23. Luna
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
LUNA
Sophie finds me in the sitting room as she carries a tray of tea. She has an uncanny ability to read my mood, even before I speak, and today is no exception. Without a word, she sets the tray on the small table by the window.
“You’re tense,” she says, as she sits in the chair across from me. Sophie doesn’t do small talk, which is why we get along so well.
“It’s been a long day,” I reply, leaning back against the cushions. “Nico doesn’t make anything easy, does he?”
She smiles, carefully pouring the tea. “I imagine that’s part of his charm,” she teases, but there’s an understanding beneath the humor. Sophie has seen more of my life than anyone else, and she doesn’t need me to explain the nuances of navigating Nico’s world.
“Charm,” I echo dryly, taking the offered cup. “Is that what we’re calling it now?”
Sophie studies me momentarily, her perceptive gaze taking in every detail—every emotion I try to keep buried. “You’ve held your own today,” she says. “He might not show it, but I think he respects that more than he lets on.”
“Respect isn’t enough,” I say. “Not here. I need more than just his approval. I need his trust.”
“And you’ll get it. You don’t wait for things to be handed to you, Luna. You take them.”
Her words soothe me in a way few people can. Sophie has never just been my assistant. She’s my ally and the one person I can count on in a house full of wavering loyalties.
“You know me too well,” I say, trying to hide the smile tugging at the corner of my lips.
“Someone has to,” she counters, returning the smile. “Besides, you need someone to remind you how far you’ve come.”
For a moment, the seriousness of the day feels a bit lighter. Sophie doesn’t push or prod; she simply reminds me of who I am and my capabilities. And as I take another sip of tea, I realize it’s exactly what I needed today.
“You feel trapped here,” she confirms. “I know that look. How your shoulders tense whenever someone tells you what to do.”
“It’s not just that,” I whisper. “It’s how Nico controls everything. How this house feels like a test I keep failing. I’m fighting to belong, but I don’t know what I’m fighting for anymore.”
She looks away for a moment, then meets my eyes again. “I understand,” she says softly. “More than you think.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, leaning forward.
Sophie pauses, her fingers tightening around the hem of her dress.
Her voice is almost a whisper when she speaks again.
“Before this… before I came here, I wasn’t Sophie.
I wasn’t your maid. Your assistant. I was,” She pauses as she struggles to find the words.
“I was abducted and sold to a wealthy man who trafficked me for years.”
The room feels impossibly still as her confession sinks in. I don’t speak; I can’t. I can only watch as she gathers the strength to continue.
“I escaped,” she confesses, her voice quivering.
“But even then, I couldn’t go home. There was nothing left for me there.
So, I came here. Nicolai found me and gave me the choice to leave or stay.
I chose to stay. And now, I’ve made peace with it after all these years.
But sometimes it feels like another kind of trap. ”
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I ask, my heart aching for her.
“Because it’s dangerous. The fewer people who know, the safer I am. And now that you do, I need your word that you won’t tell anyone. Not Mateo. Not Laurent. No one.”
“You have my word,” I reassure her.
“I don’t regret telling you, “She says. “But it scares me. If the wrong person finds out,” she trails off, and I already know. This world doesn’t offer kindness to people like Sophie; it barely offers survival.
“That’s why no one will ever find out,” I reassure her. “Not from me. Not ever.”
She presses her lips together, but a shadow of doubt pools in her eyes. I know all too well what could happen if secrets like hers slipped out.
“Sometimes I think about leaving,” Sophie admits. “Starting over somewhere no one knows me. But that’s a fantasy, isn’t it?” She gives a short, hollow laugh. “People like me don’t get second chances.”
“Maybe not,” I say, thinking about the walls of this house, the way they hold secrets like ours so tightly. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t make our way. It doesn’t mean we accept it.” We both know all too well what it means to disobey.
“You’re stronger than you think,” I tell her, watching her carefully. “And if anything, or anyone, ever threatens you, I’ll stop it. You know that, don’t you?”
Sophie smiles. “I know,” she murmurs. “And that’s why I stay.” She stands, but before she reaches for the tray, I rise too. Without a word, I wrap my arms around her, pulling her into a firm embrace.
“You’re not alone,” I murmur, my voice barely more than a breath.
“Neither are you,” she says, just as softly.