Moon Lovers: Bound by Blood and Revenge

"Aunt Bri… she passed away!"

Marceline's heart sank as soon as she heard those words. The disbelief could be seen in her emerald eyes.

'No! This can't be happening! Not Aunt Bri! Not her!'

Marceline was utterly shocked and devastated because of this piece of bad news. She felt like every ounce of her energy was drained and she couldn't utter a word.

'How… How did this happen?' Marceline asked herself, her tears falling from the corners of her eyes.

This was too much! Lots of bad things were happening to her and her family. Aunt Brianna was part of her family! She was like a mother to her.

Her heart constricted. She couldn't help but feel suffocated. Her heart was in too much pain. She didn't know what she would do.

She clenched her fists, trying to control the enraged beast inside her that wanted to come out! Stella could feel her negative emotions so she was trying to take over Marceline's body.

She wanted to go wild and destroy everything in front of her.

'Why is this happening to me? Why? Why am I losing those important people in my life? Why took them away from me?!' Marceline slammed her eyes shut while gritting her teeth.

"Big Boss, are you okay?" Xyon asked her again worriedly. He could tell that Marceline was having a hard time believing this piece of bad news. Even he, himself, was shocked when he learned this morning that Aunt Brianna passed away.

He immediately grabbed a glass to pour some water on it. He could see that Marceline's mind was in turmoil right now.

Without saying a word, Marceline stood up and dashed out of her office. She was running without a clear destination in mind. She wasn't ready to face the truth that Aunt Brianna was gone.

'Why now? Why Aunt Bri?' Marceline didn't mind the people watching her in puzzlement. She just continued running, her eyes burned with tears. A few minutes later she reached the parking lot.

She hastily stepped into the car, turning the engine on and speeding off as she left the Zhou Empire building. She was not in the right condition to work. She just wanted to go somewhere where she could calm herself.

She was driving so fast that she almost bumped someone who was passing across the street.

A loud screeching sound was heard as she stepped on the brake.

*Bam!*

*Thud!*

She still hit the man!

Marceline's eyes widened in horror. She didn't mean to hit someone. Afraid that she hit the person hard, she quickly stepped out of the car to check the person who fell on the ground.

To her surprise, the man was just sitting on the ground, still conscious. He was brushing off the dirt on his clothes. When he raised his head, his brown eyes met Marceline's emerald eyes.

He was taken aback for a moment. His gaze was fixed on her face, observing the droplet of tears falling from her eyes. He suddenly remembered his daughter, Stella who was crying in his dream.

Marceline didn't know that she was still shedding tears when she got out of the car.

"Miss, are you okay?" The deep voice of the man was heard.

Marceline was the one who was supposed to ask him that question as he was the one who got hit by her car. But for some unknown reason, she couldn't utter a word upon seeing his face.

He was a stranger to her but she felt some familiarity with him. She couldn't explain it.

"I'm just fine…" Marceline mumbled absentmindedly, her eyes staring at him intently.

"I think you are in no condition to drive right now. Why don't you take a break? Calm yourself first before driving." Dominique was surprised as to why he suddenly got worried about this stranger.

Maybe he could just see Stella in her. He went to this bridge to investigate as this was the place where he saw his missing daughter in his dream.

He didn't expect that someone would hit him using her car. Fortunately, he didn't apply too much force in blocking it, that's why Marceline's car wasn't damaged at all.

Meanwhile, Marceline roamed her eyes at her surroundings, realizing this was the bridge where the Zhou Family Head guard and his accomplices threw Marceline's body. They dropped her in this Golden City river.

Then a cold glint flashed in her eyes. 'Evelyn should be the one to die, not the people close to me!' Marceline was thinking about her grandfather and Aunt Brianna.

Unknowingly, her eyes became misty once again when she thought of them. Dominique also noticed her solemn expression. Without thinking, he pulled Marceline into a hug which caught her off guard.

The moment their bodies touched, Stella growled loudly inside her head, causing Marceline to push the stranger away from her. It seemed like Stella didn't want to be hugged by this stranger and so, she reacted that way.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't supposed to do that. It's just that I felt like you needed to be comforted." Dominique explained when Marceline stepped back, creating a large distance between them.

'Is she afraid of me or does she hate me? Did I just imagine it? Why do I feel like I saw hatred in her eyes?' Dominique pondered to himself, still assessing Marceline's facial expression.

"Did you also lose someone important to you?" Dominique suddenly blurted out. He moved closer to the steel railing of the bridge, watching the river underneath them.

"I feel the same way as I lost my daughter," Dominique added. He couldn't understand why he was opening this up to her. Maybe he just wanted her to ease up and trust him.

Marceline knew he wasn't lying. His words and his expression were sincere. She didn't expect that this stranger had this kind of story. Subconsciously, she began to listen to him attentively while keeping a distance from him.

"What happened to your daughter?" she asked him with so much interest in her eyes.

They were now both looking at the river while Dominique continued talking.

"I lost her when she was still a baby. Some people who had grudges against me kidnapped my daughter. Until now, I'm still searching for her." Dominique felt comfortable talking to her.

As she listened to him, Marceline thought he just lost his daughter just recently, not twenty-four years ago.

"I came here to find her…" Dominique flashed a faint smile as he looked at her. "How about you? Why are you crying?"

Marceline fell silent for a moment, contemplating whether she would tell him the reason or not.

"I lost an important person in my life… she's like a mother to me. I keep asking why the people close to me are leaving me behind. Am I cursed? What did I do in my past life to deserve this? My grandfather is also dying and I don't know how I can save him. He was poisoned by a traitor whom we thought was part of our family." Marceline finally opened up to Dominique, sharing her feelings right now.

Dominique nodded his head, telling her that he understood her feelings. He knew how it felt to be cursed. They believed that the Moon Goddess cursed them.

"I don't know how I will comfort you. But I hope you will overcome this. Just never give up. Just like me, I will never give up on finding my daughter. Even if you lose them, keep living for yourself." Dominique was giving her meaningful advice.

Marceline didn't say a word. She only had Kira, Lyca, and Xyon on her side now. If she would lose them too, she didn't know if she could still live on.

"Thanks for your time. Are you sure you weren't hurt? I can bring you to the hospital," Marceline said, ending their conversation. She couldn't stay there longer. She needed to find out what happened to Aunt Brianna.

"I'm just fine. Fortunately, you stepped on the brake on time so you didn't hit me."

Marceline frowned as she felt that the car hit something a while ago. But this stranger was claiming he wasn't hit by the car at all.

"Okay. I'm sorry for this inconvenience. I have to leave now." After talking to Dominique, Marceline was able to gather herself. She was now ready to find out how Aunt Brianna died.

"I understand. I won't keep you here either. I also have to keep searching for my daughter. Nice talking to you Miss…" he paused as he didn't know her name.

"I'm Marceline…" she introduced herself.

A faint curve tugged upward from the corners of his lips and said, "I'm Dominique. See you around, Marceline."

Marceline just nodded her head. She didn't think that she would encounter him again someday. She said goodbye to him, before proceeding to her car.

Dominique just watched her car as it slowly disappeared from his sight. 'Why do I feel close to her?'

Marceline just left the area when Dominique noticed that someone was watching him.

"Come out, NOW! What do you want from me?" Dominique asked as he already felt someone else's presence. He knew it! Someone was tailing him. But he could tell that this person was a werewolf, not a vampire.

"I'm only giving you five seconds to show yourself to me." He warned the person and then he started to count. "One… Two… Three… Four…"

The person appeared in front of him. It was Gisel. Dominique was taken aback for a moment. But he immediately recovered. "Why are you following me, Gisel?"