10- LUNA

CHAPTER TWO

-WILHELMINA-

The silence in the room was replaced by gasps and whispers, a sea of wide eyes staring at me in disbelief, as if I was a mirage in some barren desert. But the loudest sound was the pounding of my heart in my ears, beating like a wild drum against my ribs. His intentions were clear from the start; his warning the day before was a foreshadowing of this plan. But I wouldn't fall for his manipulative offer, especially after already turning him down once.

I pulled my hand away, crossing my arms. "Boris," I began, my voice steady despite the turmoil within me.

As I was once again preparing to decline Boris's advances, a voice shattered the tense silence in the room.

"Oh how wonderful!"

All eyes turned towards the entrance, silhouetted in its archway stood a woman of formidable stature— Trisha Gravemaw, Boris' mother. A woman in her late fifties, clothed in a dark green dress that hugged her tall and lean figure. Her presence was powerful, commanding respect from eve