Nine

Diana

Boredom had seeped into every inch of me, and I was desperate for anything to fill the time. To entertain myself, I’d started painting rocks and reorganizing Lila's already neat shoe collection. 

But after I ran out of rocks and shoes, the heavy and endless quiet settled in again. Eventually, I found myself sitting by the window and watched a bird outside, just staring as it hopped and pecked at the ground. That was how desperate I was, reduced to bird-watching as if that little creature held some secret to my sanity.

Hours had passed without a single sign of King Asher or even a glimpse of the servants. The silence ate at me, and I started to wonder what the hell was going on. Then, just as my boredom hit its peak, a knock on the door jolted me from my daze.

I scrambled up and adjusted my hair, as if it mattered how I looked. My eagerness faded when I opened the door to see it wasn’t King Asher standing there but a servant. 

She held out a letter with a slight bow. "A letter for you, my queen," she said.

"A letter?" I echoed. The servant gave a simple nod before turning and walking away, leaving me standing there with the envelope in hand. 

I looked it over carefully. There was no crest or emblem of the sender, nothing to hint at who had sent it. An uneasy feeling stirred in my gut, but curiosity got the better of me. Maybe Marcus had somehow found out where I was. Or maybe it was meant for Lila, after all.

I moved to the chair and sat down, broke the seal and unfolded the letter. The handwriting was rushed and messy, almost frantic, as if the sender had scrawled it in a hurry, barely stopping to think.

“Dear Stranger, I don’t know who you are, but you have come at the right time. Lila is dead. You must not speak a word to the King or to anyone. The King will come for you if you reveal the truth. He will silence you. You must pretend to be Lila and attend to her duties. Do not question nor hesitate. Your life depends on it.”

The shock slammed into me like a slap. I read the words again, then again, each time more horrifying than the last. 

Someone knew I wasn’t Lila. Also, Lila was dead.

Who would send me this kind of warning? More importantly, why would anyone want me to pretend to be her?

A shiver crawled up my spine. This was far worse than I had imagined. It was one thing to stumble into a mistaken identity, but this was a trap. I was bound to a web of lies with no way out. I felt the sting of helplessness, of not having no one to trust, not even myself.

Muttering a curse under my breath, I clenched the letter in my fist. The thought of someone orchestrating this whole scheme left a bitter taste in my mouth. 

My mind immediately turned to Eddie. It would make sense if he was behind the letter. He had been vague and evasive since I arrived, dancing around the truth and never quite giving me answers.

If Eddie was behind this, why wouldn’t he just confront me directly instead of sending this ghostly note?

My gaze fell to my own reflection in the mirror across the room. The eyes staring back at me were hollow and shadowed by a sadness I couldn’t shake. 

Everything had unraveled so fast, from the life I’d once known as a loyal Luna who wanted to make her marriage work, to this twisted mess. I had loved Marcus, tried to give him everything, yet he’d discarded me like a useless piece of trash. So why on earth would I trust whoever sent this letter?

I read and reread the letter.. If anyone had a hand in this, it was Eddie. I wouldn’t put it past him to orchestrate a lie like this—or worse, to have played a role in Lila’s disappearance.

A cold dread seeped into my bones. If Eddie was involved, it meant danger in every glance, every word, and every calculated move he made. I couldn't afford to let fear consume me. No, I’d have to face him and force the truth out of him. Better to find out now than be blindsided later. If Eddie had bad intentions, I’d need to know before it was too late.

Whether he admitted it or not, he was connected to this twisted game. 

I glanced back at my reflection, feeling a pang of sadness that weighed heavy in my chest. The woman staring back at me looked like a stranger—someone lost in a maze of betrayal and deception. I’d been a loyal Luna, someone who wanted to give her all to her mate, but here I was, shattered and twisted beyond recognition.

A fire sparked in my gut. This situation was turning into a nightmare. If Eddie thought he could control me, he had another thing coming. I wasn’t some puppet to be manipulated or some pawn to be played in a game of lies.

“Let's play this game, Eddie,” I said to my reflection and took a cleansing breath.