She hurriedly ducked her head, put her mask on, and grabbed the servant’s hand.
Luna quickly cut her off mid-sentence, saying, “It’s nothing. She just got scared when I took my mask off.”“No, I wasn’t scared. It’s...” The servant tried to continue explaining, but she paused when Luna anxiously squeezed her hand. The servant gave Luna a questioning look, wondering why she was preventing her from telling Preston the truth.Luna rubbed the servant's back in a comforting manner. “It’s okay. I’m sorry for scaring you. Don’t worry. I won’t take my mask off again when you're around.”The servant gaped at her. She could not fathom why Luna would say such a ridiculous lie. With furrowed brows, Preston regarded the unusual scene before him thoughtfully.“It's good that you have some self-awareness. You'd better hide that face of yours properly. Don’t you dare embarrass me by showing it to anyone.”Preston did not show it on his face, but he felt a shiver run down his spine. Luna’s face had scared the servant so much that she actually screamed. It must have been a horrifying sight.A Sigh of relief escaped Luna’s lips, thankful that Preston had bought her story. The man left the room and retreated to the first floor. He did not want to stay in the bedroom any longer after witnessing the servant’s reaction to Luna’s face.“You don’t have any scars on your face at all. Why would you...”Luna examined the servant from head to toe. Based on her innocent-looking face, the young woman looked to be in her early twenties. She did not look like a troublemaker, either.“What's your name?” Luna asked. “lm Gemma,” the servant replied.“Alright, Gemma. Listen, you mustn't tell anyone about what you saw. There’s a reason why I’m hiding my face, so please don’t let anyone know about this. Keep this a secret for me, and I'll treat you more nicely.”“Oh. Uh, okay, I guess...” Gemma Wright replied, squirming the words out of her mouth with difficulty.After Gemma left with the dishes, Luna checked her phone and saw a message from Grace Bector, her best friend. “Are you still alive, Luna? The King family hasn’t torn you apart, have they?”Luna immediately typed a response. “Hoping for something bad to happen to me already, you wicked girl? Why can’t you just wish me well? By the way, how are D.S’s new jewelry sales coming along?”Grace instantly responded, “Please, I’m just expressing my concern for you. Anyway, the new jewelry is selling like crazy. Luna, you're amazing. Your jewelry designs always end up being bestsellers. You really are a genius designer.”With a radiant smile on her face, Luna twisted the tiny ruby ring on her middle finger.“Well, now you know how great I am. Treat me better in the future, and you'll reap the rewards.” “Don't worry. My heart will always belong to you, Luna. By the way, do you really plan to keep wearing the mask even when you're at the King family’s house?You have a gorgeous face, but you hide it behind a mask, making everyone think that you’re ugly. It’s a real pity,” Grace commented.“I'll keep wearing the mask. I didn’t choose this marriage; it was thrust upon me. I want Preston to be disgusted with me, so he has to continue believing that I’m really ugly. Then, once he has enough, he'll divorce me, and I'll be free again. In the meantime, I have to track down Leon and persuade him to operate on my grandmother. I'll only consider this endeavor a success if I manage to convince him.”Luna only agreed to marry Preston because Gianna and Mia had threatened her regarding her grandmother's condition. Her grandmother was currently suffering from a massive brain tumour that required delicate surgery to remove.There were only two surgeons she knew who were capable of performing this procedure. The first was Joel Roberts, Mia’s uncle, and the second was Leon King, Preston’s cousin.Leon was a mysterious person who was much spoken of but rarely seen in public.Before she found him, Luna was set on having her grandmother operated on by Joel. It was because of it that she let Mia have complete authority over her.Unfortunately, Joel would not agree to operate on her grandmother unless she married Preston as a stand-in for Mia. Mia, being the proud woman that she was, refused to marry Preston because he was known to be a useless cripple.She did not wish to wed Preston, but Gianna had her eyes set on a piece of land given by the King family as a gift for the union, so the two women concocted a plan in which Luna would marry Preston instead.After she and Grace finished their conversation, Luna realized she was thirsty. She looked around the room for water, but there was not a single drop of water inside the pitcher that she found. She had no choice but to go downstairs.When Luna got to the first floor, she stopped a passing servant. The house was big, and she did not know where the kitchen was, so she had to ask for directions.