MY SUGAR MUMMY IS A BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE

Chapter 329: Avoiding all cause

Blake's heart raced with panic as Rose went limp in his arms, her eyes rolling back. "Rose? Rose, can you hear me?" He gave her a gentle shake, but she remained completely unresponsive, dead weight against him.

Cradling her carefully, Blake lifted Rose's motionless body and gently laid her out on the bed. He placed two fingers against her neck, relieved to find a pulse, though it seemed faint and thready.

The commotion from the bedroom soon roused little Celena. The sleepy toddler came padding down the hallway in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes. "Daddy? What's going on?" She stopped short when she saw her mother's unconscious form on the bed. "Why is Mommy sleeping on the bare bed?"

Blake looked up, his expression etched with fear and confusion. "I...I don't know, sweetie. She just collapsed." He tried to keep his voice calm for Celena's sake. "Can you be a brave big girl and go get Daddy's phone from the living room? Bring it here quick, please."

Though startled by the urgency in her father's tone, Celena gave a resolute nod and hurried off to retrieve the phone as instructed. Blake turned his attention back to Rose, tenderly brushing stray hairs from her ashen face.

"Come on, Rose, wake up," he pleaded under his breath. "What's happening to you?" His mind raced with a dozen horrible possibilities, each more terrifying than the last.

Moments later, Celena returned holding Blake's phone out to him. "Here, Daddy. I got it."

"Thank you, sweetheart." Blake took the phone with a strained smile, already dialing urgently for an ambulance. He pulled Celena close with his free arm as the line began ringing.

Whatever had caused Rose's mysterious collapse, he would get to the bottom of it. If any family deserved a respite from crisis, it was theirs. Blake simply refused to accept that this peaceful life they had built could be shattered again so cruelly.

Not on his watch. Not if he had anything to say about it.

Blake's trembling fingers fumbled with the phone, trying to keep it together for Celena's sake. He quickly abandoned the idea of calling an ambulance - regular doctors wouldn't be able to help with this.

Instead, he dialed a number he knew by heart, one that would connect him to resources far outside the conventional medical realm. The line rang once, twice, before a gruff voice answered.

"Reggie? It's Blake. I need to speak to Nana right away." His voice was taut with barely contained urgency.

"Blake? What's going on over there?" Reggie's casual tone quickly turned serious at the strain in Blake's voice.

"It's Rose...she's at it again," Blake forced out, fighting back the tightness in his throat.

There was a beat of silence on the other end before Reggie asked gravely, "She passed out? Again?"

Blake could only give a small, miserable nod, though the action went unseen. Silent tears began streaking down his cheeks, which he angrily brushed away.

The phone crackled, and then a new voice spoke - warm yet commanding. "Blake? It's Nana. What have you done?"

"I...I put her on the bed, but that's all I could think to do," Blake stammered out. "Nana, I don't know what's wrong with her this time. She just collapsed without warning."

As he spoke, Celena had wandered back over to the bedside, looking up at her father with wide, frightened eyes. The sight of the man she knew as an unshakable mountain visibly trembling and wrestling with tears was enough to drain the remaining color from her cheeks.

Nana's voice was calm but firm on the other end of the line. "Blake, listen to me. The blood sample I took from Rose earlier still hasn't been fully analyzed yet. Without those test results, I can't say for certain what might be causing these episodes."

She paused briefly before continuing in a more urgent tone. "It would be unwise to wait around for those results now. Get Rose to the hospital immediately - the one where my contact works, the person Reggie set me up with. They're expecting...well, they know what to expect with Reggie's kind, so Rose's condition shouldn't raise too many alarms there."

Blake swallowed hard, his mind racing. He understood Nana's logic, but the idea of taking Rose to a regular hospital, no matter how discreet, filled him with trepidation. If the wrong tests were run, if the wrong people got involved...he shuddered to think of the consequences.

Celena clung to his legs, looking up at her father with huge, frightened eyes. "Daddy? What's happening to Mommy?"

Blake wished he had an answer to soothe his daughter's fears. This was the second time in 24 hours that Rose had collapsed without explanation. Clearly, something was very wrong.

But a hospital? He knew the risks were too great if Rose's supernatural traits were discovered by the wrong people. Regular needles shattering against her skin. Her erratic heartbeat and abnormal blood readings.

One misstep, and it could turn into a media circus all over again - the infamous Rose Shelly reappearing after two years, only this time accused of being some kind of alien or genetic experiment.

Blake couldn't allow that. Not after everything they had survived to find this peace.

"Nana..." His voice was strained as he made a split-second decision. "There's someone else. Someone who might know what's happening to Rose without needing to involve a hospital."

Without waiting for a response, Blake quickly ended the call and pulled up a number saved in his phone. His finger hovered over the digits as it rang...and rang...and rang. No answer.

He redialed, desperation mounting with each unanswered ring. Still nothing.

A third attempt, but this time Blake wasn't surprised by the silence greeting him. Panic gripped his chest as he turned back to Rose's motionless form on the bed.

No...no...this couldn't be happening. Not again, not when they had finally found peace and safety.

Acting on instinct, Blake blitzed into the bathroom and grabbed a damp towel. Maybe rousing her with cold water would work? He gently draped the towel over Rose's clammy forehead, silently pleading with her to wake up.

When that failed to rouse her, Blake began pacing anxiously, biting at his nails. The urge to race Rose to the hospital grew more tempting by the second despite his reservations.