Lina sat on the edge of her bed, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. Her bruises had started to heal, but the pain Damian had caused her was still fresh in her mind. She stared at the reflection in the mirror across the room, her face pale and her eyes hollow.
“He doesn’t love me,” she muttered under her breath, her voice filled with bitterness. “He never will.”
Her mind raced as she thought about Aurora. Even in a coma, Aurora was the only thing Damian seemed to care about. And now there was news of the child. A child that wasn’t hers. A child that belonged to the woman Damian loved.
Lina’s lips curled into a bitter smile as she whispered, “Aurora. Always Aurora. Even when she’s not here, she’s the one he thinks about.”
She stood up abruptly, pacing the room. Her thoughts were dark, twisting and turning as anger and jealousy consumed her. She had married Damian thinking she could win his heart, thinking she could make him forget Aurora. But instead, she was nothing more than a trophy wife. A pawn.
“He’ll pay for this,” she whispered to herself, her voice trembling with anger. “If I can’t have his love, then I’ll take something else. Something that will make him regret everything.”
Her mind wandered to Luna, one of the maids in the house. Lina had noticed how Luna seemed to avoid Damian’s gaze, how her cheeks turned red whenever she was near him. It wasn’t hard to figure out that Luna was still pure, untouched by the darkness of Damian’s world.
“She’s perfect,” Lina murmured, her eyes gleaming with malice. “Aurora trusted her. She cared about her. If Damian touches her, it will destroy everything he has with Aurora.”
Lina’s thoughts became more focused, her plan forming in her mind. She needed leverage against Damian. Something she could use to blackmail him. And if she played her cards right, Aurora would hate him forever.
Lina sat down at her vanity, her fingers drumming against the polished surface. “How do I make this work?” she whispered. “How do I make him fall into my trap?”
Her eyes flicked to the glass of wine on the table. An idea began to form, wicked and cruel.
“I’ll spike his drink,” she said softly, her voice trembling with excitement. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t know what’s happening. And when he wakes up, it’ll already be done.”
She thought about Luna, about how she would lure her into the trap as well. “She’s too obedient,” Lina muttered, frowning. “She won’t come willingly. I’ll have to lie to her. Make her think she’s helping Aurora somehow.”
Her smile grew as she imagined how everything would play out.
The sound of footsteps in the hallway made Lina freeze. She quickly grabbed the wine glass and pretended to sip from it as the door opened. One of the maids stepped inside, her head bowed.
“Mrs. Wolfe,” the maid said softly. “Dinner is ready.”
Lina waved her away impatiently. “I’m not hungry,” she snapped.
The maid nodded quickly and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Lina sighed, setting the glass down. “I need to be smart about this,” she whispered. “I can’t let Damian suspect anything.”
Her mind wandered to the small stash of sleeping pills she had hidden in her drawer. She had taken them from the medicine cabinet weeks ago, thinking she might need them someday. Now, they would be the key to her plan.
She walked to the drawer and pulled it open, her fingers brushing against the small bottle. She held it up, shaking it lightly as a wicked smile spread across her face.
“Just enough to make him lose control,” she muttered. “Not too much. I don’t want him passing out completely. Just enough to make him… suggestible.”
Her thoughts turned to Luna again. The girl was kind, loyal to Aurora, and innocent in every way.
“If Aurora ever finds out,” Lina murmured, “she’ll hate him. She’ll hate him for taking something so precious from someone she cared about.”
Lina’s smile grew wider as she placed the bottle back in the drawer. “And if she wakes up,” she added, her voice dripping with malice, “she’ll never forgive him. Never.”
The plan was simple, but Lina knew it had to be executed perfectly. She would wait for the right moment, wait until Damian was distracted and vulnerable.
“When he least expects it,” she whispered to herself. “That’s when I’ll strike.”
Her mind raced with possibilities. She thought about how she would convince Luna to be in the same room with Damian. She would have to manipulate her carefully, playing on her loyalty to Aurora.
“She’ll do anything for Aurora,” Lina said, her tone thoughtful. “If I tell her it’s for Aurora’s sake, she won’t even question it.”
Hours passed as Lina sat in her room, going over the plan again and again in her mind. She thought about every detail, every possible outcome.
“He won’t see it coming,” she whispered. “He’s too distracted with Aurora to notice anything else.”
She stood up, smoothing out her dress as she walked to the window. The moonlight spilled into the room, casting long shadows across the floor.
“Soon,” she murmured. “Soon, everything will change.”
Her gaze flicked to the hallway, where she could hear Damian’s voice faintly in the distance. He was talking to one of the maids, his tone sharp and commanding.
“He thinks he’s untouchable,” Lina muttered. “But he’ll learn. He’ll learn that even the strongest can fall.”
Lina walked back to her vanity, her hands resting on the edge as she stared at her reflection. Her eyes gleamed with determination, her lips curling into a sly smile.
“This is my chance,” she said softly. “My chance to take back the power he stole from me. To make him suffer the way he made me suffer.”
Her fingers brushed against the wine glass again, and she picked it up, holding it to her lips. She didn’t drink, but the bitter scent of the wine filled her nose, reminding her of what was to come.
“To Aurora,” she said mockingly, raising the glass in a silent toast. “May you never forgive him.”