Hi guys! I hope you enjoy this first chapter! It was really hard to finish this but I pulled through it thanks to you guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for my OC. Enjoy! Special appearance of...dun dun dun

Chapter 1: Of Monsters and Men

Las Vegas

"Please, please let me go!" The brunette begged before she cried out when I pulled her hair, dragging her and throwing her onto the poker stand.

"You know, I really hate it when they beg. Fight," I said. She continued to sob and I rolled my eyes, backhanding her face that was covered with her ruined mascara.

"I have a little brother. He only has me, please!"

"Then what are you doing here in Casino having fun and whoring around?" I asked, my vampire face showing. She let out a scream of pure terror and I rolled my eyes, growing tired and annoyed. Wrapping my hand around her neck, I pulled her up and supported her since she can no longer stand, not when I had broken her ankle.

"I have a little brother too," I told her. "But my family is complicated. They just keep throwing themselves into danger for my twin sister. It irks me to the core. And you just happen to look like her," I said with a sinister smile and slammed her head on the glass table.

Looking at the dead brunette lying on my feet, I couldn't help but thought of Elena. If only she had remained dead.

"Jeremy!" I tackled him into a tight hug. "Are you okay?" I asked, cupping his face and he nodded. I saw Stefan and Damon who weren't looking sad, but depressed even.

"Ric's gone then?" I asked them softly and Damon just looked away. Then he saw Kol and he growled, lunging towards the Original. Stefan and I jumped at Damon and restrained him while Kol looked annoyed.

"What's wrong with you?" I hissed at Damon.

"His sister did this!" Damon growled and my grip on his arm loosened.

"What?" I asked, taken aback. Damon shrugged his hands from us and walked away angrily. I looked at Stefan pleadingly and he shook his head, not having the heart to tell me..

"Rebekah caused the accident. Matt was driving Elena back to Mystic Falls and the truck went over Wickery Bridge. But there's more, Vanessa. Elena...she has vampire blood in her system," Stefan said. And here I thought the news of my sister's death would be the worst news I've heard for today.

"No," I said. "She can't be a vampire," I muttered under my breath, shaking my head almost in fear.

"I know, Vanessa. I've called Bonnie and she said she's going to find a way," Stefan told me calmly. My brows furrowed at his words and he stared at me, confused. Then I laughed, almost hysterical. He misunderstood me.

"Look, mate," Kol said to Stefan politely as he touched my arm, trying to calm me down. "I was a warlock and I've lived a thousand years learning witchcraft even as a vampire but there is no magic that could undo this."

"Bonnie said she might have a way. She said that she's stronger than ever," Stefan said and I shook my head.

"You misunderstood me," I told Stefan. "What I meant is that Elena can't complete the transition. She can't be a vampire, it will be a disaster," I said darkly. Stefan frowned at my words as he became wary.

"Nessie," Jeremy called me gently, unsure what to do.

"I'm done, Jer. It's bad enough with Elena as human and if she completes the transition, she's going to be on this earth breathing the same air with me for eternity," I growled, my blood boiling.

"You don't mean that!" Jeremy exclaimed in surprise.

"Why does Elena always get a free pass? She's in transition and everyone jumped to help her, risking their lives for the thousandth time for her. How many people have we lost because of her?" I shouted, looking at Jeremy this time. "Mom, Dad, we were on that bridge because she was too much of a coward to break up with Matt. Jenna and John, literally died sacrificing their lives for her. Stefan and Damon came and stayed in Mystic Falls because of her and pulled all of us into this neverending life-threatening drama. Bonnie's mom was turned into a vampire because of her. Bonnie's grandma died because of her! Alaric! Isobel! I lost everyone because of her, including my old self. And one day, you're going to die because of her," I said and shook my head.

"If you want to continue living like this, then go ahead, Jer. Who am I to stop you? I am not Elena who constantly tries to control everyone's life," I said mockingly. "Goodbye baby brother," I said bitterly, taking Kol's hand in mine and stormed off into the lift, ignoring Jeremy who was yelling my name.

