Author's note: This chapter has not been revised by any beta readers. Please help me improve my English by contacting me if you find any grammar mistakes. Remember I'm not a native English speaker.

Cecilia stretched her body and yawned. She was still lying on the large, cozy bed. The sun was high in the sky; it was around 10 am.

It took her a moment to remember what had happened last night, and when she did, she broadened a smile. God bless this man, she thought as she got up to her feet, for giving her food when she was starving, a bed when she was tired, and a warm bath when she was dirtier than a human should ever be.

She groped the bed's surface for her clothes, but her fingers found something smoother: petals. She touched it softly with the tip of her fingers, feeling the shape of what she noticed it was a rose. She grabbed the flower, careful not to hurt herself with its thorns, but she found none. She brought it to her nose, smelling the sweet and unmistakable perfume of a red rose. She smiled. Oh, Mr. Richter…

A few centimeters ahead, she found clean clothes. She undressed the chemise and wore them.

Someone knocked the door.

"Come in." Cecilia said.

Annie entered the room. "Mr. Richter said you should have breakfast with us."

Cecilia's heartbeats fastened when she heard his name, "Is he home?" she breathed.

Annie hesitated before answering. "No, he's not. Mr. Richter's a busy business man. He'll be back home by the evening."

"Oh." Cecilia sounded disappointed. "That's a pity. I think I won't have the chance to thank him personally before I go back to my house."

Annie made no comments, "Well, are you hungry? We have a delicious breakfast ready for you in the dining room."

She helped Cecilia climb down the stairs, holding her hand and guiding her through the way. A marvelous breakfast was waiting for her, with delicious groceries she'd never tasted in her life so far. It was a pity, she thought, that she would have to leave. Her house was poor and small, but it needed her housekeeping abilities. Plus, she had recently started to take care of a puppy she'd found alone by her door. The puppy needed her just like a child needs a mother.

Thanking God for making that angel called Joseph Michael Richter cross her way, Cecilia left.

Before the darkness of the night completely covered New York, Joseph was back. As his servants often said, he seemed to appear out of nowhere in particular, and stop beside them as silently as a cat. The only one who had learned to get used to it was Dawson.

"Good evening, sir." Dawson said before Joseph could open his mouth to greet him.

"Dawson, I'm starting to wonder if you have the ability to read minds."

He didn't smile when he answered, "It isn't mind reading abilities. I just got to know you very well with the time. Wine, sir?"

Joseph smiled. "Yes, thank you." Dawson poured wine in a glass and handed it to Joseph. "Where's Cecilia? I searched the entire house, but no sign of her."

"That girl Cecilia left by the morning. She went back to her house."

"I was afraid she would do it." Joseph murmured and sipped the wine.

"Do you excuse me to give you an advice, sir?"

"Sure, Dawson. You're my only one trustful man."

"I've noticed you liked her. If I am right, your feelings are mutual. So go out there, find her and do your best to gain her love. You've been alone for too many years, sir."

Joseph's crooked jaw dropped in surprise. "Dawson", he whispered, "you know what I am."

"I do, sir."

"You know I'm dangerous. I'm a blood drinker. A vampire, as they like to say." His voice lowered even more, and Dawson had to approach him to keep listening, "Only you know my secret. If anyone else finds this out-" he took a deep breath, "if she finds it out, she will be scared to death. I can't simply bring her back and pretend I'm a bachelor who had enough of loneliness."

Dawson glared at Joseph as if he was talking to his son. "Sir, I know you're not dangerous. You're a good man, with a good heart."

"My heart had stopped beating a long time ago-"

"It doesn't matter your nature, as long as your principles remain staid. Mr. Richter, follow your heart, even if it doesn't beat anymore."

Joseph's eyes were fixed in Dawson as he assimilated his words. "You're a great man, Dawson." He made a pause, sipped the wine. "I'd be happy to have you always by my side, giving me your reasonable advices. Tell me, Dawson, do you want to live forever?"

"Are you making me an offer, sir?"

"Yes, I am."

Dawson smiled for the first time. "Oh, no, thank you very much, sir. I'm too old to live forever."

Still smiling, Dawson finished glossing the silverware and left. Joseph remained still, a glass of wine in his hand, thinking about the answer his most trustworthy servant had just given him.

"Too old to live forever," he chuckled and shook his head, "Dawson, you're one of a kind."

Joseph remained alone and silent for what seemed to be long minutes, wondering if he should follow Dawson's advice. Actually, all he wanted was to do so; he only needed to approve himself. And so he did. He placed the empty glass on the marble sideboard, wore his black hat and headed straight to the back door.

The coolness of the night hit him right on his face, but it didn't annoy him. It's been some time Joseph didn't get bothered by natural phenomenon like cold, wind, snow, rain, heat… Well, depending on the heat, he might get really annoyed; but that wasn't the case.

He walked past the New York citizens as unnoticed as a shadow. Although the cold didn't bother him, he knew it was too cold for a poor young woman who probably didn't have wool coats in her wardrobe.

Following his hunter senses, Joseph tracked Cecilia's smell in the air. His nose brought him to the exact place where she lived. Protected by the night, which cast shadows over him as if he attracted the darkness; Joseph approached a window and stalked her.

There was fire crackling in a small fireplace inside the house, a dog winning and barking in response to Cecilia's affectionate voice talking to it. She was sat on an old armchair, drinking hot tea. The puppy, Joseph noticed, sat by her feet and kept wagging his tail to her.

"What do you want Ron?" Joseph overheard she say, "If I give you my tea, it will burn your tongue." Ron, the dog, barked and wagged his tail. Cecilia laughed. "You're an overeater, aren't you?"

Cecilia, after all, looked happy, and that made Joseph smile. He remained quiet and silently stalking.

"Have I told you I met an angel last night? No? Well, I did. And that's why I didn't come back to serve you dinner, Ron." She said, scratching the puppy's head.

If Joseph's heart could beat, it would be trying to fly away his chest now. She was talking about him as if he was an angel! If only she knew what he really was...

"His name is Joseph Michael Richter. He's a fine man, Ron. He could have punished me for trying to steal his food, but he didn't. He offered me dinner, shower and a warm bed to sleep. Isn't it wonderful?" Joseph's smile widened as Cecilia talked to the dog, "Also, I can swear he's handsome. It's a pity my eyes can't see him…" she sighed. "But he allowed me to touch his face, so I could figure out his feature."

Outside in the dark, Joseph sighed. He wanted to enter the house so bad! He wanted to hold Cecilia's hands and tell her he was there; confess he was falling in love with her human innocence. But he couldn't, it'd be creepy. Cecilia would be scared to death if he knocked her door late at night.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and waited. If he couldn't reveal himself to her that night, he would sometime soon.

The puppy followed Cecilia, as well as Joseph's eyes, when she got to her feet and walked to her bed, a few steps away. She laid and the puppy imitated her, lying by her side on the floor. "Goodnight, Ron", she said after covering herself with a blanket.

When Cecilia fell asleep, Joseph couldn't help himself. He quietly entered the house, sat on the old armchair, and spent the entire night guarding her peaceful rest.