The sun had barely risen, but Aurora was already awake, her mind racing with thoughts of the maid and the events of the past few days. The quiet of the morning seemed to reflect her current mood everything was still, but underneath the surface, there was a growing tension that she couldn’t ignore. She had been trying to process everything that had happened: the maid’s betrayal, her decision to spare the girl, and the unsettling feeling that something else was brewing in the air.
Aurora stood by the window of her chambers, gazing out at the courtyard below. Her thoughts drifted to Damian. He had been distant lately, but she couldn’t help but wonder what he was planning. His sudden interest in her well-being, his constant warnings, and his cryptic comments made her uneasy. There was always something more with him something just beneath the surface that she couldn’t quite grasp.
As she stood there, lost in thought, the door to her room creaked open, pulling her from her reverie. Damian’s tall figure filled the doorway, and for a moment, she froze. His dark eyes locked onto hers with that intense gaze, his face expressionless as always. He didn’t need to speak for the room to feel charged with tension.
“What is it?” Aurora asked, her voice steady but cautious.
Damian stepped into the room, his boots clicking softly against the stone floor. “I’ve made a decision,” he said, his voice calm but with an edge of finality.
Aurora’s heart skipped a beat. She had a feeling she knew what this was about. “About the maid?”
Damian nodded. “Yes. I’ll spare her. But she’s no longer welcome here. She’ll be kicked out of my house. She’s nothing but a pet who lost her purpose.”
Aurora’s eyes narrowed. She was surprised at his decision, though she shouldn’t have been. Damian always had his own way of handling things he was unpredictable, even with people like Lily. She didn’t understand why he kept people like that around, but he had his reasons, ones that didn’t always make sense to her.
She couldn’t stop herself from speaking. “And what about me, Damian?” Her voice was more forceful than she intended, but the words slipped out before she could stop herself. “Will you kick me out too?”
Damian stopped in his tracks, his expression unreadable. For a moment, Aurora thought she might have overstepped, but the corner of his mouth twitched upward into a smirk. He didn’t answer immediately, and the silence stretched on, making Aurora’s chest tighten. She wasn’t sure what she was hoping for. Did she want him to say yes, to free her from this place? Or was she hoping he would say no, that he would keep her here no matter how much she despised it?
Before she could analyze her own thoughts further, Damian’s laughter broke the silence, loud and mocking. It was a sound that sent a shiver down her spine, a sound that both unsettled and amused her.
“You think I would let you go?” he asked, his voice laced with amusement. He took a few steps closer, his presence overwhelming. “You’re more valuable to me than you think.”
Aurora’s heart raced at his words. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped herself. The words didn’t come. What did he mean by “valuable”? What was his true plan for her? He was always so vague with his intentions, and it drove her mad. She couldn’t understand him, not completely. And yet, she found herself bound to him, tangled in a way that she couldn’t escape.
Damian’s gaze softened just a fraction, but it was enough to make Aurora feel exposed. “You have a price to pay, Aurora,” he said, his voice low and serious.
Her confusion deepened. A price to pay? What did that mean? Was he talking about the events with the maid? Was he holding her accountable for something? But she hadn’t done anything wrong, had she?
She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could form the words, Damian turned and began to walk toward the door.
“Damian!” she called, her voice tinged with desperation. She didn’t know why she called out to him, but she felt an urge to demand answers. “What do you mean by that?”
He paused at the door, his back to her. He didn’t turn to face her, but his voice floated back to her, cold and detached.
“I’m not going to explain myself, Aurora. Not yet.”
And with that, he was gone, leaving her standing in the middle of the room, her mind racing with a thousand questions. What had he meant by a price to pay? And why wouldn’t he answer her?
Aurora’s hands clenched into fists, and for a moment, she thought about following him, demanding the truth. But she stopped herself. She knew better than to chase him down like that. Damian was always in control, and if she pushed him too far, she might end up losing even more than she had already.
She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She couldn’t let him rattle her this much. She had to figure out what was going on, and the only way to do that was to keep her distance and observe. There was no point in getting worked up over something she couldn’t understand at least, not yet.
As she turned away from the door, her thoughts drifted back to the maid. She had made the right decision, hadn’t she? She had spared the maid, given her another chance. But even now, she wondered if she had done the right thing. Would the maid appreciate her mercy, or would she see it as a weakness? Aurora didn’t have the answers, but one thing was certain things were changing, and she needed to be ready for whatever came next.
The days ahead were uncertain, and the more she thought about Damian’s cryptic words, the more uneasy she became. There was a price to pay for everything, but what was hers?
She didn’t have long to dwell on the question. Not long after Damian left her chambers, Luna entered with a tray of food, her usual warm smile gracing her face. But even Luna’s cheerful demeanor couldn’t lift the weight that hung over Aurora.
“Is everything all right, Mistress?” Luna asked, setting the tray down on the table in front of her. “You seem… different.”
Aurora forced a smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Just tired, Luna,” she said quietly. “Just tired.”
Luna looked at her for a moment, as if unsure whether to press further. But then she nodded, accepting the answer for what it was. “If you need anything, I’ll be here.”
Aurora nodded, but her mind was elsewhere. The questions still lingered, unanswered. She could feel it in the pit of her stomach, the gnawing sensation that something was coming, something she wasn’t prepared for.
As the day wore on, Aurora spent her time in her chambers, trying to focus on anything but the strange conversation with Damian. But it was no use. His words echoed in her mind, and the more she thought about them, the more confused she became.
Was she truly just a pawn to him, something valuable to be used for his own gain? Or did he care for her in some way she couldn’t understand?
She didn’t know the answers. All she knew was that she couldn’t let him see how much his words affected her. She had to remain strong, no matter what.
But deep down, she couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was about to change and that whatever was coming, it was something she wasn’t prepared for.