"Luana."

"Hmm?"


Rey was silent for a moment. "She's back."

Luana didn't need to ask further questions about the three words that had just penetrated her eardrums.

Her body gave a natural reaction of stiffness for a few seconds, before a long sigh could be heard filling the empty space between them. The grip of the hand still felt tight, as Luana tried to loosen her hand from Rey's slowly.


Successfully escaping from Rey's gaze that had been directed at her, Luana turned around when she wanted to move from there. She didn't want to be in the man's arms anymore, especially when her brain processed Rey's sentence quickly.

So, this is where it all ends.


Giving a response that Luana never expected, Rey instead moved quickly to pull Luana back into his arms. Confining the woman in his arms, Rey rested his head on Luana's open shoulder.

If the two of them were facing each other earlier, then now Rey hugged Luana's beautiful back with both hands linked in front of the woman's chest. Defeated quickly, Luana fell back into the nobleman's grip. There was no point in resisting, because Rey had already dominated her body.

The tighter the embrace he tightened through his arms, the man's body felt like it was shaking slowly. It was as if he was enjoying the rumbling in there, which completely blocked his breathing path.

It was both suffocating and agonizing.

"Did you find her?" Luana voiced softly, occasionally still trying to break free from her husband's grip. Her breathing was as labored as Rey's, and she was thankful she still had some self-defense left. "Is she okay?"

Rey gritted his teeth impatiently.

The fact that Beatrice had returned was disrupting his life, and making him lose track of what he should do. He was really worried about how Luana was doing after this, but look how she asked about Beatrice.

Seriously!

"You don't have to worry about her, Luana," Rey whispered close by. The man's breath hit Luana's smooth skin, which again made her hair stand on end. Rey had always been able to make her feel seductive, with the aura of intimidation and dominance that the man exuded.

Luana's sigh was heard. The two of them were still hugging each other, when Luana decided not to try to leave Rey anymore. At least, not for now.

"I'm glad you found her," Luana said, trying not to let her voice sound shaky. "Isn't this what you've been waiting for?"

Rey let his eyelids close as he took a deep breath. The silence in the early hours of the morning was so quiet and still, it seemed to bring the two of them deeper into this conversation.

"Luana, please," Rey half whimpered. "What about us?"

Luana was silent for two seconds, before blinking a few times. Pulling the corners of her lips into a bitter smile, Luana spoke up.

"What about us?" she asked. "Didn't you promise to let me go when he gets back?"

Luana knew it was rude of her to call Beatrice 'her', for she was essentially her master's daughter. Her master, someone she had to serve. But for some reason Luana felt tongue-tied, as more than half of her heart did not want Beatrice's name to escape her thin lips.

She did not want to say that woman's name.

Rey bit his lip between the darkness and the dimness of the lights, now inhaling the scent of Luana's body that was still clearly on the tip of his olfactory senses. "Do you still want to go?" he asked in a low whisper. "Do you still want me to let you go?"

It took two seconds before Luana nodded her head in response. "You promised."

Rey was beginning to feel frustrated, as he now brought his lips closer to kiss Luana's innocent shoulder. It made Luana shudder with a backward turn of her head, not expecting him to do so.

"Don't do that again," Luana pleaded in a low voice. "All this is over, Rey. We're done playing house, now it's time for you to let me go like you promised back then."

Luana steeled herself as she strung the words together, keeping the wounds and scratches in her heart. As a servant, she had gotten used to suppressing her feelings, even having to keep smiling even though her heart was torn apart.

And this time, Luana was grateful that she had good camouflage skills.

The word 'end' that came out of Luana's lips seemed to pierce Rey's heart, right at its deepest point. If he had hoped that Jovi would find Beatrice as soon as possible, then now he really didn't want her to come back.

"I don't want you to go," Rey said with earnestness.

Luana shook her head. "A noble does not break promises, Rey."

Rey sighed softly. "I can't be without you, Luana."

Silence fell just as Rey revealed his deepest feelings, something he had never done before. Closing her eyes to hide the beads of water that had gathered at the corners of her bead, Luana bit her lip to soothe the emotion of sadness that had just arrived.

No, Luana. Don't cry. You can't be greedy.

"But I can," Luana said, revealing a lie. "You knew from the beginning that I was just a substitute for you. This is not my place, and now I must go."

Luana had repeatedly asked herself if she would feel sad when Beatrice returned. And now she knew the answer, that she would not only be sad, but almost die.

"Luana, please," Rey moaned into the air. "Can I break my promise just once? Just once, Luana. I want to break it, I don't want to let you go like this."

The further this conversation went on, Luana knew the harder it would be to leave the man's side. The fact that time and circumstances had changed everything was something Luana never expected.

Not knowing that she would have different feelings for her own master, Luana should have prepared to be punished for arrogantly loving Rey. The man who belonged to her own master's son.

The fact that Beatrice herself had left and run away on her wedding day was really none of Luana's business. Because even if the woman did not return, Luana could not be beside Rey.

There was something bigger than just being a substitute, and she knew she was the one who would be hurt if everything came to light.

"Go back to her, Rey," Luana whispered with a hand that moved to gently stroke the surface of Rey's hand.

Just this once, I want to keep you in my memory, Rey.

"No."

"She must have had a reason why she left that time," Luana spoke up again.

"No, Luana. Please-"

"Just like you asked me that time," Luana interrupted. "Aren't you curious as to why she left? Didn't you want to hear her explanation? So now listen to her, and give her a second chance."

Luana's words sounded very gentle, even though they were delivered with great sorrow.

Rey shook his head faintly, again placing his lips on Luana's shoulder.

"I want you," he whispered. "To hell with the reasons, I don't care anymore. Now I just want you. Just you, Luana."

Just as Rey had shaken his head earlier, so too did Luana shake her head back. Her beady eyes gazed straight ahead, breaking the darkness of the night while others were still fast asleep.

In the man's arms, Luana tried to draw a common thread between them. Something she had never revealed to anyone, because Madam Collins had asked her to. But it was unlikely that she would be able to return to the Collins residence once this was over.

"There's something you should know about me, Rey," Luana said quietly. Her heart was racing, as if the slugs were hard at work beating the drums inside.

Maybe it was time, to reveal all. Maybe this way they could untangle the kinks, before moving on with their lives. Rey who has to face his ex-fiancé, and Luana who has to wake up from the mistress game she's been playing.

Now it was time to reveal it all.

"Say it, I'll listen."

It took a few moments for Luana to organize her shattered heart, before her lips parted ever so slightly to make a sound.

"You cannot be with me," she said softly, filled with sorrow and grief. "Because I am not a noble, but just a low-caste person who is ready to die for having feelings for you."