MALIA’S POV
I once said staring at the Palace from outside felt like gazing at heaven. Scrape that off. Being in Ryder’s wing felt like the actual paradise. I couldn’t stop gaping, no matter how much I tried to move my gaze away, it just never worked.
The living room which we strolled into foremost was a mix of both history and modern arts. The extravagant furniture, the hand-crafted pieces of art placed at every corner, the perfect lighting that reflected the Golden paint across the space, and above all the vastness of the entire living chamber. They were all jaw-dropping and stunning.
I tried to keep everything in memory so that I can at least go through them again later within my head but there are limits to what the brain can take, especially for places as large as this. I wouldn’t mind if I was made to just live here for the rest of my life, not allowed to go out anywhere.
I hadn’t yet worn off from the bewilderment of the glamorous living room and we climbed up that majestic stairs up to the most interesting hallway I have ever seen in my life.
Hallways are known to be generally boring with just doors that lead to rooms facing each other but, this place could pass for a museum.
Pictures were placed at every space on the wall and judging by how ancient they looked, I could easily guess that they were pictures of some of the past Alphas and their adventures around the world.
Have I mentioned the graceful marbled black and white floor? It makes the whole place look a whole more fascinating.
I might have been a Luna at some point in my life but damn, even leaders do have leaders. This is extra.
“Ma’am?” The maid who was approximately ten feet in front of me called.
“Oh, sorry” I snapped out of my daydream and walked toward her. I might have zoned out while eyeing the whole place.
“The dining table is right here” She rounded the last corner and I followed behind her. I expected the dining area to be down the stairs but I wasn’t going to complain.
It was on a moderately sized balcony. Two chairs were placed side by side and between them was a table with a flower vest on top of it. Of course, there were freshly picked flowers in it.
Plates and cutleries were neatly placed on each side of the chair, waiting to be filled with eats.
“Here” She pointed at the seat. “You take your seat, I will let the Alpha know that you are here” She said, going as far as pulling the chair out for me.
I didn’t complain and lowered myself down in it. She bowed and then walked back toward where we came.
With a deep contented sigh, I turned my gaze away from her toward the view from the balcony.
Serene.
That was the first word that came to my head as I looked at the lush garden from up here. The garden stretched out into a vast hectare of land, covered in not only greens but all sorts of colorful flowers.
As my eyes rummaged through it, I made a mental note to have the maid take me there one of these days. It looked like the perfect place to have a long time, uninterrupted.
My moment was cut shut by the clearing of throat. With a graceful move, I veered around to face who it was and my vision collided with that of the Alpha.
I don’t know if it was just me overthinking, but I thought I saw a look of displeasure flash through his eyes as his gaze skimmed over the dress I was currently wearing.
He didn’t utter a word though and instead opted to push out his chair and lower himself down on it.
“You have a very beautiful uhm…. garden” I pointed downward, trying to initiate a conversation.
“It is well taken care of” He nodded and indicated at the food, “Let’s dive in”. The maids followed behind him with the food from the instant he arrived.
We did, the sound of the cutleries hitting against the plates was evidence. For the longest moment that we ate, not a word was exchanged between us as we both focused on our food, with different things going on in my mind.
He finished before I did, and when he did, he gathered everything he used neatly to one side and turned his attention fully on me. It was a bit awkward but I shook it off and focused on my meal, taking time to prolong whatever conversation he was intending to have. I just had a feeling I wasn’t going to like it.
But there was still a limit to how long I could eat so when I was finally done, I mirrored his actions to push everything to one side and then turned to face him.
“This isn’t what you should be wearing” He folded his hand in front of him as he questioned.
“Ah yes, about that. I felt like the dress you sent was too formal for an early morning meal so I chose to just stick to simplicity”
That wasn’t the response I agreed to give, but I don’t know why I changed that.
“I do not take disobedience lightly, be warned for next time” He spoke out without batting a lash.
My brows curved into a frown at that statement. Did he even know that what he was doing was wrong? He had a woman who he would be marrying in a few weeks yet here he was, having breakfast with another.
I didn’t find that appealing and certainly didn’t intend to keep my mouth shut about that. If he had the gut to just summon me up for breakfast with no explanation whatsoever then I equally have the right to ask why.
“Aren’t you supposed to be having breakfast with your Luna-to-be?”