MY SUGAR MUMMY IS A BEAUTIFUL VAMPIRE

It was a rather astounding, unrefined display to witness, truth be told. Gone was any semblance of socially-ingrained manners or etiquette as Rose tore into her heaping platter like a half-starved beast. Potent juices and crumbs flew in every direction, dribbling unheeded down her chin and staining the pristine linen of her gown a kaleidoscope of colors.

She shoveled each forkful into her ravenous maw with scarcely a pause for breath, practically inhaling the bounty with an unprecedented single-mindedness. Damien watched in bemusured silence, catching himself before openly gawking at the shocking lack of restraint. Truthfully, he wasn't certain whether to be impressed or repulsed by such an...indelicate...display.

Finally, just when he thought Rose's monstrous appetite might finally be sated, she reached across and snagged an entire haunch of roasted boar, seizing it in both hands and positively mauling the thick, juicy meat. Shreds of gristle and flesh soon littered her plate, and Damien couldn't quite stifle his noise of mingled revulsion.

"Good lord, woman!" The words slipped out before he could stop them. "Where are your damned manners?"

Rose paused mid-gnawing, shooting him a baleful glare from beneath lowered brows as she gulped down a particularly stubborn chunk.

"Do you take issue with the manner in which I eat, sir?" she asked, a hint of challenge tingeing her words.

Damien opened his mouth, a sarcastic retort at the ready...but then his gaze drifted to the gentle swell of her abdomen. A reminder that, for the time being, Rose was not merely sustaining herself, but the growing needs of an unborn child as well.

"Not at all," he replied at length, opting for a bemused tone rather than censure. "Merely an...observation on the scope of your appetite."

Rose seemed to consider that for a moment before shrugging and tearing into the remainder of the roast with gusto. For several long moments, the only sounds were her enthusiastic mastications. When the last scrap had been devoured and her plate licked clean, Rose leaned back with an appreciative sigh and patted her straining belly.

"I must thank you for this unexpected...indulgence," she said grudgingly. "It has been a trying few days since returning to this wretched place."

Damien detected a glimmer of vulnerability and... something almost akin to shame behind her momentary expression. Likely realizing she had allowed her carefully crafted emotional shields to slip. But before he could seize upon it in an attempt at understanding her peculiar situation, Rose seemed to refortify her walls, rising abruptly from the table.

"This changes nothing between us, of course," she sniffed, brushing away a few errant crumbs clinging to her gown. "If you believed momentarily sating my rumbling belly would engender any feelings beyond cool civility, you are severely mistaken."

With that parting salvo, she turned on her heel and quit the chamber, leaving Damien to stare after her in bemusement. It was only after several long heartbeats that he became aware of the collection of servants clustered discreetly in the far corner, their expressions ranging from aghast to ill-concealed delight at witnessing their lady's decidedly unrefined display.

Rising fluidly to his feet, Damien cleared his throat and fixed them all with a dispassionately arched brow.

"Not a word of what just transpired is to leave the confines of this hall." His tone brooked no argument. "The next soul who dares mock or insult the Lady Rose in any way had best savor the experience...for it shall be their last."

The silent menace in his voice was unmistakable. The servants bobbed hasty, fearful curtsies and bowed exits, scattering away like routed field mice. Once they were alone, Damien permitted the slightest uptick in the corner of his mouth.

"Enjoy the momentary victory, my lady," he murmured in the direction Rose had departed. "For when next we meet, I shan't go so easily on your prideful tongue."

A brief pause as his mind skipped an utterly unintended track before he grimaced and gave his head a rueful shake.

"That came out far worse than intended," he muttered, chuckling under his breath.

With a final bemused glance around the desecrated dining hall, Damien turned and strode off, eager to return to his own chamber and ruminate further on this latest bewildering encounter with his most vexing lady.

Despite her constant ire and indomitable pride, Damien couldn't quite smother the growing sense that Rose, and whatever dark ordeal she appeared to be enduring, might prove to be more than just a mere vexation upon his existence.

As he made his way through the castle corridors back towards the main entrance, Damien's mind continued to churn over their strange encounter in the dining hall. Rose's ravenous, unrestrained manner of eating had been...bewildering to say the least. So very far removed from the haughty, standoffish nobility she typically exuded.

Yet when viewed through the lens of her delicate condition - her state of carrying a child- it almost made a brutal sort of sense. Damien was no fool when it came to the biology and demands of pregnancy. He knew that however much Rose might fight it on a philosophical level, her body's needs would inevitably override her conscious objections.

That fierce, primal hunger she had displayed was merely her instincts asserting themselves, prioritizing sustenance for the growing life within her over any pretense of decorum or status. A sobering reminder that for all her regal bearing and sharp tongue, Rose was still a living, breathing creature subject to biological realities.

A small, reluctant kernel of respect took root somewhere in Damien's chest as he ruminated further. For a woman of Rose's pride and dignity to permit herself such a boundless lapse of propriety in his presence...it spoke to a core of selflessness he hadn't necessarily anticipated from one so outwardly prickly and disdainful.

Of course, her motivations could simply be self-preservation. Ensuring the successful gestation and delivery of her child in order to leverage future advantages or concessions. It would certainly be in keeping with Rose's reputation for being a cunning strategist, constantly angling for any potential edge or exploit.

But something in Damien's instincts told him there was more to it than mere political gamesmanship this time around. An undercurrent of genuine care and protectiveness being directed at the nascent life she carried.

The thought caused a strange tightening in his chest, coupled with a faint fluttering lower in his abdomen. Damien frowned, uncertain of the peculiar physical sensations roiling through him. Was this...concern he felt for Rose's condition?

Nay, that seemed illogical given their perpetually contentious dynamic. And even worse, the child wasn't even his to begin with. So why would he? ...