judgment.

What the hell would I judge? She did absolutely nothing wrong! That old bastard is the only one with a problem here, not Kimberly!

That damned man... he’s probably the priest of the Temple of the God of Light where Naomi and I followed Kimberly a few weeks ago.

It’s not right... shit... shit! Kimberly is one of the kindest girls I’ve ever met in my life, and lately she’s really put her heart into making sure everything would go as well as possible — she doesn’t deserve treatment like this! This was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, and instead it’ll probably be one of the worst, ruined by that damned religious fanatic.

I clench my fists and grind my teeth, overwhelmed by uncontrollable rage and frustration.

No, an insult like this can’t go unpunished!

Maybe the right thing to do right now would be to stay here and try to ease Kimberly’s pain, but I’ve never been good at that kind of thing. There’s one thing, however, that I can do right away — destroy with my own hands the source of her suffering.

Those three can’t have gone very far, and besides, this area of Central Park has been completely closed off for the fashion show. In other words, no witnesses, no Monster Slayers. They’re trapped!

I spring to my feet and start running toward the point from which the three were escorted away. Thanks to my superhuman speed, I reach them in an instant and loom menacingly in front of them, blocking their path.

We’re still far from the exit, but well away from the runway. Perfect.

«And you, boy — who are you?» the elderly man asks.

«Who I am doesn’t matter,» I reply coldly. «You made a big mistake speaking of Kimberly that way. She’s a girl with a heart of gold — the last person in the world who deserves to be called a whore. And now, because of you, she’s completely shattered, exposed to photographers and journalists. The past can’t be changed, but I’ll personally make sure something like this never happens again.»

«You... how dare you threaten a priest of the God of Light?!» the man snaps. «Wait — don’t tell me... you’re the boy Kimberly was always talking about. The one who dragged her into this world of sin and temptation? If that’s the case, you shouldn’t blame me for her suffering, but yourself! She was such a devoted and pure girl before meeting you, and I warned her! I told her loud and clear that if she set foot on that runway, the doors of my church would be closed to her forever! And I am a man of my word — I assure you!»

Now I understand. Yes — now everything is clear.

That’s why Kimberly was so anxious about this fashion show. It wasn’t the fear of embarrassing herself in front of the world that troubled her, but the threats of this old bastard.

No — he doesn’t deserve to live another second.

My eyes, cold and merciless, filled with murderous intent, lock onto the three of them.

«Say your final prayers, priest. I’m about to let you meet the God of Light in person!»

My irises are about to flare red, the blood axe a breath away from taking shape in my hand — ready to end their lives... when a sharp, desperate voice echoes from beyond the trees, the voice of someone running toward us at full speed, shouting my name.

It’s Kimberly’s voice.

«J-Jace, I finally found you...» she murmurs, out of breath.

I don’t understand — why such urgency? It’s almost as if she knew exactly what I was about to do. Strange, though — with her, I’ve never given the impression of being the type who solves problems in such a... definitive way.

Sure, I punched that guy who was harassing her, but that was simple self-defense. And looking at her more closely, even though her eyes are still glossy with tears, she now seems more worried than emotionally destroyed. Very strange...

«Kimberly, how could you sink so low?» the elderly man rants. «When did you abandon the righteous path shown by the God of Light to follow that of sin and lust? Dressed like this, with your breasts and legs shamelessly on display... it breaks my heart to think that until not long ago you were the most devoted among all the faithful. Is this the kind of people you associate with now? Delinquents who threaten priests with death? You’ve disappointed me, Kimberly — more than I ever thought possible. I’ve already told you, and I’ll tell you again: never dare show your face in my church again. Was I clear?!» the priest adds, respectfully led away by the two youths accompanying him.

Kimberly doesn’t respond — she only lowers her gaze to the ground, mortified — while I use every shred of self-control not to smash his face in.

I step closer to her and... hug her. A silent, tight, affectionate hug — tighter than I’ve ever given anyone.

At first she remains still, caught off guard. Then she returns the hug... and finally collapses, dead weight.

Far from everyone else, she can no longer hold back the pain. It bursts out in a heart-rending, liberating cry.

I feel her growing weaker in my arms and hold her up so she doesn’t collapse to the ground. Her tears soak my chest, thick and unrelenting.

We stay like that for an indefinable amount of time, embraced, her damp cheek resting against my chest.

I whisper a few clichés meant to calm her down — things like «Don’t worry, I’m here» — and somehow they work, probably more because of the gesture than the words themselves.

It takes almost ten minutes before she finally starts to calm down.

«T-Thank you, Jace... thank you so much...» she whispers, her voice still trembling.

«No problem. It was the least I could do...» I reply, not without a hint of apprehension.

«Oh, there you are, Kimberly — you gave me a scare! What happened to you?! Why did you run off without saying anything?!» Elenoire calls out, alarmed.

«S-Sorry... yes, I’m coming right away...» Kimberly stammers, slipping out of my embrace and following her at a quick pace.