Chapter 63: Who’s the Prey?
She felt powerless. Zachary had actually cheated on her and gotten Luna Sterling pregnant.
Perhaps he’d known what happened that night all along. That would explain why he was so protective of Luna Sterling.
Nina Wainwright gazed out the window, saying nothing more.
’Her husband’s mistress, crying and apologizing to her... What kind of sick joke was this?’
When they arrived at the entrance of a luxury boutique in the mall, Luna Sterling took Nina’s hand. Her eyes were red-rimd as she said with a look of utmost sincerity, "You have to accept my gift. It’s the only way I’ll feel a little better about this."
Nina looked at her, the blood running cold in her veins. ’She couldn’t even tell if Luna was genuinely remorseful or just smart enough to know that the cruelest way to destroy soone was to break their spirit.’
’Was this gift ant as compensation? Or was it a constant reminder that her husband had cheated and gotten another woman pregnant with *their* child?’
Nina pulled her hand away, her tone frigid. "Let’s go in and see if there’s anything I like."
"You’ve been with Zach for so many years, he must have bought you plenty of gifts," Luna said, her face a mask of sincerity. "I hope you won’t turn your nose up at what this store has to offer."
Nina humd in acknowledgnt.
’She didn’t know if Luna truly felt guilty or if she just wanted to slowly twist the knife in her wound.’
The two entered the shop. Luna spoke briefly to a sales associate, telling them to let Nina browse on her own and not to disturb them.
Nina spent a while looking at the jewelry counter but found nothing she liked. Then, she noticed a section for n’s and won’s watches off to the side and walked over.
Luna hurried over. "Are you buying a watch for Zach?"
"Just looking," Nina replied coolly.
She selected two watches, one for a man and one for a woman. Holding them up, she said to Luna, "I don’t really need any jewelry. I’m allergic to gold and silver, so I won’t buy anything for myself. What happened at the hotel yesterday was hard on Talia Talbot and Caleb Ford. I’m buying these two watches for them. Why don’t you deliver them for as an apology gift?"
Luna’s expression grew a little awkward. "I... I don’t think that’s a good idea. After all, I’m the one paying for it."
"You know I don’t have a job or any money in my account. If I use Zach’s money to buy them gifts, I’m afraid he’ll be angry when he finds out," Nina said, her voice soft and gentle. "I guess I’ll just have to owe you a favor."
"How could this be a favor? I told you, I wanted to buy you a gift. Just think of it as giving it to you, and then you’re giving it to them. It’s all the sa," Luna said with a smile.
Nina said no more and had the clerk wrap the gifts. She then turned to Luna. "I’m not feeling very well, so I probably can’t stay with you much longer. Where do you want to go next?"
"It’s not about where I want to go. It’s where *you* want to go. I’ll go with you," Luna said, quickly grabbing her hand.
"There’s nowhere I really want to go. For the past three years, I’ve mostly just stayed ho," Nina explained calmly.
Upon hearing this, Luna imdiately asked, "He doesn’t let you go out?"
"No, I’m just a hobody, I guess," Nina said. ’Back then, she had loved Zachary Hawthorne, and building a ho with him had brought her happiness.’
’But now, she just felt like a fool.’
Luna couldn’t help but say, "Honestly, no matter what, a woman should have her own job, her own career. I heard you’re an excellent dancer. I saw the dance you did with Dr. Pemberton at that bar. I think you have a great talent for dance. It’s a real sha you gave it up."
Nina looked at her instinctively.
"Let take you to see a stage performance," Luna said quickly. "Maybe it’ll lift your spirits, and you’ll start to feel better physically, too."
In truth, Nina was quite touched by her words.
’She never realized just how much Zachary Hawthorne disliked her dancing.’
From the way he’d repeatedly sabotaged her jobs, Nina knew he felt that her working as a dance instructor was an embarrassnt to him.
She had been secretly heartbroken over it, feeling completely misunderstood.
But Luna’s praise rekindled the love for dance that lay dormant in her heart.
"Okay," she replied.
Luna imdiately made a call and quickly secured two tickets.
The car arrived at The Oracle Grand Theater. Luna took Nina’s hand as they went inside. "I heard this is the best theater around," she said. "The show today is called *Greensleeves*. We’re actually right on ti; the next performance is about to start. I hear it’s a very popular show."
*Greensleeves*. Nina, of course, knew of it. It was an older production that had toured many tis and was highly regarded by those in the dance world.
"I quite like this dance," Nina replied softly.
"I’m glad you like it. I was worried you wouldn’t," Luna said with a small smile.
Nina pressed her lips together and didn’t reply.
The Oracle Grand Theater was bustling, mostly with young people—a trend sparked by the rise of traditional aesthetics in recent years.
As Nina sat in her seat and watched people file in, her heart finally felt like it had found an anchor.
It was the steadying feeling of finally finding solid ground after being adrift for so long.
’Only then did she realize how much she truly loved to dance... Even just watching brought her a sense of peace and joy.’
Once everyone was seated, the entire theater darkened.
Luna’s phone vibrated several tis, but she remained perfectly still. It wasn’t until the ringtone finally sounded that she quickly silenced it and gave Nina an apologetic look. "I forgot to turn it off. I’m going to step outside and see who’s calling."
"Should I co with you?" Nina asked softly.
"No, it’s fine. I’ll just be a mont," Luna said evasively.
Watching her get up and leave imdiately, Nina guessed it was probably Zachary calling.
She didn’t think much of it and went back to watching the show.
The dancers in this performance weren’t as skilled as others Nina had seen before; it was quite different. After watching for a little while, she started to feel bored.
But then it suddenly occurred to her, ’Hasn’t Luna been gone for a rather long ti?’
She grabbed her bag, stood up, and headed out.
As she walked, she tried calling Luna Sterling, but the phone was turned off.
’I wonder what she’s up to,’ Nina thought. Just as she was about to head ho on her own, her phone rang.
She saw it was a call from Zachary Hawthorne. She frowned at the screen for a mont before finally pressing the answer key.
Before she could even speak, she heard him demand, "Where are you?!"
"I’m at The Oracle Theater. What’s wrong?" Nina was annoyed by his tone.
’It felt like it had been a long ti since he’d spoken to her properly.’
"Where’s Luna Sterling?" Zachary’s tone was bone-chilling.
Nina more or less realized that sothing might have happened to her.
"I don’t know. She told she was stepping out to—"
"You were together, how could you not know?! If you didn’t want to be with her, you could have just refused!"
"Zachary, what exactly happened to her?" Nina asked calmly.
Zachary Hawthorne hung up directly, apparently too impatient to explain.
Nina clutched her phone and let out a cold laugh, then imdiately called a car and left.
Late that night, as Nina was resting, she suddenly heard the sound of the door closing. *****
User Comments
0 comments from readers