Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 28 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 28

Chapter 28 Respecting His Wishes

Lady Flourish’s POV

នគ 39

Finished

My father’s office felt too small. The walls pressed in too close, the air sat too heavy, and every word he had spoken continued to echo inside my head long after I stormed out of the room.

“You will not threaten me with your own responsibility.”

The sentence had practically ripped itself out of my chest, and even now I could still feel the rawness of it.

I had never spoken to him that way before, not once, not even when he deserved it, not even when he treated me like a burden or made it painfully clear that maintaining appearances would always matter more than my happiness ever would.

Yet somehow, instead of feeling victorious, I only felt tired.

The servants hurried out of my way as I crossed the main hall of the mansion.

A few of them looked concerned, while others quickly lowered their heads and pretended not to notice the anger rolling off me in waves. I ignored all of them.

The moment I stepped outside, the cool evening breeze brushed against my skin.

Usually it would have helped. Usually it would have given my wolf room to settle. Today it did nothing. My chest still felt tight, my thoughts still felt tangled, and when I reached my car and stopped, I stood staring at it for several long seconds before shaking my head.

Walter moved immediately to open the rear door. “Lady Flourish?”

“Wait here,” I said. “I need a walk.”

He looked hesitant, but thankfully he knew better than to argue when I sounded like this.

I turned and started down the stone pathway leading away from the estate. The territory stretched around me in soft shades of gold and silver beneath the setting sun, wolves moving throughout the district in the quiet rhythm of their evening routines, and I paid them little attention.

My wolf remained restless beneath my skin. Part of me wanted to shift and run. Part of me wanted to scream. Part of me wanted to drive straight to Harold’s villa and set it on fire.

Instead, I kept walking, not entirely sure where I was going – only certain that if I stayed still, I would lose my mind.

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Chapter 28 Respecting His Wishes

នគ 39

Finished

The silence stretched between us until one of the executives cleared his throat and announced that they should continue the discussion tomorrow.

Damian agreed, the group dispersed, and then the two of us were standing alone beside the road – me with my arms folded, him with both hands in his pockets, neither of us speaking.

The situation felt ridiculous.

“I didn’t know you had business in this district,” I finally said.

“I do.”

I stared at him. He stared back, then glanced toward the street.

Not at me, toward the street and my irritation sharpened into something almost uncomfortable. What was wrong with him?

“You’re unusually quiet today.”

His

gaze returned to mine, and for the first time I thought I saw something flicker behind those dark green eyes, though it vanished too quickly for me to identify. “I don’t believe I have much to say,” he answered, and the words surprised me — not because they were rude, but because they weren’t.

–

They were simply indifferent and I hated that more.

I shifted my weight. “That’s unlike you.”

“Is it?” A slow nod. “I see.”

No warmth. No challenge. No amusement. I found myself growing increasingly uncomfortable, which made absolutely no sense, because this was what I wanted, wasn’t it?

Distance. Space. Freedom from the constant awareness of him. I had demanded it from him repeatedly, so why did it feel so wrong now that he was giving it to me? The thought annoyed me enough that I looked away.

“You seem busy.”

“I am.”

I almost laughed. At this point, speaking to a wall would have been more engaging.

My wolf paced anxiously beneath my skin, because something about his demeanor felt wrong – not hostile, not angry, simply absent, as though she had carefully removed herself from the interaction.

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15:42 Tue, Sep 29 

Chapter 28 Respecting His Wishes

នគ 39

Finished

Or as though he were standing several feet further away than he actually was. The realization unsettled me more than I wanted to admit.

Before I could stop myself, the question escaped. “Did I do something?” 

Damian’s brows lifted slightly, genuine surprise crossing his face for the first time since I arrived. Then his expression softened — only slightly, only briefly. “Why would you think that?”

–

I immediately regretted asking. “Forget it.”

A faint breeze passed between us. He glanced toward the horizon, then back at me, his eyes steady and far too calm. “You asked me to leave you alone, Flourish.”

I froze.

Suddenly I remembered every harsh word I had thrown at him. Every time I told him to mind his business, every time I accused him of interfering, every time I pushed him away because I didn’t know what to do with the way he made me feel.

His voice remained steady, carrying no anger, no accusation, no defense of himself – only the quiet weight of a fact I had no argument against. “I’m simply respecting your wishes.”

The words hit harder than they should have.

“I should get going,” he said, inclining his head politely, and I opened my mouth as he stepped around me, though nothing came out — my brain had simply refused to form words.

He stopped for one brief moment, close enough that I caught the edge of his scent again, and I thought he might say something else. Instead, he merely nodded once.

“Good evening, Lady Flourish.”

Then he walked away, and I stood there long after his car disappeared from sight. The evening breeze tugged at my hair while my wolf remained unusually quiet.

Somewhere behind me, Walter was probably waiting by the estate gates. Somewhere across the territory, Harold was undoubtedly creating new problems. Somewhere in Stonehedge, my father was likely still furious.

Yet none of those thoughts occupied my mind. All I could hear was Damian’s voice, low and unhurried and devastatingly even.

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