Part 3My Vampire Husband Never Believed Me, I Married Someone Else After Rebirth

Elena's POV

The Elder Council convened three days later.

The wound on my shoulder still hadn't fully healed.

When I walked into the council chamber, my father deliberately slowed his pace.

"If you start feeling unwell, go back first."

I nodded.

"I know."

He glanced at me. There was clearly a lot he wanted to ask.

Since the hospital, he had already asked me several times.

Why I had suddenly agreed to end the engagement.

Why I refused to give even one word of explanation.

My answer was always the same.

"Since Cassian was the one who proposed marrying someone else, I don't want to force anything."

My father clearly wasn't satisfied with this answer.

But the matter had already reached the Elder Council, and there was no way to resolve it privately anymore.

Cassian had arrived before us.

He sat on the other side of the long table.

Sophia wasn't qualified to attend this kind of meeting, so she wasn't there.

When I entered, Cassian looked up at me.

His gaze lingered on my shoulder for a moment.

"How is your wound?"

I sat down.

"Much better."

He nodded.

A perfectly ordinary exchange.

Since our engagement, we had actually spent the better part of a year in each other's company.

We had attended banquets together.

Gone to the theater together.

When our families held dinners, he would sit beside me.

He knew I didn't like overly bitter wine, and he knew I got dizzy from long carriage rides.

I knew he didn't like being disturbed while reading documents, and I knew he hated flowers with strong scents.

Cassian had always been courteous with me.

And considerate.

That was why I had kept hoping.

I always told myself that all we lacked was a chance to let our feelings grow.

The engagement had been set.

We had a long future ahead.

He would come to like me eventually.

Later, I really did marry him.

And I learned that some things don't come to you no matter how long you wait.

An Elder rapped on the table.

The council chamber fell quiet.

"Cassian, you insist on ending the engagement?"

"Yes."

Cassian answered without hesitation.

"Sophia saved my life.

"I can't pretend that didn't happen."

One of the Elders frowned.

"There are many ways to repay her.

"An engagement involves two families. This isn't your decision alone."

Cassian's expression didn't change.

"I understand.

"But my mind is made up."

Another Elder spoke coldly.

"Sophia's bloodline doesn't meet the requirements.

"Her father was of human nobility, yes, but her maternal lineage is too diluted. It's not even certain she could bear viable half-blood children."

He turned his gaze to me.

"Elena was the bride originally chosen.

"Her bloodline has been refined over generations.

"There is no reason to change the terms of this engagement."

In my previous life, I had nearly sighed with relief when I heard those words.

I had been sitting in this same chair.

My shoulder was still aching.

But only one thing was on my mind.

As long as the Elder Council doesn't approve, Cassian will still be my fiancé.

So I had stood up right alongside the objections and argued against the change.

I said Sophia hadn't saved him at all.

I said I was the one who drew the hunters away.

Sophia had gone outside afterward and cried until she could barely stand.

When Cassian found out, the disappointment in his eyes only deepened.

He became certain that I would stoop to slandering my own cousin just to keep the engagement.

This time, I simply listened.

The Elder looked at me.

"Elena Ashford.

"This engagement concerns you as well.

"What are your thoughts?"

Cassian's gaze also settled on me.

I raised my head.

"I agree."

The council chamber went silent for a moment.

My father frowned immediately.

"Elena."

I didn't take it back.

"I agree to end the engagement."

The Elder stared at me.

"Are you certain?"

"I'm certain."

"Cassian is acting on impulse.

"A life debt is significant, but marriage is not a game."

I listened to those words, feeling very little.

The Elder Council said marriage was not a game. But in my previous life, after I had actually walked into that marriage, I learned that a title could never hold a person who didn't want to come close.

I had poured everything I had into being a good wife.

I took care of him, bent to his wishes, cleaned up every mess he left behind, and in the end, sacrificed my body and my child.

All I got in return was his cold indifference.

So in this life, I didn't want to gamble my future on a flimsy piece of paper anymore.

I looked at the Elder.

"Cassian already has someone he cares about.

"And Sophia saved his life.

"Since they both want this, there is no point in continuing the engagement."

The Elder's expression grew more severe.

"Feelings cannot replace bloodline."

"Then I will take on another alliance marriage myself."

My father turned sharply toward me.

I went on.

"The Blackthorne family in the North has long been searching for a bride of pure human noble blood.

"If my bloodline is so important to the vampire nobility, I can marry into their family instead.

"That way, no matter what, there will be a half-blood heir born to the vampire line.

"And Cassian can marry whoever he chooses."

Cassian looked at me, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

My father finally lost his composure.

"Elena, the Blackthorne match can wait.

"Hunter activity is frequent there, and the conditions are far more complicated.

"There is no need to make this decision now."

I turned to him.

"Father.

"I've thought it through."

My father fell silent.

The Elders conferred in low voices.

At this point, they could hardly continue to refuse.

If I had insisted like I did in my previous life, they could have made me Cassian's wife without a second thought.

But now I was stepping aside voluntarily and was even willing to enter an alliance marriage of equal value.

On top of that, everyone believed Sophia had saved Cassian's life.

Forcing Cassian to marry me would only seem unreasonable.

After a long pause, the Chief Elder finally spoke.

"The Blackthorne match will need to be arranged.

"In the meantime, Elena and Cassian's engagement may be formally dissolved."

The room was perfectly still.

No one objected.

I closed my eyes and touched the bare base of my finger, feeling nothing but relief.