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Around me is complete silence. There are no cars, no horns beeping, and no noisy people getting to work. I hear none of it. The sun's rays don't shy away from my face, so I know that it's morning. Why isn't there any noise? I should be hearing plenty of noise by now.

My mind rests and finds solace in the peaceful silence. When was the last time I heard silence like this? Not since forever, I'd assume. I sink deeper into the comfortable silk pillow. This is a comfortable bed indeed. When did my bed get this comfortable? Last time I checked I didn't have a silk pillowcase.

Boots shuffle around me as I hear someone entering the room. My entire body shoots up and my eyes open. I look around the room and I realize that this isn't my room. I grip the gray sheets tighter as I see the Vampire Prince of ArchDale standing by the door. He looks at me with his brows creased a little.

"Are you okay?" He asks, walking inside.

I swallow as I realize that I'm rather thirsty. I look around the room for a bottle of water, but I find none. "Water, please," I say even though my voice is a little hoarse.

He rushes off in the blink of an eye then seconds later he's back with a glass of water. He hands it to me, and I bow my head as I take it. The tips of my cold fingers brush against his knuckles and I jerk away.

Some of the water splashes onto the sheet, but I pay no mind to it. Bringing the cold glass of water to my lips, I gulp until I'm satisfied. The cold water slides down my throat, awakening and pleasing my body. Once my throat no longer feels parched, I place the almost empty cup down on the nightstand.

"Thank you," I mutter as I avoid eye contact with him.

Why am I here? Where am I?

The Prince sits in a chair beside the bed and he leans back in it. His eyes grow wide for a split second and he begins to look confused. "What did you say?"

I tilt my head, "What do you mean? I didn't say anything."

He shakes his head, "No, you asked why you were here."

My brows twist and my lips turn into a frown. "I never said that. I thought it, but you can't read my mind. . .can you?"

He shakes his head one more time then he begins muttering to himself, "I shouldn't be."

"Whatever. You're at my home, and you're here because you needed a blood transfusion." He says.

I nod, "A blood transfusion? Why? And why did you take me here instead of a hospital?"

I need to be careful when asking him all these questions. There's a reason why everyone's terrified of him. And he's sitting right in front of me.

"The vampire that attacked you last night drank a lot of your blood. I got the supplies from the hospital. I know how to do one, it's simple. Also, it's better than waiting for hours inside a hospital." He crosses his arms.

"Okay."

I look away from him, observing the room. This is so weird. I'm in a room alone with a Prince. The Prince. The most influential Prince in the world.

"Um, so I'm okay now?" I ask fidgeting with my fingers. Nervousness creeps upon me like a tiger sneaking up on its prey. It surrounds me and holds me captive. I bite the insides of my cheeks as I try not to show how nervous I am.

Last night, I got attacked by a vampire. A careless vampire at that. He didn't even care that feeding off humans was illegal, he did it anyway. I don't even know who it is. What if he's still out there? What if my parents are wondering where I am right now, but can't find me?

My heartbeat quickens as my mind fills with obsessive thoughts. I try my best to regulate my breathing but it's of no use. Please tell me I'm not about to have an anxiety attack. Not right now at least. Not in front of the Prince. It's embarrassing.

"You're supposed to be fine," he stands from the chair and places the back of his hand on my forehead. "Although you were burning up when I found you." He sits back down.

"Is that normal?"

He nods, "For certain ages, yes. You're sixteen, right?"

"Yeah. How did you know that?" I ask.

"You're my lawyers' daughter. I know things about you. Anyway, humans aged from birth to sixteen years old aren't old enough to accept the hormone. The hormone makes the feeding process painless. This is why vampires that feed on humans, even though it's illegal, tend to avoid those ages." He explains.

"Oh, okay," I say. I continue fidgeting with my fingers. I would like my stuffie right now. I want to squeeze it and keep it close to me. My nerves can't keep to themselves, they decide to be erratic right now.

"Why are you so nervous?" He asks.

I stop breathing for a few seconds and my head snaps up to him. Looking like a child getting caught eating candy after bedtime, I stare at him.

"I―I'm not nervous." As I lie, I look away from him.

"Are you sure? Because your thoughts would beg to differ." With his brows creased, he tries to calculate me. Under his gaze, I start to feel self-conscious, so I wrap the sheet around me even tighter.

I'm wearing the same clothes I fell asleep in when I got attacked: an oversized shirt and tennis shorts. Not exactly the best thing to wear in front of the Vampire Prince, but hey, I can't be picky. He did save me.

"Um. . ." I trail off.

I mean, what do I say? That being in his presence makes me nervous? Isn't he used to it? Since he's the Prince and everything.

"Putting your nervous, obsessive feelings aside for a moment. I need your help." He says.

At that, questions hang upon the edge of my lips. Why does the Prince of ArchDale need my help? If he needed any kind of help, wouldn't he go to his parents or my parents? Not me.

"My help? How could I help you?" I sit crisscrossed.

He scoots his chair closer to me. He's now three feet away, too close for comfort. "Have you seen what's on the news about me?"

I take my time as I nod. I presume he's talking about the pregnancy allegations. Why does he want to talk to me about that?

"Good, well I must inform you that they're false." He says.

I nod once more, "Um, okay?"

I still don't get it. Why is he telling me that they're false? Why does he need my help with them?

"Well, since this is a very serious allegation, I need to prove to everyone that it's false. I can do so with your help." He eases me into it.

"How?"

"By pretending to be a couple. If everyone thinks we've been dating this entire time, then it would prove that the allegations are false. I can't come out and deny the allegations since they'd think I'm lying." He says.

My mouth falls open as disbelief sets in. "What?"

He leans forward in the chair, coming even closer to me. "Do you accept?"