35. The naked truth

"You intend to run away, don't you?" He was still seriously asking me. "Do you think I'm crazy? I know you would run away from here at the first opportunity." I was amazed by his response.

Did Lucca Moretti think I was going to run away from him? Was it serious that he was still thinking about that hypothesis after all the time we had been together? I did know that in the past all I wanted most was to escape that place and get rid of that horror show, but Lucca was winning me over with his ways, and now the possibility of running away didn't even cross my mind anymore.

However, I lowered my gaze when I thought about it, although his thoughts were confused now due to his current condition because of the full moon being so close to him and the wolf genes that his father injected into him, which were leaving him on the verge of madness. Either Lucca was exploding with anger to the point of breaking even the furniture, or he was easily irritated by everything and nothing, or he was so naughted that just that morning he tried to fuck me more than ten times even though we spent the whole morning having sex, or he was getting emotional, feeling impotent and insecure about myself, thinking I didn't love him enough until I wanted to run away from him.

But despite all that, it was right for him to think about that hypothesis because there was a great chance that I would have to get rid of him and all that. After all, I was also one of the evil count's prisoners because I didn't choose the fate that I was entrusted with—marrying Lucca and living forever in that accursed place—but I also had to consider that my life is now a thousand times better than when I lived in the Allen mansion and had to serve my lady Crystal in every possible way. Even when I had to give up my virginity to her to satisfy a man who asked for a night with me in exchange for dating her.

Despite the oddities in Moretti Castle, I was treated like a lady here; I had maids, and everyone respected me as the owner's wife; my own rooms were vast and well-equipped (even boring Crystal's room didn't reach the feet of what I had now); I got gifts that were expensive and supernatural; I could now buy any dress and shoes I wanted; I could do whatever I wanted; and on top of that, I had a handsome man for a husband who protected me, took care of me, and was always well ahead of the curve; his time was spent breathing me in and treating me like a woman deserves to be treated. That man was Lucca Moretti. But even so, would I be willing to drop all that to run away and start my life somewhere else?

"You're hesitating, it shows that I'm right." Lucca shifted nervously in the bathtub, the soapy water level hitting the middle of his defined abdomen. "Please understand that you are the only real thing here for me. You are the balance of this castle that is more for the world of the dead than for the world of the living, if you left, all of this would collapse. Please understand that I can't live without you, Crystal." He held my hands and begged.

Every time he called me Crystal, a thread of pain spread across my heart. It was like a bucket of cold water on my hopes, it reminded me of who I really was: the ordinary maid Lea Sunfish, who spent her entire life serving her spoiled lady. Could it be that under other circumstances, Lucca would have at least looked at me with anything other than disdain because I was from a much lower social class than him? Because, like it or not, both Crystal and Lucca were nobles, and they always treated people like me badly. Would he look at me differently when he saw me dressed in uninteresting rags, with my hair and skin trimmed, carrying my lady's purse everywhere she went?

I even wanted to laugh at that. He certainly wouldn't look at me twice; his entire attention would be on the noble lady, Crystal Allen. The real Crystal Allen. The one who had features as delicate as a doll, who had skin as soft as feathers, the color of her skin as pale as a sick person, the one who knew and practiced the good manners of nobles since she learned to walk, the one who had dresses with corsets so thin that they designed her slender waist in the shape of a pylon, and skirts so voluminous and long that when she walked, she dragged everything that was in her way, breaking the hearts of men and causing envy in women.

It was as clear as water how much I didn't measure up to her no matter how hard I tried, and I knew that under other circumstances Lucca would be courting Lady Crystal, not me. And every day I had nightmares about him discovering my cover, discarding me, and going to London to be with Crystal. That was my biggest nightmare. When Lucca ran his thumb across my cheek to wipe my tears, it was there that I realized I was crying.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad with my words." He spoke so fearfully that I shook my head, sniffling and hating myself for being so vulnerable in front of him. Losing Lucca was my biggest fear.

"I'm not going to run away from you, Lucca. I'm never going to leave you. But you have to promise me that you'll never leave me, either." That's all I asked. He had a confused expression, smiling serenely at me as he caressed my face like someone who didn't believe in the idea of ​​rejecting me.

"But why the hell would I leave you, my love?" He responded and then pulled me into a hug, which I made the most of while still crying. I was aware that the option to dump me now seemed incoherent to him, but I couldn't say the same thing if he discovered my secret. That's why I preferred to keep lying to him so I could be with him, I could be living a lie with him, but I preferred this wonderful lie to the raw truth of staying away from him and even more seeing him marry the real Crystal.