Chapter 164 Lifting the Burden

Chapter 164 Lifting the Burden
I grabbed her shoulders softly and hugged her, and she immediately hugged me back, holding me tightly as if she couldn't believe what was happening.

“Oh my God, I don't even know what to say,” she said, pulling away slightly so she could look at me, “You are finally the Luna, I'm so happy for you.”

I smiled at her, “Thank you.”

I stared at her for a moment, taking in her appearance, and I noticed how completely worn out she looked, her clothes were dirty, and there were a few stains on the fabric, which reminded me of how I used to look when I was working in the kitchen, back when I had to spend hours cooking and cleaning while the other maids treated me like I didn't matter.

Seeing Clara dressed that way made me feel a little sad, because I knew exactly how exhausting that work could be, and I also knew how badly the headmaid treated people she didn't like.

I turned to Clara and smiled, “Clara, you're going to work for me as my personal maid, okay? I don't want you to work in that kitchen anymore, especially with the headmaid there.”

Her eyes widened in shock, and for a few seconds, she simply stared at me as if she wasn't sure whether I was serious.

“Tell me you're joking, right?” she asked, pointing at herself, “I would really work as your personal maid? Oh my Moon Goddess, I'm so grateful, thank you so much.”

I nodded my head, smiling at her reaction, “It's fine, from today, you're going to work for me as my personal maid, you'll be given your own room, new clothes, and you won't have to go back to the kitchen again, okay?”

Her face immediately brightened, and the smile that appeared on her lips was so genuine that I couldn't help smiling back at her.

She looked relieved, almost as though a huge burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

“We all need to win,” I said, laughing softly, “Thank you for coming here, because if you hadn't come, I probably would have forgotten, but I could never forget you because I love you so much as my friend.”

Clara smiled warmly and reached for my hands, “I love you too, Elara, thank you so much for your generosity, I don't even know how to repay you.”

“You don't have to repay me,” I told her, “Just continue being my friend, that's enough.”

She nodded happily.

“Okay, come with me, let us go and sit in the kitchen to check on the preparations,” I said to her, and we both started walking down the hallway together.

As we walked, I began telling her everything that had been happening between Kiran and me, including the night we had spent together and how things between us had changed since then, I also told her about Victor and the confession he had made to me the previous night.

I didn't leave out anything important, because Clara was one of the few people I trusted enough to tell these things to.

She listened quietly at first, occasionally looking at me whenever I mentioned something she found surprising.

But the moment I told her that Victor had confessed his feelings for me, she suddenly stopped walking.

“Did he confess his feelings to you?” she asked, her eyes widening.

I stopped as well and turned toward her, “Yes.”

Her expression immediately changed.

“He is a bad person,” she said.

My eyes widened, “Why do you say so?”

She shook her head, looking genuinely annoyed.

“Why didn't he confess his feelings before Kiran confessed that he loved you and announced your relationship publicly?” she asked, “Why did he wait until Kiran announced you as the Luna before telling you that he liked you?”

I stared at her, unable to answer immediately.

I had already asked myself the same questions, but hearing them from Clara made them sound different.

She continued before I could respond, “Why now? After everything has already been decided between you and Kiran? Why wait until you're already with his brother before deciding to tell you how he feels?”

I lowered my gaze as I thought about it.

And as much as I wanted to avoid it, she was telling the truth.

What she was saying made sense.

Why hadn't Victor confessed his feelings for me earlier?

Why had he waited until Kiran had already confessed his love for me and made me his Luna?

Why tell me now, when everything between Kiran and me had already changed?

I didn't have an answer.

Maybe Victor had his own reasons, but whatever those reasons were, they didn't change the situation.

And honestly, I didn't want to spend my time trying to figure them out.

But that wasn't my problem.

“I really don't like him,” I said firmly.

Clara looked at me, surprised.

“What?”

“I said I really don't like Victor,” I repeated, “I don't have feelings for him, and I don't want anything to happen between us.”

Clara nodded quickly.

“Uh-uh, don't even try to break Kiran's heart or get close to that Victor,” she said, shaking her head, “He's a bad person, and I don't trust him, he wants to break his brother's heart.”

I looked at her and sighed.

“I don't think he wants to hurt Kiran.”

Clara gave me a skeptical look.

“Then why would he confess his feelings to you now?”

I didn't answer.

She had a point.

Still, I didn't want to assume the worst about Victor.

“I'll be careful,” I finally said.

“You better be,” she replied.

I smiled at her.

“Alright, alright, I heard you.”

She smiled back, and we continued walking toward the kitchen.

By the time we reached the kitchen area, the smell of food immediately filled the hallway.

I stepped inside and looked around.

There were countless ingredients arranged across the counters, vegetables had already been washed and prepared, meat had been cleaned and seasoned, bowls of different ingredients had been placed in neat rows, and several cooks were moving around the kitchen as they worked on the preparations for the ceremony the following day.

There were also decorations placed around the kitchen, including flowers, ribbons, and other small details that would be used for the celebration.

I looked around in amazement.

“So much has already been done,” I said.

Clara nodded.

“They've been working since early morning.”

I walked farther into the kitchen, checking everything carefully.

The food preparations were well organized, and the cooks seemed to know exactly what they were doing.

I picked up one of the prepared dishes and looked at it before placing it back down.

Everything seemed to be coming together perfectly.

I glanced at Clara and smiled.

“I think we're going to be fine.”

She smiled.

“Of course we are.”

I looked around the kitchen one more time, feeling relieved that there wasn't anything major left to worry about.

The ceremony was only a day away, and for the first time, I actually felt excited about it.

Everything was finally beginning to fall into place.