By lunchtime, I still hadn't returned.
Eliza's smile had long faded. A tightness settled into her features like a mask cracking under pressure.
In this house, etiquette was sacred. Meals weren't just routines—they were rituals. Every plate served, every place set, was a reflection of order and discipline. Being late was not just rude—it was a scandal.
"Sienna's still not back?" Eliza snapped, folding her napkin with stiff fingers. "She only went to pick something up for Laura. What could possibly be taking her this long?"
Her voice was sharp enough to cut through glass.
Jake leaned back in his chair, smirking.
"She's doing it on purpose. She hates how well we treat Laura. She wants to throw a fit, make it about her again. Classic Sienna—always bitter, always petty."
Eliza didn't respond—but her silence was a storm.
Dad, who had been hidden behind his usual morning paper, finally lowered it with a sigh. His eyes locked on Jake.
"That's your sister you're talking about. Watch your mouth."
Then he turned to Eliza, a bit more gently.
"Drew said he went to find her. They're likely together."
But Eliza's expression didn't soften.
"Forget it," she said curtly. "We'll eat without them."
---
Meanwhile, Drew wasn't with me.
He had spent his day rushing to a private auction, his tie askew, his shirt damp with sweat. He had barely eaten, barely rested—just to get his hands on a rare moonstone necklace. A gift meant to win me back. To surprise me. To show me I still mattered.
But when he tried to call, the line went dead.
My phone was off.
When he returned to the villa and heard that everyone believed we were together, his chest turned to ice.
That was the moment the truth settled in—
I was gone.
---
Days passed.
Then weeks.
A month.
And I was still nowhere to be found.
Every mind link message sent to me—silenced. Every attempt to track me—useless.
The villa grew quieter. Tense. Hollow in the places I once filled.
The marking ceremony loomed closer, and the bride was still missing.
Drew's parents urged him to cancel it. They were embarrassed, scandalized. But he refused.
He stood in their path like a shadow of the man he used to be—eyes bloodshot, expression hollow.
"I'll find her," he said.
And no one dared argue.
---
Eliza, on the other hand, couldn't bear the humiliation. My disappearance was a stain she couldn't scrub out. She sank into melancholy, withdrawing even from her most rigid routines.
To lift her spirits, Laura moved back in with Anne.
The house, once strained by absence, began to thrum with Laura's delicate touches—fresh flowers, soft music, the sweet lilt of Anne's laughter echoing through the halls.
And Eliza… smiled again.
But at the mere mention of my name, her warmth vanished.
"I'm done with her," she said bitterly. "She's no daughter of mine. Let her stay gone. If she doesn't want this life, fine. I'll cancel the marking tomorrow."
Laura, ever the picture of restraint, stepped forward. Her voice was soft, sweetened with regret.
"Please don't be angry. Sienna will come back—she must've just felt left out that day. It was my fault for bringing Anne home. I didn't mean to take her place."
Eliza's hands trembled, and her eyes narrowed.
"Haven't we done enough? What more does she want?"
The cook quietly approached with a cup of warm water.
"Please calm down, madam," she murmured. "Your health is what matters most. Laura would be devastated if something happened to you. No one in this home cares more about you than she does."
Eliza's expression melted, affection returning like sunshine after frost.
She reached out, gently patting Laura's hand.
"Good girl," she said. "You were always special."
Across the room, the cook and Laura exchanged a fleeting glance. Just a flicker.
And then—a faint smile curled Laura's lips.
---
Three days remained until the marking ceremony.
Still no trace of me.
My parents spent their nights in quiet debate, torn between pride and obligation. Doubt grew heavier with each setting sun.
Drew's parents had never wanted this ceremony to begin with. To them, I was a stray girl with no breeding, no refinement—barely suitable to be a mate, let alone a Luna.
And now? After vanishing without a word?
They saw me as nothing more than a stain on their family's legacy.
Selfish. Immature. Unworthy.
And perhaps… they weren't the only ones who believed