“I'm thirsty. Can you tell me where the kitchen is?” Luna asked.The servant stared intently at Luna's face, trying to see the hideous scar beneath her mask. Only when Luna frowned did she realize she was being rude.“Of course, madam. Please follow me,” the servant replied.Luna cast a backward glance as they walked toward the kitchen. The servant had been staring oddly at a certain room earlier. It made her think that something was hidden inside it.Once they reached the kitchen, Luna instructed, “There’s a pitcher in the bedroom. Can you please fill it with water?”After dismissing the servant, she poured herself a glass of water and drank it. She then walked out of the kitchen and toward the direction the servant had been staring at earlier.The door to the room was slightly ajar.A soft, melodious voice could be heard coming from inside.“Luna is a black-hearted woman, Preston. Be careful around her from now on. She has successfully tricked you into marrying her, so who knows what else she can do.”Luna’s skin crawled at the sound of the woman’s coy voice.She waited for a response from Preston but did not hear one. The woman, on the other hand, kept talking. “Preston, look. Do you think this purple bag will look good on me?”Abag? Luna raised a brow and pursed her lips. Did Rhea want Preston to buy her a bag?With a quiet hum, she set the glass of water down on the glass table next to her.She then knocked on the door and entered the room.Inside, Preston was seated at his desk, reading a document. Beside him was Rhea, who was holding a fashion magazine in her hands.When Rhea looked up and saw Luna, her demeanour immediately changed.“Who let you in, you ugly thing? Get out of here now.”Preston raised his head as well, his piercing eyes scrutinizing Luna.T
“It's late. You should go home now.” Preston glanced at her before returning his attention to the document in his hands.Rhea’s face turned pale. The look Preston had sent her way was so cold and uncaring, She looked out the window before asking timidly, “Can you drive me home? It’s too dark outside, and I’m scared.”Preston did not even bother to look up as he replied, “I have some business matters to take care of. I'll ask Ethan to drive you home.”Dissatisfaction rose within Rhea, but she stifled the need to express it in Preston’s presence.Preston had been treating her nicely in an effort to make up for what happened five years ago, but it was obvious that he only saw her as his friend at best.However, Rhea was not the type to give up easily. Only she was worthy of being the mistress of the King household. “Okay. I'll take my leave now, then. Don’t stay up too late.”Finally, the peace in the study was restored. Preston, irritated by Luna’s behaviour and words, massaged the spa
She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes inwardly. She ran her fingers through her hair before opening the bottle of hand cream. As she rubbed the cream in her hands, she pretended that his words did not affect her.Preston was still watching her.“That nasty scar on your face won’t go away no matter how well you treat your hands, stupid woman.”Luna’s fury, which had been ebbing, returned.“So what if I like taking care of my hands? It makes me happy. What’s wrong with that?”“That’s merely a temporary fix. It doesn’t eliminate the issue entirely, which is your face.”“I like doing it.”Preston was taken aback by her response.Luna bit her lower lip. She absolutely could not let a man she barely knew hurt her in any way.After saying that, Luna went to the bed, pulled up the comforter, and lay down.Preston's hands clenched into fists. The woman was not only shameless and vicious, but she also had a sharp tongue.Luna was worried about getting hand cream on the bedding, so she did
The hideous-looking woman probably had no idea that Celeste favored Rhea and that she had some kind of influence in the King family.When Luna walked into the living room, Rhea beamed and waved at her. “Miss Miller, you’re awake. Come and have a seat.” Miss Miller?Luna, who was on her way to the garden, stopped in her tracks, intrigued at the way the woman addressed her. She stared at Rhea, whose smile did not quite reach her eyes.“sure. I'd love to chat with you, Miss Evans,” Luna replied.Luna made her way toward the centre of the living room, but there were no available seats near Rhea. She had to walk in front of the other woman to get to the other sofa.Rhea made a go-ahead gesture with her hand and said, “Go on, Miss Miller. Walk in front of me. I'll make way for you.” Without suspecting anything, Luna replied, “Thank you.”She was walking past Rhea when something appeared before her feet, sending her stumbling and causing her knee to collide with the edge of the coffee table.
