Diva's Discovery

The setting of the sun poured through the tall windows of the estate casting down warm golden rays across the marble floors.

But inside Diva's heart the warm breeze has began to cause comfort than chill inside her body. Something was out of the ordinary. She felt it in the guards' actions, in the silent calm that hung in the hallways like fog.

She had reassured herself it was trivial—that maybe she was just being excessively careful. Beside Derek left not too long ago and perhaps the palace seems so calm because the guards are more relaxed and comfortable whenever he's not around. As she moved around in search of something to distract her a bit, she walked into a room, a place she had seen from a distance before.

Her wolf remained still. There was no notice, no discomfort. Just curiosity. Perhaps that was what troubled her the most.

She swung open the large oak door located at the corridor's end. It groaned in objection, uncovering a space heavy with dust and darkness. This location had not been opened for years. The aroma of old parchment and weathered rosewood lingered in the atmosphere.

However, beneath it, there was an additional element.

She became motionless.

Jasmine.

And residue.

The combination hit her like a punch. She remained silent but something in her made her feel unease. She took a took a deep breath and held the edge of the table by her side so she won't fall to the ground. The scent has taken over her, and for a brief moment, an image popped up in her mind—Derek, happy and a woman's hand resting on his chest.

And then it disappeared.

She breathed out, slowly and shakily. It would be best if she just leaves. She was aware of that. However, her fingers had swiftly gone to a shelf on the distant wall, dust particles dancing around her hand as she grasped a leather-covered book.

However, it wasn't a book.

It was a picture frame.

And the image within... took the air straight from her lungs.

Derek stood next to a woman, their figures near, their expressions radiating a happiness that was unmistakably authentic. The woman possessed gentle brown eyes and lengthy black hair that cascaded over her shoulders like silk. Linan. It must have been her.

They looked so happy.

Diva's throat tightened. She swallowed, blinking against the sting in her eyes. She shouldn’t feel this way. She had no claim over Derek. Not truly.

Still, it hurt.

Her fingers trembled as she touched the edge of the frame. And then she felt it—a jagged tear along the back.

Curious, she turned it over, sliding out the photo. A folded paper slipped free, yellowed with age and torn at the corner.

A letter.

She unfolded it gently. The ink that was use to write the letter was faded but she could still see some words:

_Derek,

I will soon be back, but please I beg you don't wait for me. I may not return alive but this letter should be a reminder that I love you and will always do even if I do not come back just know that you are in a safe place in my......

The rest was gone. Ripped away.

Diva read the letter over and over again as her heart pounded hard in her chest. Jealousy, no it can't be jealousy. The tension she felt in the room became too much for her as the weight of the secret pressed down on her chest like a stone.

She held the photo and the letter together trying to figure outs something when she heard a voice that sent cool breeze down her spine.

A whisper.

Soft. Melancholy.

"... She is died..."

Her blood turned to ice.

She spun around. The room was empty. Still.

And then another whisper came. This one clearer. Stronger.

"But she may come back... nobody knows yet but don't be surprised when the unexpected happens..."

Diva backed away slowly, her breath shallow. The whispers faded as quickly as they came, leaving only silence and the distant creak of wood.

This place was wrong.

She quickly put back the photo and the letter back where she found them. She needed answers to the questions in her heart but this wasn't just the right way to get the answers, not like this. Not when the shadows themselves felt alive.

She turned to leave.

Footsteps.

Close.

Her eyes widened.

She quickly moved behind a tall wardrobe with her heart pounding hard in her chest. Then the door was pushed open.

A man stepped inside.

She saw him as one of the new guards that Derek employed. He looked around the room like he was in search of something before stepping to the center, inspecting the shelves like he wanted to take something he hid there. His movements were too calculated. Too precise.

He wasn't a guard.

She watched him from behind the wardrobe carefully. The man pulled out a paper, glanced at it, and then he turned around to leave.

Only when the door clicked shut did she breathe out the air she was holding since the guard walked in.

She had to let someone know about this new guard.

No.

Not yet.

If that man was truly a spy, someone had let him in. Someone inside this house and she needs to find out who he is before exposing this new guard.

She had to be careful.

And if Derek had alot of secrets in the past nobody knew of, then she wanting to find out about them might be more dangerous than she imagined.

Diva moved out from behind the wardrobe with her eyes scanning the room one last time. She couldn’t shake the image of Derek and Linan. The look in his eyes.

Love.

Real love.

She bit her bottom lip, her thoughts a whirlwind of confusion.

Whatever secrets Derek had buried... they were clawing their way to the surface.

And she wasn’t sure she was ready for them.