Black Blood

15

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you, my fiancé, Talia Mei Kuro." Kieran said. Most everyone except for the majority of the young ladies and their mothers clapped for us. "I ask that you all respect her as a new part of the Chishiro family. She means the world to me so please treat her well." Kieran looked over at me and took my hand in his free hand. He brought me closer to him and the love in his eyes was undeniable. I smiled back at him and I hugged his side. "Talia? Do you accept me?" Kieran suddenly asked me. I was a little bit shocked, but I also don't know what else I was expecting. Did I really love him? I still wasn't exactly used to this new thing called "love" was, especially coming from a guy. I didn't process his question right away. However, once I thought about it, I realized that there is no way in this life that I could live without him now that I've been with him. I smiled up at him and hugged him around his neck.

"Of course I do. You know I do." I responded. Kieran handed the microphone to his grandfather before he grabbed me by the waist and lifted me up in a hug. I wasn't sure how he could even lift me because of how heavy the dress was, but I figured he was just that strong naturally. A bunch of people clapped, others cried and I noticed that the shady men were still standing there, emotionless. As I was near Kieran's ear I whispered to him. "Those men." I said to him with a little bit of a shaky voice.

"I see them. Just stay by me and you'll be safe. My guards already know about them." He said. I nodded and he put me down and pulled out a box from his pocket. He opened it and there was a stunning, vintage looking ring that was covered in diamonds. The diamond itself was pretty big, but there were designs of smaller diamonds surrounding it, bringing out the biggest diamond's beauty. The band of the ring was also studded with smaller diamonds than the ones surrounding the centerpiece. I covered my mouth and looked up at him.

"I can't accept that. It looks like it costs more than I've spent in my entire life!" I exclaimed. Kieran smirked and then took my hand and slid the ring on my left ring finger. He cupped my cheek with his hand once he was done and moved my hair out of the way.

"Never underestimate my love for you." He said before kissing me for a while. Suddenly, there were a group of girls who were yelling at us.

"She's a gold digger!" I looked over and saw Rin who was leading the girls.

"She doesn't love you!" Another girl yelled.

"She only wants you for your good looks and money! You should marry my daughter!" Yelled one of the girl's mothers. I looked in their direction and one girl looked me dead in the eyes and then smirked evilly. That was a look that I had seen one too many times in my life. I started to get anxious. I held onto Kieran's hand and he put me behind him.

"Come on, Talia. Let's go." Kieran said to me. I didn't think twice before following him. I saw that the guards were trying to chase some guy who was walking along the corner of the ballroom. Kieran led me out the back of the stage that led into the main hall of the mansion. He quickly led me upstairs into his bedroom and he closed the door. "Right now, this is the only safe place for you. It isn't ideal, but it's what we have. Those men, they are here for me and you." He said to me. My heart was racing. I could recognize the necklaces on the men who were standing around the ballroom casually yet suspiciously. I looked over at Kieran and tears formed in my eyes. Kieran sighed and walked closer to me before kissing my head. He walked over to his massive, walk-in closet and opened a drawer. He got out some black sweatpants that tied in the front and a dark red hoodie with his past high school's name on it. "Go on and get changed in the bathroom. You can take a shower first. I'll wait outside the door." Kieran said. I didn't want to take a shower, knowing that anything could happen at this point. I ended up gathering the courage to take one and I got changed and came out of the bathroom with my hair in a towel. The clothes were obviously really baggy, but I didn't mind. They smelled like Kieran and they were comfortable to wear. Kieran didn't want to take a shower because he didn't want me to be alone while he was in the bathroom. He was already in just a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants.