Moonlight filtered through the weeping willow’s branches, casting an ethereal glow on Louis’s pale face as he took a swig from the purloined bottle of champagne. The faint strains of wedding music mocked him from a distance. He hadn’t ventured far, just enough to drown out the merriment and cloak his grief in the shadows. It shouldn’t matter anymore, Louis thought bitterly. A year has passed since we said our goodbyes, and yet, it feels like yesterday. A traitorous wish squeezed his heart. What if it had been me at the altar instead of that hulking oaf she married? Would things have been different? He slammed the thought down, its echo leaving a dull ache in his chest. Charlotte had made her choice, and Louis, immortal yet eternally trapped in this present misery, had to learn to live with it. Sniffling back a choked sob, he raised the bottle again, knowing full well the champagne wouldn’t numb the soul-deep pain. At best, it would offer a fleeting buzz before his vampiric metabolism devoured it. But it was something to hold, something to occupy his mind besides the whirlwind of confusing emotions. He needed to get himself together, rejoin the reception before anyone noticed his absence. He could already picture Charlotte’s worried frown and Matthew’s insensitive jabs. But before Louis could rise, a flurry of leaves and muffled curses announced the arrival of unexpected company. A figure stumbled out of the undergrowth, their eyes red-rimmed and face etched with anguish. Their uneven breaths echoed loudly in the stillness, mirroring the disarray in Louis’s own chest. “Drowning your sorrows too?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper above a sigh, as he offered them the bottle. They whirled around, startled, their heart a frantic drumbeat in Louis’s ears. After a beat of startled silence, they hesitantly approached the bottle. A weak smile tugged at Louis’s lips, hoping it conveyed his genuine offer. “Don’t worry,” he added, his voice light, “I promise I don’t bite.” He gestured for them to come closer, his hand outstretched, a silent plea for companionship in the face of their shared misery. He hoped, with every fiber of being, that they wouldn’t see him as a monster.