Chapter 55 Never Ending Dilemma
Knowing she couldn't attend those important events, Luna Rosie was in a bad mood the whole day. Alpha Gideon noticed it and to prevent possible arguments with his wife, he preferred to be away from the room most of the time, discussing royal duties with his mother and father in their home office.
To pass her time and to prevent herself from destroying things due to her anger, Luna Rosie entertains herself by watching comedy movies on TV. Her loud laughter can be heard in the adjacent room.
Lena was pressing her head on the connected door, busy eavesdropping.
Mira looked at her companion, shaking her head in amusement. She went to Lena’s side and whispered, “Stop eavesdropping, she might come out and you will receive verbal lashing or worse punishment," she warned her.
Lena nodded her head. “OK. I will stop now.” She moved away from the connecting door. “I wonder what is so funny? Why was Luna Rosie laughing so loudly?"
Mira rolled her eyes. “Maybe she and her husband were telling jokes to each other or she was watching a comedy show on TV.”
Mira went to the dressing table and started brushing her hair.
Lena glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall for a few seconds then came to Mira’s side and said in a low voice, “There are two upcoming events the couple need to attend…”
Mira raised a brow and continued brushing her hair. “What events? And what does it have to do with me?”
“They will be attending the inauguration of Your Home, a 15-story shelter house for the homeless which was built because of Alpha Gideon’s efforts. He wants all the homeless off the streets to have a place they can call home. It will happen soon and the couple need to attend to it. Which means, as his wife, you need to be there by his side, smiling for the camera,” Lena explained.
Mira fell silent for a moment, her mind racing. C-could she?
“Are you excited?” Lena asked, observing her face closely.
Mira shrugged, pretending she was not interested in those events mentioned. “I’m not interested because I know that Luna Rosie will never allow me to be seen standing proud beside her husband. She will erupt in jealousy, so yeah, I’m not excited,” she replied glumly.
Lena nodded her head. “You are right, she will never agree.”
The women kept to themselves.
Lena was doing errands in the room. Mira reading a book while Luna Rosie was in the adjacent room, watching comedy films to avoid thinking about the upcoming events that require her presence.
The whole afternoon passed in a blur.
On the same day, the two royal brothers, Alpha Dane and Alpha Roland arrived home to the mansion at 5:00 in the evening and went straight to their rooms for a much needed rest after a tiring ten hour journey.
That night, the royal family had a late dinner at 8:00 in the dining room.
Alpha Dane raised a brow. “Where is your wife?” he asked his brother after noticing the absence of his sister-in-law in the dining room.
“Let me guess, she felt dizzy again?” Alpha Roland commented nonchalantly.
“Of course she is. Pregnancy is not easy,” Luna Rachel replied casually.
Luna Raquel seconded, "I think she was suffering from pregnancy symptoms. So let her rest in her room as much as she wants.”
Luna Queen Rebecca interjected. “Guys, your brother Alpha Gideon is going to make some important announcements later after dinner.”
They all looked at their brother quizzically, waiting for him to say anything.
Alpha King Samuel addressed his children. “Guys, I’m glad our family gathered here tonight intact and everyone is safe. But there is something important you need to know about Rosie. Things are not what it seems with her. Your brother will tell you everything tonight in the conference room. What happened to Rosie cannot be made public. It needs to be kept a secret among us.”
Everyone at the table gasped after realizing that what they were about to hear was a matter of the utmost secrecy and importance.
“Alright, keep your questions to yourselves and continue eating. Let’s discuss the rest in the conference room,” Luna Queen Rebecca said.
After eating, they retired to their rooms, pressing questions lingering in their minds.
At 9:00 o'clock in the evening, the royal family gathers again in the conference room located on the 3rd floor.
Everyone was restless looking at each other, trying to guess what their brother was about to reveal.
Alpha King Samuel addressed everyone in the conference room. “Guys, Gideon will tell you everything about the condition of his wife. Please listen carefully. Keep your mouth shut. No interruptions, please. Only ask questions after he has finished talking.”
“Copy that,” the siblings responded in chorus, eager to hear their brother’s revelation.
“Guys, what you are about to hear from your brother Gideon is not a laughing matter. I repeat this is not a joke. This is very serious, so refrain from laughing. Please ask serious questions only,” Luna Queen Rebecca reminded her children again, her tone serious. She glanced at her firstborn and said, “Go on son, tell your brother and sisters what happened to your wife.”
Alpha Gideon stood up and began his narration. “Guys, I will make the revelation short and precise to avoid confusion,” he began, coughing a little and continuing, “We all know that my wife died a few hours after being afflicted by the deadly flu virus. After my wife woke up from death, she told me that she had lost her memories, which's why she couldn't remember much about anything. The truth is she was lying. She was no longer my wife. She is Mira’s soul who inhabits Rosie’s body. And my wife’s soul has inhabited Mira’s body. In short, the two women had a soul swap on the same night they passed away.”