My breathing labored as I thought of that and took a long chug of whatever alcohol I could find, trying desperately to erase and forget the bad day I had. By now Elena would have completed the transition and would be a vampire. As a vampire, all of her annoying traits would be heightened and I want nothing to do with it. I shook my head, pushing Elena out of my mind as I looked around for Kol but I couldn't see or hear him, but I did hear a woman screaming in terror, coming from upstairs. I took another chug and headed upstairs to find Kol.

"Kol?" I called when I heard a whimper coming from underneath the poker table. I let my high heels clicked loudly on the tile floor as I walked slowly towards my next victim. I stood there for some time, listening to her heart pattering like a machine gun. I then walked away and when I heard her released a sigh of relief, I flashed over to the table and bent down.

"Boo!" She screamed so loudly and was so surprised that she knocked her head on the table before crawling away. I laughed, appearing in front of her and pushing her down, that her body was awkwardly bent and her legs struggled to support her with that black pumps she was wearing.

"Please, please," she begged and I sighed. Not again, I'm looking for a fighter. A survivor.

"Alright, alright, hush now," I said, pulling her up and patted her hair. "You wanna live? Run," I said and she quickly ran and took off her pumps before she ran upstairs. I walked leisurely, following her steps.

"One, two, Vanessa's coming for you," I sang and heard her released a whimper and her footsteps quickened, hearing the song.

"Three, four, you better lock your door," I vamp sped to reach the next floor and listened for a heartbeat. Hearing none, I continued my search upstairs.

"Five, six, grab your crucifix," I sang louder and when I heard nothing I cursed myself, for letting her slip away. Maybe she'd earned it. "Seven, eight...Damn it, what was it?" I muttered to myself. I picked up a heartbeat and walked down the hallway and saw the sign to VIP room to my left. There was a stanchion that prevented people from walking in and I smiled. I like it when they made it obvious.

"Come out, come out wher-" my words were cut off by my grunt when someone slammed me across the wall and held me there by my neck with his forearm. A vampire. My vampire face came forward and I hissed at him, baring my fangs.

"What's your business here?" He asked, pressing his forearm harder against my neck.

"Is that how you treat a woman?" I asked, kicking him hard in the gut, taking him by surprise. I smashed the bottle I was holding at his head, spilling the drink, well I didn't pay for it, so...

"Bitch!" he groaned and charged at me, and I barely dodged him.

"You know, if you kill me, a certain one thousand year old Original vampire isn't gonna be happy with you," I said with a smirk and his brows furrowed as he leaned back to look at me. Thinking I've won, I flipped my hair and turned around to search for my dinner when he grabbed my hair, and held me against the wall.

"You're not allowed to be in here," he growled and pushed me to the other direction, away from the VIP room. Losing my footing, I fell on my knees and felt something snapped inside of me. The rage after being humiliated. I was just starting to lighten up when he decided to piss me off again. A low growl escaped from the back of my throat and I vamp sped to him but he just punched me in the face, like real hard that I tasted my own blood.

"I said, get out," he said and I spat the blood in my mouth at him. He growled and grabbed my neck, slamming me against the wall once, twice before gripping my neck tightly, slowly crushing my windpipe. I was still holding on to the broken bottleneck and stabbed him in the eye with it. He instantly let me go and I pushed him against the wall, punching into his chest but he grabbed a hold of my hand, the one that was about to rip his heart out, and snapped it like a twig.

I yelled in pain and kicked him in the groin, retracting my poor arm from his chest. Snapping it back to its place, I watched in horror as the vampire pulled out the bottleneck out of its eye slowly and painfully.

"Ew, do you really have to pull it out?" I cringed and kicked his jaw before he got up again. Without giving him a chance to fight back, I plunged my high heel into his throat, before bending down to rip out his heart. I breathed heavily and laughed a little. God knows that I needed to release some steam.

"What's the source of chaos here?" I heard a British accented voice asked, annoyance was evident in his voice. I turned around quickly as the door to the VIP room opened, coming face to face with a tall man, with dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He looked at me, slightly surprised before his eyes trailed down to my bloodied dress and to the dead vampire lying at my feet. He took in the mess we'd made when we were fighting before his eyes returned to mine and he raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"What have we here?" he asked, taking a step towards me.

