Chapter 9: Some backstory

Serena's POV

After we arrived back at Darius' mansion, I couldn't shake off the chill that had settled in my bones.

The respect that I was accorded as the Luna, as well as the icy reception from Darius' mother, had been a mixed homecoming for m,e, and it left me feeling unsettled and unsure of where I stood in this whole arrangement.

Darius had been unstable. He shouted at me the previous night and this morning, he was so cold so much that he apologized. But his mother was such a terror, and she seemed more in control.

I sat on the cushion and sipped from a cup that I had been offered by one of the maids. Again, I wanted to ask questions. Ask him why I was treated that way but all I had to do was wait. Maybe he would bring himself to explain the same way he did earlier.

When Darius noticed my silence, he asked me what was wrong.

"What is wrong with you, Serena? You're so cold,” he said as he stood before me.

I wasted no time. “I thought you were the only one who knew about the contrac