Chapter 36 A peeping Lyra
When I woke up the next morning, sunlight was streaming through the curtains, casting a warm glow across the room. I blinked a few times, disoriented, before realizing that Darius’s arms were still wrapped around me. His steady breathing told me he was still asleep.
For a moment, I stayed there, just listening to the sound of his heartbeat, feeling the warmth of his body against mine. It was almost peaceful. Almost.
But then reality crashed back in, and I remembered everything. I couldn’t let myself get comfortable. I had to remember who he was—what he had done.
I carefully disentangled myself from his arms and slipped out of bed, trying not to wake him. My heart pounded in my chest as I grabbed a fresh set of clothes and headed for the bathroom.
I needed space. I needed to clear my head.
But as I stood in the mirror, I couldn’t stop thinking about last night. About the way Darius had held me, the way he had kissed me. It was all so confusing. I hated him—didn’t I?
And yet, there was a part of me that didn’t want to pull away from him. A part of me, wanted to give in to the connection between us.
But I couldn’t, not after everything he had done. I took a quick shower just to clear my head.
The beach had been calling to me since we arrived. I could hear the waves crashing against the shore from my balcony, the sound soothing in its rhythmic consistency. It was the only thing in this place that didn’t make me feel trapped. So I decided I'd take a walk along the shoreline and feel the cool ocean breeze on my face, even if it was just for a moment.
After slipping into a loose sundress, and walked back into the room to find the bed empty and I breathed a sigh of relief.
I made my way down the grand staircase, hoping to avoid Faruk at all costs, hoping he was too busy with whatever Alpha king duties demanded his time. The Mansion felt strangely quiet, as if everyone was recovering from the events of last night. I could feel the stares from the servants, hushed whispers about what had transpired. I forced myself to ignore them and kept walking, my mind focused on the sand and the sea.
When I finally reached the beach, I took a deep breath, letting the salty air fill my lungs. The soft sand gave way under my bare feet, and I started walking, my eyes trained on the horizon. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was almost hypnotic, each one pulling me further away from my thoughts.
But just as I began to feel a sense of peace wash over me, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, a large, luxurious beach canopy. I hadn’t noticed it before, nestled discreetly between the dunes, partially hidden by the tall grasses that swayed with the wind. It looked like something straight out of a vacation magazine: pristine white fabric fluttering in the breeze, the structure surrounded by plump pillows and a low table with drinks. A perfect spot for privacy.
I should’ve turned around. I should’ve known better than to intrude. But curiosity got the better of me.
As I walked closer, I heard hushed voices, a low murmur carried on the wind. My heart began to pound, a feeling of unease creeping into my chest. Something wasn’t right.
And then, I saw them.
Faruk, lounged in the canopy bed, half-reclined, his golden hair tousled in the morning light. He wasn’t alone. One of the women from the party, someone I vaguely recognized from the dance, was with him, her lithe body draped across his like a human blanket. They were laughing, their voices a soft, intimate hum, their bodies far too close for propriety.
I froze.
The scene before me felt surreal, like something out of a movie. The woman’s hands were on his chest, fingers tracing the lines of his muscles, and he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying it. His head was tilted back, eyes half-lidded with pleasure, as he murmured something in her ear, making her giggle.
My stomach churned. I knew I shouldn’t be watching this, but for some reason, I couldn’t look away. There was something about the way Faruk carried himself, so effortlessly confident, so nonchalant about being caught in such an intimate moment, that both intrigued and disturbed me.
His gaze flickered in my direction, and for a split second, our eyes met.
He smirked.
A slow, knowing smile that made my blood run cold.
Faruk didn’t stop. He didn’t pull away from the woman or try to hide what he was doing. Instead, he held my gaze, as if daring me to say something, to acknowledge what I had just walked in on. The woman, oblivious to my presence, continued to kiss his neck, her fingers weaving through his golden locks. She sat up, her chest exposed bare in front of me, her breasts hanging like two overripe grapes. She then noticed me and her gaze fell to that of Faruk’s and she gave him a knowing smile as she began rocking her hips while on top of him.
I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She squatted and placed her hands on his shoulder and began bouncing on him moaning on top of her voice so much so that her voice mixed with the waves.
I wanted to scream at them, to call them shameless and tell them to stop, but my voice wouldn’t come. My feet felt glued to the sand, my heart pounding in my chest. It wasn’t that I cared about what he was doing, Faruk wasn’t my problem. But there was something about the way he looked at me, something smug, that made me feel like I had somehow intruded on his world, like I was the one out of place.
Without another word, I turned on my heel and began to walk away, my footsteps quick and uneven on the soft sand. My heart raced as I hurried back to the safety of the palace, my mind spinning with what I had just seen. I didn’t want to think about Faruk, or the woman, or the way he had smirked at me as if he knew exactly how it would make me feel.
As I made my way back up the steps of the house, I couldn’t help but feel like I had crossed an invisible line.
When I finally reached my room, I collapsed onto the bed, my mind still reeling from the encounter. I couldn’t shake the image of Lucien from my head, the way he had looked at me, the way he had smirked, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. I felt myself heat up and my core tinged I squeezed my eyes shut trying to get rid of that image.