Luna still remembered the following days that were like a nightmare for her.
It was the day when her approaching tragedy was revealed to her. Her Aunt Maggie had come to her room and explained everything with patience. From the beginning to the end.
That day, she had realised who that man was, who was that man whom she had dared to slap that drunken night.
Daimen Blackwell.
"This can't be happening. This-This is impossible." She didn't want to believe it. What were the odds? Out of all the people, it had to be him?
One wouldn't know the name of the President of the country, but one would know his name.
So naturally, Luna knew about this notorious 'Blackwell' family and even more notorious supervisor of the family: Damien Blackwell.
Daimen didn't like to make appearances in the media. No Journalist or media channel dared to go against his wish. So his face was always shrouded in mystery. The explanation from those who had seen his face in real life explained him as an 'Untouchable Lucifer'. They said his presence was enough to make one freeze. Something about his aura would choke one to death.
So Luna could never have seen him before.
And all the rumours that circulated about him in social circles were not good at all.
They said he was a frivolous man who kept a lot of women at a time. For him, women were just like clothes. Used once and then thrown away. But the thing was, he never threw them away. Once using them, he would simply have them locked away in one of his mansions. He didn't like others to touch what once had been his.
So there were once rumours that he had one of his mistresses ravaged just because she wore something in public that displeased him. And there was a rumour that he killed the whole family of his mistress because she talked to some other man.
And when she was told that she was to go live at his residence as his woman in a month's time, she couldn't bring herself to face reality.
Her whole world was shattered.
What about the great plans she had for her life?
What about the famous universities she applied to?
What about her dreams?
"Aunt Maggie, No. Please, I don't want to be his woman!" She cried; her eyes silently pleaded to her Aunt. She wasn't ready to accept reality.
Tears brimmed in her eyes.
To be the woman of such a controlling man, a man she didn't love. How could she accept it?
Her Aunt glanced at her; pain filled her heart. She had nurtured Luna as her own daughter. And no one wanted more than her to fulfil her dreams and live the way she wanted to.
"Sweetheart, we don't have a choice," She said softly and pulled Luna in her embrace.
"No." Luna was in denial. That man's cold smile appeared in her mind. She was terrified. "Why? Why must it be me?"
Her Aunt sighed. Luna was always a kind-hearted person. She knew that Luna would never object to sacrificing herself for her family's sake. "No matter what happens, just remember we are always with you." What truly worried her was what if Luna did something to offend that man due to her unrestrained nature.
After consoling her all she could, her Aunt Maggie left Luna to mend her heart on her own and gave her some time for her wounds to heal.
And the following days, Luna kept herself closed in her room. She would stay in her bed the whole day, curled up in a ball, and would cry herself to sleep. She even stopped eating and lost a lot of weight.
She would hardly come out of her room. Forget about smiling; it had been a week since she last talked to them.
Her family members were getting concerned about her mental health.
"Did I do the wrong thing by not telling her?" Evan's voice was raspy. His right hand was severely injured and bandaged. But that didn't matter to him.
Something was stuck in his throat. He had eye bags behind his eyes and had thinned a lot as he was skipping meals for some days.
Deep down, he felt all the guilt on himself, on his inability to protect his cousin. He had slapped his cousin, but it was the most hurtful thing he had done in his entire life.
And the grief was eating him alive.
"You didn't" His mother's voice was gentle. "Look what she had made of herself in just a week. At least she lived last year being herself. If we had told her sooner, she would have been depressed the whole year and wasted her time with us."
"But what if she doesn't come out of her shock?" Evan was concerned, helpless and angry, "That bastard looked already very displeased at her behaviour the other day. It managed to not let Luna escalate things and make them worse than they already were. We only have three weeks until her birthday. We can't hide her anywhere. He has his men watching us all the time. Her only hope for survival is to keep him happy. If she still says that she doesn't want to be his mistress..."
"She won't, his mother interjected, Lulu is a very sensible child. She won't ever be putting her family at risk." Aunt Maggie sighed. If only it were not about the Hart family's survival, she would never agree to hand over Luna
Because that man was interested in Luna. And he was very powerful. So if he wanted her, he would get her one way or another. The only way to avoid maximum damage was to go by his wishes. Both for their family and Luna. "I hope that he doesn't hurt our Lulu."
Evan was still worried.
At that time, Luna finally came out of her room and walked down the stairs after a week of drowning herself in depression and self-pity.
There were some consequences that couldn't be avoided then no matter what.