"Hi," I said awkwardly, feeling slightly nervous at this vampire. He carried himself elegantly and authoritively and I could tell he wasn't just any vampire. "Is this your man?" I asked nervously, pointing at the dead vampire and awkwardly dropped the heart that I was holding.

"Yes and you killed him," he stated and I grimaced. It was hard to read this guy, and I didn't know how to play my cards.

"To be fair, he attacked me first. So technically...it was self-defense," I said smartly and he pressed his lips together, trying not to look amused. He pulled out a handkerchief and offered it to me. Huh, very Elijah-like. He circled around me, like a predator to its prey and I tried to remain calm by focusing on wiping the blood in my hands.

"How old are you?" he asked, surprising me.

"What? Why? How old are you?" I asked him back and he shrugged.

"Over a thousand years old."

"As old as the Originals?" I asked, and he gave me a smirk.

"And how old are you?" he asked once again.

"Eighteen, almost two years of being a vampire," I answered. I had always found myself feeling a little bit insecure about being so young especially when I was always surrounded by older vampires. Damon, Katherine, Rebekah, Kol, geez why couldn't I be born in the 17th or 18th century?

"Impressive," he said silkily, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry?"

"That man was over four hundred years old," he said and I grinned.

"I don't like to be underestimated just because I'm young," I said haughtily and the corner of his lips curved upwards.

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully, closing the distance between us. He was tall but I was wearing my high heels so I didn't have to crane my neck to struggle to look up at him. I held my gaze, refused to avert them. The way he looked at me was like how Kol and Klaus had looked at me when I first met them. And I hated that look. It was like they knew everything about me when I knew nothing about them.

"What's your name?" he asked and I found myself laughing to cover up the blush that formed on my cheeks. I felt like my old self when a hot guy asked for my number.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked. I remembered Kol and felt guilty for, well I wouldn't call this flirting but still...My ears picked up Kol's voice taunting a human and so did this vampire. "I have to go," I said, attempting to leave but he grabbed my arm. I glanced down at his vice-like grip and looked up to his light blue eyes warily.

"Your name, sweetheart," he said, authoritatively, his eyes were hard against mine that I couldn't remove them. My heart was beating ferociously as I felt the danger of disobeying him.

"Vanessa. Gilbert," I finally said and he released his grip from my arm, trailing his hand until he took my hand in his.

"Tristan de Martel. Charmed," he said, raising my hand to his lips. "I hope we meet again," he said and I couldn't stop the blush forming on my cheeks. He finally released my hand and placed his hands in his pockets. "Off you go," he said with a gentle smile and I stepped back hesitantly, before making my way to the sound of Kol's voice.

"Wh-" My words stopped as I turned around, seeing him nowhere in sight. Hmm, somehow I didn't think it would be wise to tell Kol about my encounter with...Tristan. It wasn't like I was cheating, but we had just begun this relationship and it was fragile to begin with. But after what we went through, I think it's suffice to say that we do love each other. And that's all that matters.

Rome, Italy

"Good morning," Kol said and I turned around from the balcony, smiling.

"I still can't believe we're in Italy," I said, making my way back to the bed. "The air is so different."

"But?" Kol asked and I was surprised at his question.

"But what?" I asked and he gave me a look, knowing I wasn't completely happy. "I don't know," I said, sighing.

"Do you miss your family?" he guessed and I sighed, plopping down onto the bed and he chuckled. Kol sat up, the sheet fell revealing his toned upper body and I grinned, propping myself up with my elbow and simply appreciating the view.

"It's just weird not to be with them, fighting whatever crisis that pops out," I said and he shrugged.

"Just relax," he said, giving me a peck in the lips. "You'll feel better once we are outside," he said, climbing off the bed.

"Can't we just stay in?" I asked and Kol laughed out loud.

"Darling, we're finally in Rome. You were the one who wouldn't shut up about entering Colosseum."

"Yeah, yeah, but we have forever! We have an eternity together to travel the world and visit every ruins and see every culture that ever existed. Right now, I just want you in bed," I said and the corner of his lips twitched into a smirk.

