Vlad awoke early the next morning, slipping out of bed quietly without disturbing Helena. It was a usual ritual, since she hadn't gotten up earlier than him in the entire time that she'd been living with him, and he headed to the kitchen to make coffee with Cain and Abel at his heels.
He saw the letter from the corner of his eye, staring at it for a few moments before actually stooping to pick it up. He didn't have to open it to know who it was from, but he took it to the kitchen table regardless and opened it. The silence in his apartment seemed almost deafening as he read the letter three times, although if someone was watching it might have looked as though he were simply staring at the paper.
A part of him honestly hadn't thought she was serious. He half-expected to wake up and find that Boyd had changed her mind, but not this time. Now she was truly gone, and he found himself not thinking of things like how angry Shane would be or what this would do to Daniel - no, what he thought as he sat there with the letter in his hands was that he was actually going to miss her. God help him, as annoying and naive as she could be, he truly had grown rather fond of her over the past few months. Vlad knew that he wouldn't tell anyone where she was staying, and he counted the money in the envelope before tucking it back inside. He'd do his best to find her a nice place, he vowed, and the letter was something he planned on keeping in his study. It would be a reminder of the only person who knew that he was a murderer and still believed there was good within him; a reminder that he wasn't the monster Esme and Aiden believed he was.