CHAPTER 5: THE PAINFUL SURPRISE

“I thought he was married and shouldn't be seen with another woman?" At the mention of marriage, Shirley paused by the stairs. She was on a tour of the palace when she reached a corner and heard some maids gossiping. "I pity that poor girl who ended up being her mate; she doesn't know what's in stock for her yet," the other said. 'Yes, they're talking about me.' Shirley said in her head, she didn't move an inch from the spot. She hadn't been that interested in gossip before, maybe because no one had ever even gossiped about her; they'd rather say whatever they wanted to say to her face. "I just hope she's able to withstand everything coming her way; she's too small and fragile to handle all the troubles of this palace." The first one said. What do they even mean by that? Just then, she felt the sudden urge to sneeze out. She tried so hard to rein it in, but she couldn't do it anymore. She sneezed out loud, startling the maids who were talking about her. She heard their sharp intake of breath after she sneezed, and she couldn't hide anymore. The moment they saw her walk out behind the wall, their eyes widened so much that it looked like they would fall off. “M-ma’am?” One of them stuttered. "Don't stress yourselves; I didn't hear you both say anything," Shirley said to calm them down. "Wh-what… we-" the other one, who looked more terrified, tried to talk; she was already sweating hard. "There's nothing to be scared about yet; we all talk about people and nothing serious. I'll go my way now, and I promise you I won't tell anyone about this." She tried to smile at them so they'd be more relaxed. The maids could only nod and watch as she walked away. They were both praying to every god they knew in their minds that Shirley didn't say anything to Drakon. He'd kill them if he heard what they were saying. If it were only death or even an easy one, it would be better, but Drakon doesn't just kill anyone; he kills in such a way that even the victim would never forget in the afterlife. Shirley walked away from them with a racing heart. 'Maybe I wouldn't have heard this if I had stayed in my room and waited for my maid to come for me.' She thought as she walked to a part of the palace she didn't know. Or it was better that she heard; she'd at least know how to do things around here. Not only was she stuck with a mate who hated her existence, but he was also still obsessed with his ex. Fate has been doing great for her recently. ~ After walking around the whole palace without getting noticed by anyone other than those two maids, she was exhausted. She dragged her exhausted body to the room that was given to her. She had just turned the corner to get to the floor when she bumped into someone; she hit the clothing that the person was holding in their hand. She looked up to see a familiar face, one of the maids from earlier. "Sh*t! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you coming, I swear. I'm sorry, Your Highness." She rushed out the words with a shaky voice and bowed her head. "It's okay; we both bumped into each other; it's nothing," Shirley said, shocking the maid. "You aren't going to do anything to me? I just bumped into you and might have fallen you down." She was pretty amazed. “Why should I do anything to you?" Shirley frowned. Nyx, the maid, has gotten used to getting punished by high-profile people in the palace for mistakes like these, so this one shocked her. "It's- nothing; I'll just be on my way now." She tried to pack the clothes on the ground. "Wait, what's your name?” Shirley asked her. "You want to know my na- Sorry, it's Nyx. My name is Nyx, Your Highness." She stuttered, still looking shocked. "Can you stop with the highness thingy? It's making me feel older than I am. I prefer being called Shirley." "But you're the Luna; I can't call you by your name," Nyx said, sounding very confident; they've had it instilled in their heads since they were little that they always have to address people by their titles. "I'm sure we'll get there, maybe when you get relaxed with me. I'd love to be friends with you.” Shirley said. Nyx was beyond shocked, "You want me as your friend? Of course! It'd be an honor to be your maid." She smiled brightly. Shirley realized that Nyx had gotten used to being a maid and that she saw terms like friends as personal maids. She mentally noted changing that perspective when she got close to her. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then, Nyx. Have a good night's rest." Shirley walked away from her with a smile that diminished immediately. She turned to look at the other side. Life could be easier for her if she's friends with someone familiar with the palace. She walked into her room to see it was already time for dinner. She didn't want to keep Drakon waiting, so she decided to have her bath after dinner; she only walked back out of the room. She was about to walk past a room when something stopped her. She heard moans coming from the room she was standing in, first from a feminine voice and then a male grunt. The door wasn't fully closed, so she listened to that voice that told her to peep. She was, however, shocked to her wits; her mate was having sex with another woman. Not just any woman, his said ex. Drakon happened to look at the door at the same time, making eye contact with Shirley.