"Whatever my lady wishes," he said and I grinned, meeting his lips halfway.

Eventually, Kol dragged me up in the streets in the evening and I forced him to try the gelato ice cream, which I failed miserably. He just didn't think it would be good for his image as a fearsome Original vampire to be eating an ice cream on the streets of Rome. We walked for a while, simply just enjoying the foreign air and people. Although Kol was a great tourist guide, apparently he didn't really know which places had become an attraction and which hadn't. I looked up a famous restaurant with its famous pizza and we sat outside to get the air although it was freezing, not that it bothered us anyway.

"I don't get it. Why would humans do that?" he asked and I looked up from my phone, turning to look at where he was looking.

"What?" I asked, seeing nothing out of ordinary.

"Why are they so obsessed about taking photographs?" he asked and I almost spat out my latte.

"We call it taking selfies," I said and he looked at me incredulously. "What?" I asked, laughing. "It's for memories, and also for Instagram," I said, defending my kind from this ancient vampire.

"I'm not even going to ask what the bloody hell is that," he muttered and I grinned, amused with him adjusting to the modern times. I wasn't mocking him by any means, but Kol was just so...adorable at trying to understand how things had evolved and what was the trend now.

"Let's go to Castel S'ant Angelo. It opens till 7.30 but we can compelled the guards," I said, changing the topic.

"That castle? You mean anyone can enter it now?" He asked.

"You've been there?" I gasped and he shrugged, indifferently.

"Rome was a crazy place back then but a very interesting place to keep me entertain," he said, motioning me to leave. We took a cab to go to the castle while Kol told me some of the stories, the things I wouldn't read from History books or hear from Tanner. When the castle came to view, I couldn't help but gasped. It was magnificent. Especially the angel statue at the top of the castle. I noticed Kol was staring and I laughed, hiding my red cheeks behind my hand.

"Don't do that," I said and he raised his eyebrow.

"Do what?" He asked and I looked away, smiling.

When we arrived, I was so excited and forced Kol to take a selfie but to no avail.

"It's something that we do! You're not living in 20th century anymore!" I whined and Kol looked so desperate to get out of the situation. "Oh for God's sake, we are in Italy. I know you've been here but I haven't so please, for the love of human blood, take at least one selfie with me. For memories," I said exasperatedly and he remained brooding before he finally let out a sigh, admitting defeat. "Yay!" I cheered in glee and he shot me a glare causing me to laugh.

"Happy?" he asked when we were done and I laughed, as he asked me to go stand in front of the castle to take photos of me.

"Just me? It has to be both of us!" I whined.

"Vanessa, do not test me," Kol said darkly and I burst out laughing, before giving up. Kol was good at taking photos, despite being a thousand year old vampires.

"Since when didn't you like taking photos?" I asked.

"Why did you assume I like taking photos?" He asked and I snorted.

"Oh please, your ego is the size of Everest which is the highest mountains in the world if you didn't know," I said and he rolled his eyes. "You are narcissistic, you admire your own face, you are-"

"Okay darling, I got it," Kol snapped and I looked at him.

"You don't want to take photo with me?" I dared myself to ask him and he looked away.

"We have an eternity together," he replied.

"What if we don't?" I asked and he stopped in his tracks.

"You assume I'd leave you? Or is it the other way around?" he asked me sharply.

"Kol, I am just Vanessa Gilbert. I am just a young vampire whose knowledge and experience are nothing compared to you. Do understand why I'm a feeling a little insecure," I said and he shook his head to himself, before entering the castle.

"I want photos of us for memories. That I've been here, with you. Was that too much to ask?" I said as I tried to keep up with his long strides.

"Are we having a fight? Is this what I've been reading on the Internet about women?" he asked and I gaped.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked and he shook his head, before kissing me and shutting me up. When he pulled away, I glanced at him and pursed my lips. "Did you read that on the Internet too?" I asked and he smirked.

"It worked didn't it?" he asked and I rolled my eyes, smiling. We dropped the subject as we followed a group of tourist, but I only listened to my personal tour guide as he told me what was different and what was not from the time when he was there.

