Secrets
1552 Words
Waking up in this body still didn’t feel normal.
The next morning, I stared at the strange, beautiful hands resting on the blanket.They were softer, way more delicate than my original hands.
I felt like a child just taking my first steps in this body.
And when I looked in the mirror, the face that stared back was still unfamiliar. I didn’t know what I was expecting, maybe waking up and seeing myself back at home, but I wasn’t so sure that was happening anytime soon.
A soft knock at the door jolted me from my thoughts.
“Come in,” I called, still in my nightgown, or should I say Nova’s nightgown? It felt wrong, like trespassing in someone else’s skin, but at the same time, it felt like me.
It was confusing. I don't think anyone could understand me unless they had experienced this themselves.
One of the maids entered quietly, placing a tray of food on the table. She didn’t meet my eyes.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me,” I said gently.
She flinched. “I… I’ll return later, Luna.” Then she hurried out like I had threatened to eat her alive.
I sighed, rubbing my temple. The weight of this title “Luna” was something I still didn't understand.
The maids stared at me like I was someone terrifying. Someone who couldn't be neared at all costs like I had an uncureable disease.
Especially him.
The Alpha King.
He hadn’t returned since our encounter yesterday, and I was both relieved and anxious about his absence. I was anxious because I still needed help to get out of here.
His hatred was overbearing, to the extent that I could feel it in my very bones. But I couldn’t ignore that strange flicker in his eyes, not warmth, but confusion.
He was probably wondering why I was acting differently.
I am sure they all were.
And I couldn’t afford to mess this up if I ever wanted to figure out how to get home.
I wandered the room later that afternoon, eyes trailing over the dark polished furniture and thick, black curtains. Everything felt expensive, to the extent that I didn't want to touch anything in fear of tainting or ruining it.
The books lining the shelves were all in a language I couldn’t understand except for one leather-bound journal shoved behind a stack of scrolls in the drawer of the nightstand.
It wasn’t labelled.
My fingers tingled as I pulled it out, my hands slowly caressing the cover.
I opened it.
The handwriting was slanted, elegant… feminine. This was definitely Nova's. As I read the first line, my heart skipped a beat.
'I wish I wasn't mated to him.'
It was a diary. Her diary.
Nova's.
I flipped to the latest entries, unsure what I was looking for , maybe something to explain why people loathed her, why the Alpha King looked at me like I’d betrayed him a thousand times. Instead, I found this:
'The fool still believes I love him. I can’t help it. He’s always so serious. I don't like him, but I have to pretend to, but the truth? I like his Beta better, especially in bed.'
I froze.
My eyes read it again, slower.
I like his Beta better.
She was cheating. On the Alpha King. With his second-in-command?
I opened to the next entry, my hands shaking as I turned the page.
'I think I am done with his Beta now. He is weak. Tobias is the one for me. He doesn't have a destined mate so it makes it all easy. I can leave this place. Finally.'
There was no remorse. No guilt. Just arrogance and stupidity.
'He still hasn't found out. I wonder how long it is going to take him. I think he takes the mate bond too seriously even though he hates me now. If only I hadn’t been pregnant,....'
I slammed the book shut.
My stomach churned in disgust. Disgust at this body.
This was the woman whose body I was now in. A cruel woman who used people the way she felt like and betrayed someone who once loved her.
This… this explained the way they looked at me. The disgust the Alpha had for me. Why he looked at me with so much venom. He knew of Nova’s sins, her unforgettable sins.
They all thought I was her, pretending to be a nice person.
And now I understood why they hated me, hated her.
But I wasn’t her.
And maybe… just maybe… I could prove that.
I pressed my palm over the diary, sighing in frustration. Why did I have to be sent into this body? Couldn’t I have been sent into the body of a rich heiress that travels every month to different countries?
For now, I had to try to change their perception of me, even though that would probably be the hardest challenge I had ever decided to take on.
I had to start somewhere. Even if it was small.
Maybe I could cook something.
I went out of the room for the first time and if inside the room was massive, the outside was on a whole other level.
I didn't even have time to admire enough before a maid came running to me.
"Do you need help, Luna?" She asked, keeping her head bowed in the process.
"Yeah. I am going to the kitchen. Can you direct me? I want to cook something." The maid raised her head dramatically and looked at me like I had gone fully crazy.
She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something but decided against it and just led me to the kitchen.
I guess Nova didn't cook much.
The kitchen was big, with maids lined up everywhere doing different jobs.
“You want to cook? Yourself?” One of the maids asked.
“Yes,” I replied, wiping my hands on an apron. “Just something simple."
“Luna, you’ve never stepped foot in this kitchen.”
Of course I hadn’t. Nova hadn’t. But I wasn’t her.
“Let’s just pretend I hit my head and decided to be nicer than usual.” I said, half-joking.
She didn’t laugh. I guess I wasn’t that funny.
But she gave me the ingredients.
It was odd, trying to remember what I used to cook in my old life. I wasn’t a professional chef, but I could whip up a decent meal when needed, at the cost of a disarranged kitchen, of course.
So I made stew. Simply because it was the only thing I could really remember for now, and I wouldn't really be turning the kitchen upside down while making it.
I tasted it three times. It wasn’t world class chef perfect, but it was alright for someone like Nova who had not stepped foot into the kitchen before
With shaking hands, I handed one of the maids a trya nad asked her to send it to the alpha.
She obeyed — reluctantly.
And then I waited.
Hours passed.
No reply. No acknowledgement. Just silence.
Until night fell.
The door creaked open, and he walked in, his brows furrowed like he was thinking hard about something.
I stood immediately from the bed where I had been lying.
“You cooked." he said rather flatly.
I nodded, heart pounding. “Yes.”
“Why?”
I swallowed. “Because… I wanted to. Because I figured that being nice wouldn't hurt."
He stepped closer. “You don’t cook. You aren't selfless enough to do that."
“Well, I do now.”
He stared at me for a long time. I couldn’t read his expression. It wasn’t anger but he wasn't very pleased either.
“Are you trying to poison me?” he asked finally, voice deadly quiet.
“What? No!” I blinked in disbelief. “You think I poisoned the stew?”
“You’ve done worse.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it. There was nothing I could say. Not without revealing the truth, and he clearly wasn’t ready to hear it.
“Fine,” I said softly. “Don’t trust me. But you ate it, didn’t you?”
His silence was answer enough.
He turned to leave.
“Wait,” I said quickly. “Can I ask something?”
He didn’t respond, but he didn’t leave either.
"How was I? To you? In your own words." I asked and regret flooded in right after.
His shoulders stiffened.
“Selfish and uncaring." he started. "Oh, you weren't uncaring. You cared a lot about your lover, didn't you?"
With that, he left the room, leaving me to wallow in sadness for the things Nova had done.
Later that night, I stared out the window. I was going to face the council the day after tomorrow, and I didn't even know how to feel. I just hoped I wouldn't do anything suspicious in front of everyone.
Somewhere in my mind, I thought. 'Maybe I was sent here for a reason, to correct Nova’s mistakes. Maybe if I did that, I would finally get to go home and escape the deadly attraction I felt for the Alpha.'
I couldn’t stay here for too long. Even the thought of it felt dangerous.
- Writer
