MY SUGAR MUMMY IS A BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE

Chapter 71: The originals are the ones to be scared of

The promo concluded with a louche wink directly into the camera lens before cutting to an avalanche of sleazy sponsor spots hawking ambulance-chaser legal firms, shady investment schemes, and other assorted venereal detritus.

Rose mashed the remote's power button, jaw clenched and tendons standing out in stark relief against her porcelain complexion. Anger, embarrassment, and creeping tendrils of all-consuming dread roiled within her.

"I don't know how much more of this humiliating circus act I can stomach," she hissed through gritted teeth, sinking back into her plush office sofa and raking both hands through her lustrous chestnut locks. "Goddamn bottom-feeders...making a mockery of me for sport."

Blake settled onto the cushion beside her, soothingly rubbing small circles between her shoulder blades as he so often did whenever storms of anxiety bombarded Rose's emotional locus. She felt herself sinking into the comforting familiarity of his touch, steadying her frayed nerves through intimate muscle memory.

"It'll blow over soon enough, babe," he murmured, pressing a reassuring kiss to the crown of her head. "Once the press gets tired of chasing this fanciful vampire bullshit's coattails for clicks, they'll move onto the next shiny scandal to--"

"That's just it though," Rose cut him off, finally dragging her eyes up to meet his concerned gaze.

"You don't understand...I can feel it with every fiber of my soul. This isn't merely the fleeting, hot-take flavor of the month they're salivating over. Someone is quite intentionally steering this media frenzy in a very specific and insidious direction."

Blake opened his mouth as if to protest, but Rose barreled onward, clutching his hands between her slender fingers like a lifeline anchoring her against the maelstrom howling just over the horizon.

"I'm not some novelty curiosity for the masses to gawk and giggle over, Blake. I'm an apex predator, an undying force of nature as old as civilization itself. And whoever is masterminding this grotesque media circus knows that better than anyone - because in their warped crusade against me, the release of those wretched videos was only...the opening salvo."

Her voice dropped to a bone-chilled murmur, emerald eyes boring deep into Blake's with the intensity of a thousand-year-old spirit raging behind them.

"They aren't done with me, my love...not by a damned sight. This entire public shaming has been but a calculated gambit to draw me out into the open, to force me to overextend myself and leave my vulnerabilities exposed for the whole world to see."

Rose sucked in a shuddering breath, stricken gaze flickering across Blake's familiar features as she searched desperately for the words.

"That's why I fear more than just my authority being undermined or my company brought to ruin. What's really at stake with this escalating bloodsport revelation is the very sanctity of my existence as an Undying One. Because for all the depth and cunning I've cultivated over eternity, even I know there are darker, more nefarious forces in this cosmos who would stop at nothing to..."

She trailed off, expression crumbling as her throat worked compulsively like she might be physically ill. Blake instinctively pulled Rose into a tight, comforting embrace as chills raked up and down his own arms despite the climate-controlled suite's cozy atmosphere.

"Rose...honey, what is it?" He asked gently, trying to mask the fear creeping into his own voice. "What's really going on here? I need you to level with me."

For a long, torturous moment the only sound was Rose's shuddering breaths ghosting across his clavicle. Finally she raised her head, red-rimmed eyes shimmering beneath unshed tears as she leveled the most haunting, foreboding proclamation Blake had ever heard scorched into his memory:

"I'm afraid...someone might be trying to extinguish my immortal flame forever. And this time, neither of us has any clue how far into the abyss they're willing to drag me before that goal is achieved.But..." Rose took a long needed breath, more like a sigh.

..."I'm more afraid that my silence might cause someone else to do something about all of this. Something no one will like or recover from. Diving into my origin is not just a fight they are seeking against me, my love. They… they might just get the attention of the others," Rose said with horror defined face.

"Others? You mean...other vampires?" Blake asked just to be sure he was following Rose's line of thought.

"Mmm..perhaps just vampires wouldn't be a bother. I'm talking about the ones that have remained in the dark for millennials. I'm talking about the old ones, the originals,"

Blake gulped seeing that things held more consequences than he anticipated. Already he had seen first hand how outmatched he was against a bloodlusted vampire. What would happen if they somehow stopped being...shy and came out in the open?

The situation was rather awry for everyone. Blake himself had a side dish of his own worries.

He found himself torn between the woman he loved and the life he had once known. His reputation, his once quiet life– all of it crumbled like a house of cards. Increasingly, he found himself retreating into the refuge of silent contemplation, wrestling with the agonizing decision that loomed before him.

Shelley Technologies hemorrhaged money and credibility with each passing day. Stock prices plummeted, and corporate partners fled like rats abandoning a sinking ship. The once-mighty empire teetered on the brink of collapse, a victim of its own hubris and deceit.

Through it all, Rose remained resolute, her jaw set in grim determination. She would not go down without a fight. Yet, even her indomitable spirit wavered when she caught Blake's pensive gaze, his eyes reflecting the weight of the burden he carried.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, bathing the city in a crimson glow, Rose found herself staring into the twilight. The world she had built, the life she had fought so hard to maintain, hung in the balance. One misstep, one lapse in judgment, could send it all crashing down around her.

The choice seemed increasingly clear: surrender to the overwhelming forces arrayed against her or cling to the last fraying threads of her empire, consequences be damned. Either path led to untold sacrifices, each one more devastating than the last.

Rose's fingers traced the embossed letterhead of Shelley Technologies, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. She had dreamed of building an enduring legacy, but now that dream had become a waking nightmare, threatening to consume everything and everyone she held dear.

As the night enveloped the city, Rose knew that the battle lines had been drawn. The world had turned against her, and the only path forward was through the eye of the storm. Whatever lay on the other side, she could only hope that Blake would remain by her side when the dust finally settled.