THE CRIMSON BARGAIN

CHAPTER ONE

In a world where vampires hold power and humans are mere pawns, Isabelle, a kind and innocent young woman, is forced into a terrible fate. Her impoverished family, desperate for survival, makes a Faustian bargain with the ruthless vampire, Aurélien Dumont. He offers wealth and protection in exchange for Isabelle's hand in marriage.

Aurélien, a master of manipulation and cruelty, has no intention of loving or cherishing Isabelle. He sees her as a mere possession, a means to satisfy his dark desires and cement his power. As their wedding night approaches, Isabelle is filled with dread and hopelessness.

Isabelle's eyes blazed with anger and hurt as she confronted her parents. "Why did you have to sell me off to Aurélien? Didn't you care about my happiness at all?"

Her mother, Lady Catherine, looked away, her eyes welling up with tears. "Isabelle, dear, we had no choice. We were deeply in debt, and Aurélien offered us a way out. We thought it was the only way to secure your future."

Isabelle's father, Lord Thomas, added, "Besides, Aurélien is a powerful man. We thought he would take care of you, provide for you."

Isabelle's voice rose in indignation. "Take care of me? Provide for me? You call being trapped in a dark, twisted world, forced to marry a monster, 'being taken care of'? You call being used as a pawn in his evil games 'being provided for'?"

Her parents exchanged a guilty glance, knowing they had made a terrible mistake. Lady Catherine tried to reach out to Isabelle, but she shook her off.

"No, Mother. You should have thought of my happiness, my well-being, before selling me off like a piece of property. You should have protected me, not sold me to the highest bidder."

Isabelle's words hung in the air, a harsh truth that her parents couldn't deny. They knew they had failed their daughter, and it was too late to make it right.

Isabelle's anger and hurt boiled over, and she turned and ran from the room, her parents' calls to return falling on deaf ears. She rushed through the dark, winding halls of the mansion, her heart pounding in her chest.

Tears streamed down her face as she thought of the life she had been forced into, the future that had been taken from her. She felt trapped, like a bird in a gilded cage, with no escape from the darkness that surrounded her.

She finally reached the door to the gardens and flung it open, gasping in the cool night air. She ran down the path, her feet pounding the gravel, until she reached the safety of the trees.

There, she collapsed onto a bench, her sobs echoing through the silence. She felt lost and alone, unsure of how to escape the fate that had been laid out for her.

But as she sat there, something inside of her stirred. A spark of defiance, a flame of determination. She knew she couldn't give up, couldn't let Aurélien and her parents win.

With a newfound resolve, Isabelle stood up, wiping away her tears. She knew she had to find a way to take control of her own destiny, to forge her own path in life. And she was ready to fight for it.