"Pope Alexander I, or Rodrigo Borgia, the most scandalous one ever," I said. "Tell me about him," I requested and he grinned.

"It was the best part," he grinned. The Borgias was very famous back then during Renaissance. There were a lot of things going on behind the scenes, things that historians themselves wouldn't write it down. Because?"

"Hmm, no ideas," I said.

"They were compelled," he said, grinning as my eyes widened in excitement.

"They were vampires?" I asked, shocked.

"Cesare and his sister were. Cesare was...hmm, how do I put this delicately? He's the craziest one among the Borgias. Murder, bribery, conspiracy, incest, almost as bad as me," Kol said and I laughed. "He killed his own brother, I think that was after he turned...I don't really remember."

"What happened then?"

"Tragic story. Nik, Elijah and Rebekah came to visit for a party that they hosted. He tried to have his way with Rebekah and Nik was not delighted," Kol said.

"Oh boy," I said, and Kol laughed.

"Well, Cesare and I weren't really mates, but he was a powerful man to be allied with," Kol said shrugging.

"What about Lucrezia? Did you turn her too?" I asked and he went quiet.

"I did...but it was not for the same reason I turned her brother," Kol said. "She was a pawn in her father's plan. He always used her to strengthen the political ties and to increase his power."

"That's awful. What happened to her? Is she still alive?" I asked and noticed Kol's face went pale as his eyes were glued at someone behind me.

"She is," a woman's voice answered and I turned around. The woman was beautiful, with long locks of loosely curled brown hair and dark eyes, with lips red as cherry. Damn.

"Hello Kol, it's been a long time." She has a sweet voice. A very alluring, silky voice. And she knew Kol.

Double damn.

"Can you...can you go first? I'll meet you back in the hotel," Kol said to me and I glanced at him and the woman, worried and jealous. We had only been at the ground floor and there were a lot more to see. But I agreed anyway, seeing him so shakened. I was curious and a part of me wanted to follow him and eavesdrop on his conversation with the woman, whom I assumed to be the infamous Lucrezia Borgia but another part of me respected him enough to trust him to tell me later. I sighed, before heading out of the castle, with most of the tourists joining me.

I went around the stalls selling souvenirs as I thought of my family. It didn't feel right that I left them to fend on their own, but it also felt liberating to be free of Elena. I bought a postcard with Castel S'ant Angelo on it to post to Jeremy and I stared at the keychains. Making up my mind, I bought a bunch of them to post it to Mystic Falls for them. Afterwards I stopped for a bite and headed back to the hotel, waiting for Kol.

"Finally, I thought you couldn't find your way back," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm, a little annoyed that not only he left me but he surely took his sweet time to get back to the hotel. But when I looked at his face, drinking the scotch as he stared at the wall blankly, it got me slightly worried.

"What's wrong?" I asked him yet he ignored me. I bit my lower lip, suddenly anxious as I walked over to him and touched his arm gingerly. "Kol? Talk to me," I pled softly. He shrugged his arm off me and walked over to the balcony, leaving me stunt. I braved myself to follow him to the balcony, patiently waiting for his answer.

"Did I do this to you?" he asked after a while.

"What?" I asked, surprised. I didn't see that coming. I thought Lucrezia and him had something special in the past and he got caught up in the moment and slept with her or something and was guilty about it.

"Did I turn you into a monster like me?" he asked again, looking deeply into my eyes. He seemed burdened by the invisible weight on his shoulder and I could see the guilt in his eyes.

"No," I answered, seeing that he was actually serious.

"I asked you to show me your darkest side, to revel in vampirism," he said and I frowned.

"Yes, but you have to remember how tired I was of hiding who I am. That I have to pretend that I'm good," I said and his grip on the glass tightened and I jumped when the glass broke, the pieces shattered to the floor.

"How many people have you killed for fun since you've met me? Because of me?" he asked me again.

"I did all those things on my own free will. I didn't do it for you or because of you," I said slowly, hoping that my words would sink into his head but Kol was having none of it.

