LUNARIA'S CURSE

CHAPTER 2

The Billionaire's Mansion

Hinari sat frozen in the back seat of the black sedan, her fingers clutching the hem of her dress so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Outside the tinted window, the city lights blurred into streaks of passing neon, yet her mind remained trapped in the home she had just been forced to leave. Her father's pale, desperate face, the cold authority of the stranger beside her, and the single sentence that had shattered her life echoed endlessly in her mind.

It felt like a nightmare she couldn't wake up from.

The silence inside the car grew heavier with every passing second until Hinari finally swallowed her fear and broke it.

"Why me?"

The man beside her didn't turn. His gaze remained fixed on the road ahead, as though the question wasn't worthy of an answer.

Hinari bit her lower lip, struggling to keep her voice from trembling.

"Are you really going to marry me?"

No answer.

"You don't even know me."

The silence stretched once again, tense and infuriating, slowly wearing away what little patience she had left.

"I'm talking to you."

Only then did he turn his head. His eyes—cold, dark, and unreadable—met hers for the briefest moment before he spoke in a flat, emotionless voice.

"I know everything I need to know."

The answer brought her no comfort. If anything, it only tightened the knot in her stomach.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means precisely what I said."

Hinari let out a quiet sigh before turning back toward the window. In the short time she had known him, she had learned only three things about this man: he was cold, impossibly calm, and dangerously unpredictable.

Desperate to cling to reality, she pulled her phone from her bag, intending to text anyone—anyone who might be able to help.

The screen lit up, displaying only two words:

No Signal.

She frowned and tapped the screen. They hadn't driven far enough from the city to lose reception completely.

She opened her map application, but the display showed nothing more than an empty gray grid. Even the GPS couldn't identify their location.

"That's strange..." she murmured.

She looked outside once more.

The towering skyscrapers had disappeared, replaced by dense walls of pine trees stretching endlessly along both sides of the road. A thin blanket of mist drifted between the trunks, while the empty pavement ahead vanished into the darkness.

"Is your house really this far from the city?"

"Yes."

The reply was short, effectively ending any possibility of further conversation.

Hinari glanced at her phone again.

The digital clock read 10:47 PM.

Several minutes passed before she checked it once more.

The numbers hadn't changed.

She gently shook her head, convincing herself that her phone was simply malfunctioning.

Before she could dwell on it any longer, the sedan began to slow down.

The fog ahead gradually parted, revealing a massive black iron gate that stretched high toward the treetops. Intricate golden patterns decorated its surface, while two towering stone pillars stood on either side as though they had guarded the entrance for centuries.

Without making a sound, the enormous gates slowly swung open before the car had even come to a complete stop.

Hinari could only stare.

Beyond the gate lay a long private driveway winding through perfectly manicured gardens and ancient oak trees illuminated by warm amber lights. At the end of the road stood a magnificent European-style mansion. Its white marble façade gleamed beneath the night sky, framed by towering arched windows and a grand fountain whose cascading water shimmered beneath the lights.

Several luxury cars were neatly parked in the spacious courtyard.

Hinari slowly turned toward the man beside her.

"So... you really are a billionaire."

He neither confirmed nor denied it.

His silence was answer enough.

At least she understood one thing now. He wasn't a member of some dangerous criminal organization as she had briefly feared. He was simply an eccentric billionaire who was accustomed to getting whatever he wanted—including forcing a woman to become his bride.

The realization made her chest tighten all over again.

The sedan came to a smooth stop in front of the mansion's grand entrance.

A line of uniformed servants was already waiting outside. The moment Erevan stepped out of the vehicle, every one of them lowered their heads in perfect unison.

"Welcome home, Master."

Hinari stepped out a moment later, her eyes wandering across the imposing estate before her. It was difficult to believe that anyone actually lived in a place of such overwhelming grandeur.

An elderly housekeeper approached and bowed respectfully.

"Welcome, Miss Hinari."

Hinari gave a faint nod, unable to find her voice.

The longer she stood there, the stranger the atmosphere became.

The estate was breathtaking.

Yet it was also unnaturally silent.

There were no crickets chirping in the grass.

No night birds calling from the trees.

Even the leaves on the ancient oaks remained perfectly still despite the cold breeze brushing against her skin.

The unnatural silence sent a chill down her spine.

Almost instinctively, Hinari turned toward the dark forest beyond the gates.

For the briefest moment, she felt as though someone was watching her from within the shadows between the pine trees.

She narrowed her eyes, trying to see beyond the darkness.

There was nothing.

Only silence.

Just my imagination, she told herself.

"Inside."

Erevan's calm command shattered the silence.

Hinari drew a slow, quiet breath before following him toward the mansion that would become either her sanctuary... or her prison.

She had no way of knowing that this night was merely the beginning of a life that would change everything she believed about her destiny forever.