Chapter 204
Ellie's POV
Unfortunately, the academy was closed that day.
Sunday.
Of course.
Which meant I had no choice but to stay home.
I had planned to spend the entire day hidden away in my room, avoiding everyone and everything. If I could just keep a low profile, maybe people would eventually stop paying attention to me.
Unfortunately, my plan lasted approximately ten minutes.
The second I opened my door to sneak downstairs for breakfast, Marcus spotted me.
And judging by the way he immediately walked toward me with a piece of paper in his hand, he had clearly been waiting.
"Alpha Dominic asked me to give you this."
I stared at the paper.
Then at Marcus.
Slowly, I took it from him.
A sigh escaped me.
A schedule.
A list.
A to-do list.
Of course.
Even when Dominic wasn't home, he still found a way to make sure I was being responsible.
Apparently, my efforts to make myself appear completely useless hadn't convinced him at all.
I looked over the list.
The tasks were exactly what I expected from a new Luna.
Check in with household staff.
Review next week's schedule.
Visit the clinic.
Visit the barracks.
Simple duties.
Normal duties.
Things that wouldn't have bothered me under different circumstances.
But right now?
Doing them well would ruin everything.
I had spent so much effort convincing Dominic that I was impossible to deal with.
I couldn't suddenly start acting like the capable Luna everyone expected me to be.
That would only make things harder.
Still...
That didn't mean I had to do everything perfectly.
I grabbed my phone and called Sarah.
If I was going to suffer through this, I was at least going to have company.
The first stop was the servants' quarters.
I met with the head butler, who immediately began discussing problems within the household.
Apparently, a few new staff members had been causing issues, and he wanted my opinion on how to handle them.
Normally, I would have listened carefully.
Normally, I would have helped.
But today?
I leaned back and shrugged.
"You're the head butler. I'm sure you'll figure it out."
The man's expression shifted.
He clearly hadn't expected that answer.
I didn't give him time to respond before leaving.
One task completed.
Badly.
Perfect.
Next came the scheduling.
Sarah stood nearby, watching with a suspicious expression as I casually reviewed Dominic's weekly calendar.
I hummed quietly while making adjustments.
At first glance, everything looked normal.
Professional.
Organized.
But if someone looked closely...
They would notice a few small mistakes.
A meeting was moved fifteen minutes earlier.
Another one shifted slightly later.
A few gaps left open where they shouldn't be.
Nothing obvious.
Nothing that would raise immediate suspicion.
Until the last moment.
When Dominic would realize he had accidentally scheduled two meetings at the same time.
With two Alphas who absolutely despised each other.
I finished writing the final adjustment, added a little flourish to the signature, and placed the pen down.
Sarah folded her arms.
"What?"
I stood from my chair.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, nothing."
She hopped down from where she had been sitting on the edge of the desk.
"It's just that you're not exactly being subtle lately."
I blinked innocently.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Sarah gave me a look.
A very knowing look.
"So your little social commentary performances aren't intentional?"
I groaned.
"Oh, gods."
I pushed my hair back and laughed.
"You saw the article, didn't you?"
"Not just the article."
Her expression turned amused.
"People are talking, Ellie."
I frowned.
"About...?"
She stared at me.
"About you, dummy."
She shook her head and followed me as we left the office.
We started walking toward the clinic.
That was the one place I actually planned to do my job properly.
Because unlike political meetings or social events...
Sick people mattered.
I cared about them.
"There isn't really much to talk about," I said casually.
Sarah stopped walking.
Then stepped directly in front of me.
I looked at her.
"What?"
"Ellie."
Her expression was unusually serious.
"Half the women in the pack think you're making some kind of statement against Dominic."
I froze.
"Really?"
"Really."
She softened slightly.
"They think you're empowering."
I stared at her.
"They think you're not just his quiet little shadow anymore."
Her voice lowered.
"And maybe you're finally teaching him a lesson about how he treats people."
I didn't know what to say.
Because that wasn't what I had been trying to do.
Not even close.
My only goal had been survival.
Finding a way out.
Escaping this marriage before I ended up living through the same nightmare all over again.
But hearing Sarah say that...
Hearing that people saw me differently...
It warmed something inside me.
Because these were the same people who once looked down on me.
The same people who had dismissed me.
The same people who saw me as nothing more than a pathetic extension of a powerful man.
In my past life, many of them had ignored me.
Belittled me.
Hurt me in ways they probably never even realized.
And now...
They were looking at me like I was someone worth respecting.
Someone worth listening to.
For the first time in a long time...
I felt like maybe I wasn't invisible anymore.