CHAPTER ONE

Sorrow crept in as Luna gazed around the empty room, the silence was deafening. Her eyes locked onto the clock as the hours ticked by, each one reminding her that she was alone in her marriage.

Just as she thought the night couldn't get any worse, she heard the sound of the door opening.

Her heart skipped a beat as her husband walked in, his eyes scanned the room, taking in the candlelit table, the flowers and the anniversary cake.

For a moment, he just stood there, his expression unreadable. Then, his face twisted into a mixture of annoyance and irritation.

“Luna, what's all this?” he asked gruffly, his question like a slap in her face.

She walked over to him and hugged him. It felt like she was hugging a tree because he didn't hug her back, he just stood there with discomfort on his face.

“Have you forgotten what day it is?” She asked, looking up at him as she let go.

He let out a sharp, teeth-clenched hiss—an action he did whenever he was annoyed. A small frown crept up her face as he turned to leave.

Her sadness gave way to anger as she saw he was about to leave. She darted to the door and blocked his path.

“I went through the trouble of setting all this up for us to have a special night and now you want to leave?” Her voice cracked as she stood at the doorway, tears stinging at the corner of her eyes.

He didn't answer and it only made her more angry.

“ What's wrong with you? Why are you treating me like this?!” She screamed in her husband's face, the tears she'd been holding back streamed down her cheeks ruining her makeup.

She took in fierce breaths, as her heart thumped painfully in her chest.

Her husband's glare intensified as his jaw clenched in anger, the tension in the atmosphere becoming palpable.

“Get out of my way Luna,” he said through gritted teeth as his patience ran thin. She inched closer, placing her hands on his cheeks.

The next thing she knew, he gripped her jaw and pinned her against the wall. Pain shot through her head as her skull hit the wall.

“Get your hands off me,” he seethed, glaring at her murderously. His hot breath washed over her face as she shook with fear.

Her lips quivered, tears welling up in her eyes. He pushed her face away, slamming the door behind him as he left the room.

Her heart pounded as she slowly sank to the floor, her hands clenched the dress at her chest as her body became tense.

Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably, a loud wail coming out of her.

A while later, she looked up, her gaze falling upon the candlelit room she'd so carefully prepared. The scent of roses that wafted the air, the soft illuminating glow of the candles and the ambient music that played only made the evening's failure more bitter.

It'd been a year since they got married and that night was their first wedding anniversary. She'd hoped her husband would spend their anniversary night with her since it was a special one but it looked like he didn't care.

She got up and cleaned her face, her makeup smeared all over her palms. Casting one last glance at the decorated room, she left to go call the maid to assist her in cleaning it up.

As she descended the stairs, Luna felt the weight of their failed anniversary, her thoughts drifting to the memories of how it all began.

She was once a maid in the same house and her master; Mr. Richard Garrett–a billionaire in real estate, had just given up the ghost.

The day the will was to be read had finally arrived, little did she know it would change her life forever.

As the executor's voice filled the room, Luna's gaze drifted to the familiar faces of Mr. Richard's family.

“To my dearest maid, Luna Chavez, who has been so humble and kind, I leave seventy percent of my properties and assets…..”, The room fell silent as if time itself had stopped. Then the gasps and whispers erupted.

Luna's eyes widened, her mind reeling in shock. “....on the condition that she gets married within the next year”. The room exploded into chaos as he concluded.

She stood fixated on the spot with lots of questions on her mind as her face burned with shock and embarrassment. Why would Mr. Richard transfer most of his assets to her? He had two sons, why didn't he share it equally amongst them? Why her?

As Luna reached the last step, the maid's soft voice broke into her thoughts.

“Ma'am?” Luna turned, her eyes focusing on the maid's concerned face.

“Yes, Maria?”

“Shall I clean up the room? The one you prepared for…..” Maria's voice trailed off. Luna nodded, her mind snapping back to the present.

“Yes. Please see to it, I'm going to bed now”.

Maria nodded and trailed behind her as she went back up the stairs, heading to her room.

–––––

Although she went to bed quite early, Luna couldn't sleep. She kept tossing back and forth on her bed, and when she couldn't take it anymore, she decided to take a walk around the house to cool her head off.

Luna didn't sleep in the same room with her husband that night, he'd gone to sleep in one of the guest rooms.

As she got out of her room and headed towards the stairs, she heard a noise coming from one of the guest rooms. She turned and walked slowly to where the noise was coming from, with each step she took she could hear it more clearly.

She could hear moans and grunts.

As she got closer to where the sound was coming from, her heart raced. She pinned her ear on the room's door, trying to make sense of what was going on.

An ugly feeling rose inside her as she hoped it wasn't the room her husband was sleeping in. Moans of pleasure reached her ear followed by the unmistakable sounds of the bed creaking.

Suddenly, her mouth felt dry and her breathing became hitched.

Questions kept erupting in her mind with each second that passed. She gripped the door knob and was about to open it to confirm her suspicions when a feminine voice spoke up and she froze on the spot.

“George…. stop…”