Celeste raised her head and shot a menacing look in Luna’s direction.“You intentionally stepped on her foot, didn’t you? Apologize to Rhea. Now!” Luna gave the two an indifferent look before turning in the direction of the door.Rhea was such a good actress. After her second attempt to hurt Luna was unsuccessful, she tried to make it look like everything was her fault. However, Luna was not going to let her do whatever she wanted, especially when her knee was still in pain right now because of the woman.“Apologize.”Luna stopped walking when she heard a cold and authoritative voice from behind her.She reluctantly turned around. Preston was staring at her as if he wanted to dissect her with his gaze. “Are you deaf? I told you to apologize to Rhea!”The large room echoed with his loud, angry voice.As a result, the nearby servants glanced at him warily.Luna narrowed her eyes and glared at Preston, silently berating him for falling for Rnea’s deception and yelling at her without gett
Rhea ran over with a handkerchief to clean it up, but by the time she got there, Preston had already gotten to his feet and headed upstairs. He had to change his stained tie.In the bedroom, Luna waited for quite some time, but no one brought her food.With her stomach growling, she looked around for something to eat and came across a mere box of chrysanthemum tea. With a sigh, she accepted the fact that she would be hungry throughout the day.She ripped open a chrysanthemum tea bag and started the brewing process. She had learned the art of tea brewing and was quite skilled at it. Soon, a cup of chrysanthemum was sitting in front of her, its aromatic scent permeating the room.Luna grabbed it, closed her eyes, and chanted, “I’m not hungry. I’m not hungry. I’m not hungry. Oh, this tea smells good.” It was the scene that greeted Preston when he opened the door. He clenched his hands into fists. Was this woman for real?Preston walked further into the room. Luna had a porcelain cup in
When he remembered something, he summoned his assistant, Derek Yates, inside.“Has anyone from home called me?”Derek's brows knitted together. Why would they call him?“You didn’t receive any calls from home, sir,” Derek replied.Preston's eyes narrowed.“All right. You may leave,” he said dismissively.It seemed like Luna had not apologized yet. How she could endure hunger despite her frail frame, Preston had no idea.Wait a minute. A cruel woman like her would never starve herself, not if she could help it. Perhaps she had deceived the servants at home and had already stuffed her stomach.Preston took out his phone and dialed his home’s phone number. One of the servants answered the call. “Hello?” “Did you give food to that woman?”The servant's voice trembled as she replied, “No,The servant did not respond for a while, but after some hesitation, she suggested, “Madam, you should apologize to Sir Preston. We're not allowed to give you any food until he says so.”Luna’s expression
"I mean no offense. I’m just upset that you’re being denied food. Preston has gone way too far. Is this how a human being is supposed to act?” Bruce quickly explained.Luna looked longingly at the door, hoping that a lavish feast was waiting for her on the other side.Whatever. She really needed to eat now. It was then that Luna ignored Preston's words that she must apologize first before she could get anything to eat.Luna got to her feet and headed for the door. She walked past Bruce, who spotted her design drafts on the table. “Wow, Luna! Did you design this ring yourself? This is impressive,” Bruce praised. “Are you a jewelry designer?”Luna turned around and returned to the table to hide the papers. “I’m not a jewelry designer. I just drew that because I was bored. Now, let's go. Didn’t you say we'd get something to eat?”“That can’t be true. Your design drafts are too detailed to be something that you drew out of boredom.” Bruce gave her a probing look.Luna massaged her temples