Page 54 of I Summoned A Demon For A Date?!
"Yes," Blackwood agreed. "But our contract specifies that you must marry within certain parameters to ensure the continuation of my sustenance. Parameters you've ignored."
"That's ridiculous! I'm marrying Roger in three months!”
"Roger," something in Blackwood’s tone made my blood run cold. "Your soon-to-be husband. He's a pathetic excuse of a human being. He has no ambition to grow the family's fortune. All he does is drink, drain his family's bank account, and cheat on you with random women."
Stephany's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. "What...?"
"Your precious Roger," Blackwood continued, his voice like gravel sliding over steel, "makes our contract void. A man with no drive, no ambition beyond his next drink and his next conquest? This is who you've chosen to bring into the bloodline?"
I watched Stephany's face drain of color. Her perfectly manicured hands trembled at her sides.
"That's not..he wouldn't!" she stammered, but the protest died on her lips. Something like recognition flickered across her features. She knew. Deep down, she'd always known what Roger was.
"A man who services the housemaid inyour bed while you're shopping. Who transferred half a million dollars to his personal account last month alone. Who has no intention of ever working a day in his life." Blackwood's burning eyes seemed to look straight through her. "This is the man you would make the patriarch of this family?"
Stephany's shoulders hunched forward slightly, making her look smaller than I'd ever seen her. "I can find someone else," her voice tight with desperation. "We can renegotiate."
Blackwood considered her for a long moment, his massive form towering over her. "We could," he agreed, surprising everyone. "If I wished to continue our arrangement."
"And you don't?" Stephany's voice cracked.
"I have served your family for generations," Blackwood said, something like weariness entering his voice. "I have fed on your emotions, guided your decisions, watched you live and die in this house. And I find myself tired." He spread his clawed hands. "It is time for me to return to my realm."
I felt Aldaine shift beside me, a subtle movement of recognition. Whatever Blackwood was saying, it meant something significant to him.
"But," Stephany looked stricken. "What about us? What about the house, the money?"
"Ah," Blackwood's mouth stretched into what might have been a smile on a human face. "I am not without mercy. I will offer you a parting gift, Stephany Thompson."
Jan took a step forward, her face tight with anxiety. "Blackwood."
He held up a hand, silencing her. "You may keep your status, your wealth. You need not lose everything." His burning gaze fixed on Stephany once more. "But you must leave this estate. Take your useless fiancé andgo. Never return to this place."
"Leave?" Stephany's voice rose to a near-shriek. "This is my home! You can't just.."
"I can," Blackwood cut her off, his voice reverberating with power. "And I will. These are my terms. Accept them, or I take your soul with me when I depart this realm. Your choice."
Stephany's mouth snapped shut, her face a mask of fury and fear.
Jan moved closer, placing a tentative hand on Blackwood's massive arm. "What about me?" she asked quietly. "Our agreement?"
"Is concluded," he finished for her, but his tone softened almost imperceptibly. "You may remain here. The house is yours, as it always was."
Relief washed over Jan's features, but uncertainty quickly replaced it. "And Stephany?"
"She will make her own way, as humans do." Blackwood looked down at Jan with something almost like tenderness. "You may maintain contact, of course. But never again will you provide financial support. She must stand on her own, or fall."
Jan nodded slowly, understanding and acceptance in her eyes.
My father moved to stand beside her, his arm around her shoulders. He looked overwhelmed but determined. "This is all a lot to take in," his voice unsteady. "But thank you for watching over my wife for all these years."
I felt a rush of warmth at his words. For all his faults, all his absences, he was choosing to stay and fight for his wife. Maybe there was hope for him yet.
Stephany's face had gone through a kaleidoscope of emotions as she listened to her fate being decided. Now it settled into a cold mask of resignation.
"Fine," she spat, arms crossed tightly across her chest. "Iaccept your terms. Roger and I will leave." Her gaze flicked to me, hatred burning in her eyes. "I hope you're happy now."
"This isn't about me," I shrugged. "It never was."