"Don't you get it?" He asked me, pushing me against the wall and punching it, leaving a hole next to my head. "You did it because you wanted to be my equal. You felt the need to be as monstrous, as cruel, as psychotic as me to prove that you and I are the same," he said darkly.

I touched his face gently and I cupped his face with my hands, leaning in to press my lips against his. He didn't kiss me back but I leaned back, stroking his face.

"I love you, Kol Mikaelson," I said, staring into those beautiful, ancient brown eyes. He gasped a little, lost at words but his eyes softened as he looked at me again. It was like he couldn't believe that I just said that. Slowly, he smiled, it was a mix of sadness and happiness as he pushed the strand of my hair behind my ear, looking at me with wonder.

"Why?" He asked, his eyes glistened but the tears didn't fall.

"Because you complete me. Whether you want to believe it or not, you're perfect for me and I hope I'm the one you've been looking for as well," I said and he pressed his forehead against mine, simply holding me there in his embrace. He leaned back to look at me, his eyes were guilty of something else. Perhaps he thought I was expecting him to say the three words back, but he should know better than that. It was hard for us, to admit and accept our feelings for each other. Instead he kissed me and I smiled, pulling him closer, not wanting to let him go.

Ever.

"That woman, her name is Lucrezia Borgia," Kol said, and I listened with interest. He seemed much more relaxed than before and he was finally opening up. It was rare of him to share his past especially when it was very personal, simply because he didn't really want me to see what he had done in the past. It's not like I'd judge him or whatever.

"The infamous Lucrezia Borgia? She's actually her?" I asked and Kol chuckled softly. He always loved it when I was excited about something.

"Yes, and I turned her into a vampire and made her into the monster she is," he said. "She was a lovely, sweet young lady back then. So innocent, wouldn't even harm a fly. When she turned..."

"It's not your fault," I said and he shook his head.

"I know it isn't. But it all begins with me. Just like with you," he said and I sighed, tired of arguing this again.

"I told you, what I did had nothing to do with you. All those massacres, I did it by myself, for my own satisfaction."

"What if you haven't met me?" Kol asked challengingly and I rolled my eyes.

"Then I'd be stuck in Mystic Falls, entertaining Elena's whims," I said, scrunching my nose in disgust.

"Not that," he said, annoyed that I wasn't taking this seriously. "If you hadn't met me, you would not give in to the darkness inside you. You would have not killed all those people for fun." I rolled my eyes at him before sitting up grudgingly. Climbing onto his laps, I took his large hands, stroking them lazily.

"When I first tasted human blood, it was straight from the vein. It was the best thing I've ever tasted, the sensation it gave me was indescribable, the power I felt of holding someone's life in my hands was...addicting," I said. "If Katherine wasn't there, I would have killed the girl. She taught me how to control my bloodlust and I did," I explained and sighed. Slowly, I brought his hands up and placed them on each side of my head.

"Go on," I urged and he straightened up, before both our eyes fluttered closed, and he entered my mind.

It was a few weeks of being a vampire and I could already control my hunger in public places without Katherine's or Isobel's supervision. I was at a bar, it was half empty and a few girls walked in, talking and laughing loudly, flipping their hair and their eyes wild, searching for any hot guys.

Then it flashes to when they were crying and begging and sobbing for me to spare them as I killed them all mercilessly. All of it because they were being too loud, and it reminded me of what I had. A normal life. I should be back at Mystic Falls, drinking and having fun with Caroline and my sister and Bonnie, but instead, I was staring at the bodies of six girls that I just murdered.

"I didn't have to kill them. I only drained one of them while the other five...I was just playing with them. I liked hearing them plead and beg until I got bored, then I'll kill them. For fun," I said and met his brown eyes who were just looking at me. "Even as humans, I have these...urges. I am not all innocent and sweet, Kol. Even before I was turned. I was already battling my demons and fighting the darkness in me," I said.

"Vanessa," he said softly and I caressed his face. "If you think of yourself as a monster, then I'd be the worst of them all. The things I've done, if you even hear half of it you would not look at me the way you're looking at me right now."

