04

Sofia.

I had been trying to convince myself that Victoria's pregnancy was fine. That it was fine my husband was having a child with someone else. But the truth was, it still gutted me.

I kept telling myself it would be okay that once she gave birth and left, things would go back to normal with Ethan, except nothing felt normal anymore.

There was this odd feeling in my chest, like something didn't add up. I couldn't explain it, but every time I tried to push it aside, it crept back in. I attempted to focus on my duties as Luna, but even that couldn't distract me from the sense that I was missing something obvious.

"Just focus," I muttered to myself, forcing my attention back to the stacks of paperwork in front of me. But focus was harder than it should have been.

I overheard the maids talking as I passed them in the hallway. Their voices dropped to whispers, but I caught enough.

"She has no idea," one of them said.

"There's going to be a new Luna. Everyone knows it."

I stopped and turned. They scattered like leaves before I could say anything, but their words stuck with me. New Luna? That was ridiculous. I was the Luna, and that wouldn't change just because Victoria was pregnant.

At least, that was what I told myself. The market trip that afternoon only confirmed my suspicions that something was seriously wrong. 

The stares I got weren't curious ones. They were pitying. People whispered as I walked past, their eyes tracking me like I was some kind of spectacle.

I walked faster, then started running. By the time I got home, my lungs burned, and my chest felt tight.

Even the staff looked at me differently. Like they knew something I didn't.

I needed to find Xander. I needed answers.

Halfway up the stairs, I heard sounds coming from our bedroom. At first, I couldn't place them. Then I could. Moaning. The creak of the bed frame.

My feet moved before my brain could catch up, pulling me toward the noise like I was on a string.

"Yes, fuck " a woman's voice, breathy and desperate.

  "Your pussy is so fucking tight." Came Ethan's voice, low and satisfied.

The stake that had been lodged in my chest twisted, I knew that voice, both of them.

My hands shook as I reached for the doorknob. I didn't want to open it, but I had to. I had to see it to believe it.

The door swung open, and there they were. Ethan and Victoria on my bed. His hands on her breasts, her body moving over his like this was the most natural thing in the world.

They didn't even notice me at first. They were too wrapped up in each other literally.

"Ethan," I said. My voice sounded hollow, even to me.

They stopped, and the sudden silence was worse than the moaning had been.

Victoria climbed off him without bothering to cover herself. She looked at me with something that might have been amusement or maybe triumph.

"What are you looking at?" she asked casually, as if I had just caught her eating from my plate instead of fucking my husband.

"Come on, Sofia. Don't tell me you are actually shocked," she laughed, shaking her head like I was being stupid. "You really thought I came here to give you a baby?"

I couldn't speak, my mouth opened but nothing came out.

"I came here to take your place," Victoria continued, stepping closer to me, still naked, still smiling. "You are barren, Sofia. Useless. Ethan deserves better than an empty vessel like you."

Each word landed like a punch. Barren. Empty vessel. Useless.

I turned to Ethan, searching his face for something,denial, guilt, anything. "Is this true?"

He didn't answer. He just looked away.

"Get out," Victoria said, her voice sharp. When I didn't move fast enough, she grabbed my hair and yanked me backwards. The pain was instant and blinding.

"I said get out!" She shoved me hard toward the door.

My skull hit the doorframe. Stars exploded across my vision, and I felt the warm trickle of blood sliding down my face.

When the ringing in my ears stopped, I turned back to look at them. Victoria was laughing while the man of the day looked pale.

I touched my forehead, and my fingers came away red.

"You are going to regret this," I said quietly, my voice steady despite the blood, despite the dizziness creeping in at the edges. "Both of you."

Then I turned and walked away before they could see how much I was shaking.