The room fell silent.
The siblings were stunned. Unable to react immediately. The revelation was so surreal that they had a hard time believing if it was a prank or a joke.
Their eyes and mouth remained wide open for a few minutes, still reeling from the shock, trying hard to digest the absurd and bizarre revelations thrown at them.
“Whoa! Is—is this a joke?” Alpha Roland finally blurted out. But everyone was wearing serious expressions on their faces, so he kept his thoughts to himself.
Alpha Dane seconded. “This is insane. Totally absurd! Are you telling me soul swapping is possible?”
Alpha Gideon nodded his head in anguish. “Yep, it’s true, trust me. After the two women confessed to me that their souls had been swapped, I felt gutted. I felt shocked and surprised to the core. You have no idea how hard it is to wake up every day, seeing Mira the maid beside me on the bed. I lost my wife and my unborn child. Actually, I didn't physically lose them but my wife's pregnant body was already inhabited by another woman’s soul. I can’t get intimate, kiss or hug her because her soul is no longer my wife. I can’t see my wife’s face anymore. All I see is Mira’s face. I find it so hard to deal with. That’s how fucked up my married life has become,” Alpha Gideon groaned in an exasperated tone.
“That’s so fucked up, Brother!" Alpha Roland reacted, shaking his head in absolute shock.
“Believe me, it is!” Alpha Gideon admits in agony.
“Oh, this soul swap... is so shocking and unbelievable! My mind refuses to believe it!” Luna Raquel gushed in disbelief.
Stunned by the bizarre revelation, Luna Rachel finally expressed her opinion. “Yeah, I’m totally mind-blown as well. Soul swapping is unheard of in our time. To think that it’s happening to poor Rosie. So very unfortunate and troublesome indeed. It must be very hard for Rosie to live in the maid’s body, seeing the ugly scars on her face every day... must be daily torture for her. I can’t live a life like that. So surreal, so hard to accept.”
“Indeed, that is why Rosie forbade me to see Mira. She doesn't want me to have a normal relationship with her because she is jealous. Because of the soul swap, she became moody and short-tempered. And she wants to remove the veil from her face every time we talk. I don’t like it because I see the maid’s face. We have quarreled about that issue several times already. So yeah, our relationship was strained because of soul swapping," Alpha Gideon admits miserably.
“We are very sorry for what you've been through, brother. I’m sorry, we can’t do anything to help you,” Alpha Dane told his brother apologetically.
Alpha Gideon throws his hands in the air looking lost and problematic.
“A very tough situation indeed,” Alpha Roland murmured sadly. “Is there no solution? What can be done to undo the soul swap? The women needed to switch souls and switch bodies as soon as possible or else they would go crazy,” he said, eager to solve the problem.
Alpha King Samuel shook his head. “Unfortunately, we have no fixed solution as of the moment,” he responded despondently.
“Yeah, that's true. We can’t find a shaman or anyone with soul-swapping skills on this planet. So Gideon and Rosie’s problems will continue that way for a long time. Unless we can find a shaman who can perform soul swaps. In the meantime, to protect the secret, we need to keep the women in the house together. Rosie will be stuck in the maid’s body and Mira will stay in Rosie's pregnant's body,” Luna Queen Rebecca explained calmly.
"So now that everyone knows about this bizarre soul swapping incident, let’s protect this secret. The servants and house staff must not know about it. We must keep them in the dark because once this secret is exposed outside, everyone will want to know the full truth. People are naturally curious and they will do anything to learn the truth. So in order to protect our privacy, the secret cannot leave this mansion no matter what happens,” Alpha King Samuel said authoritatively.
Alpha Gideon takes a deep breath. An expression of distress was evident on his face. “That’s why I asked for everyone's cooperation. To simplify things, let's follow face recognition. If you see Mira call her Mira, and if you see Rosie call her Rosie. We must associate them with their bodies and faces. There must be no mistakes! Let's pretend that no soul swap has occurred between them to avoid confusion and maintain normalcy in the house,” he said and quickly added, “I already talked to the women about this setup and they are fine with it. So let’s not make things more complicated than they already are. OK?”
“Copy that,” they replied in chorus.
Alpha King Samuel stood up. “We are done discussing Rosie’s problem. This meeting is adjourned. We will meet again here if we need to discuss this issue further. Now go to your rooms and rest,” he ordered.
“Yes, Dad,” they replied in chorus.
They left the conference room with the absurdity of the soul swap lingering in their minds.
That night, while they were lying on their bed, all they could think about was the soul swap and the scary possibility that what happened to Mira and Luna Rosie could also happen to them. That thought scared the hell out of them.
As for Alpha Gideon, he was relieved because when he arrived in the bedroom his wife was already asleep on the bed, snoring softly.
He slept late that night, deeply disturbed and bothered by the soul swap that seemed to have no solution in sight.