"Stop worrying about that. I am not asking you to be the good guy. I accept you for who you are," I said and he finally grinned, stroking my hair.

"Vanessa Gilbert, you are the greatest thing that ever happened to me," he said and I flipped my hair and shrugged.

"Yeah, I figured," I said and he laughed, tickling my sides unexpectedly.

The next day, we headed back to the castle and I noticed the woman from yesterday. Kol was taking a snack so I walked over to the woman, needing to talk to her.

"Lucrezia right?" I asked the woman and she smiled at me.

"Yes, although I go by Lucy these days," she said.

"I'm a friend of Kol," I told her and her grin widened.

"Just a friend?" she asked, her eyebrow raised and somehow, I blushed.

"Well..." I said and laughed bashfully. "We're working on it," I said.

"I'm happy that he finally found someone. Someone that understands and loves him," she said with a smile.

"He told me about you. He thinks that he's a bad influence, to both of us. I disagree. Do you?"

"Whatever I did, it all came from me. I told him not to blame himself. Apparently he doesn't listen to others," she said. "Kol is complicated but not at the same time. He's a good man, whether he wants to believe it or not."

"Yeah, I know," I said, seeing him from afar.

"Lu, Vanessa. I see that you've met," Kol said formally and we rolled our eyes.

"I was just telling her how psychotic you were," Lucrezia said teasingly and Kol glanced at me.

"She didn't, did she?" He asked and I laughed.

"Don't worry," I assured him before I glanced at the two. "Do you guys wanna take photos together?" I asked and looked at Kol. "For memories," I said and he stared at me and gave me a small smile.

"Sure," he said and I smiled at the two as I snapped a couple of photos. "And yeah, you're gonna have to take photos of us too. It's not everyday I meet the infamous Lucrezia Borgia," I said excitedly and she laughed, wrapping her arm around me. Then Kol had to watch us take selfies, with him shaking his head and muttering, 'women', which earned him glares from us. To be honest, she was really sweet. I was worried, yes, but it was centuries ago.

"What about you two? Let me," Lucrezia said and I looked at Kol, waiting for his response and he glanced at me.

"Sure," Kol said and I looked at him, surprised. "For memories," he said and I smiled, content. I think the reason he refused to take photos at first was because he didn't want it to be permanent. Because if this didn't work, the photos of the two of us will always be there, a permanent scar like a tattoo, reminding us of what we used to have. Him agreeing to this was another baby steps in our relationship.

"You two are perfect together," Lucrezia said as she handed my phone back and I just laughed. "If you're ever in Italy, do come for a visit," she said, kissing my cheeks and smiled at Kol.

"It's lovely to see you, Lu," he said and she nodded.

"Take a good care of her. Do not be an asshole," she warned playfully and he laughed.

"Such words coming from a lady," he said, shaking his head as he hugged her.

"Bye," we said and she waved back as we entered the car. Kol drove us to the Colosseum and that we'll head to Florence and the ride was quiet with me viewing the photos. I bit my lower lip, staring at the photo of us. I was smiling at the camera but he was staring at me, with a genuine smile on his face. That was the first time I ever saw the way he looked at me, and it warmed my heart.

"Why?" Kol asked and I showed him the picture.

"You were not looking at the camera," I said and he shrugged. "The picture is pretty sweet though," I said and he laughed.

"I told you it's for memories. I'm making sure I would not forget your face," he said and I burst out laughing, hitting his arm.

"Stop being so cheezy," I said and he laughed, shaking his head. I realized he was staring so I met his eyes, and a smile crept up to my face before I turned to my phone again. I sent our picture together to Jeremy and texted him.

To: Jeremy

I miss you and I'm so sorry that I left. But at the same time, I'm happy. I'm happy that I finally found someone that understands and accepts me for who I am. You once told me that all you want is for me to be happy. So here I am with the man that I love. I hope everything is fine back at home, but I'm pretty sure another drama has just blown up to your face. Stay safe, Jer. I do want to see you again xx

I glanced at Kol and switched to the front camera, holding my phone up to take a selfie.

"Oh bloody hell," Kol muttered under his breath and I grinned, enjoying his distress.