The Lu Mansion was quiet after midnight.
The laughter from dinner had long disappeared. The servants had retreated. The lights in the corridors were dim, casting long shadows against the marble walls.
But in the far corner of the second floor, inside the guest bedroom that was temporarily assigned to her, Raina sat alone on the cold floor beside the bed.
Still wearing the same white dress.
Still holding herself together.
The door was locked.
Finally.
She didn't have to pretend anymore.
Her shoulders began to tremble.
At first, she tried to control it.
She pressed her lips together.
She inhaled deeply.
She told herself:
Don't cry. Don't be weak. Don't give them the satisfaction.
But when she looked at her reflection in the full-length mirror—
The girl staring back at her looked small.
Lost.
Disposable.
Her eyes were red from holding back too much.
And then…
The first tear fell.
It slid down slowly, silently, like it had been waiting all day.
She covered her mouth, afraid someone might hear her.
Why am I always like this?
Why do I always arrive somewhere I don't belong?
Her breathing became uneven.
She remembered the way her parents had looked at Luna.
Protective.
Worried.
Afraid she would suffer.
But when they looked at her—
There was calculation.
Expectation.
Sacrifice.
She laughed softly through her tears.
"I'm not that lucky, am I?" she whispered to the empty room.
Her whole life had been simple.
Growing up in a small house.
Wearing old clothes.
Working part-time to help her foster parents.
She never complained.
Because even though they were poor—
They were kind.
They had loved her.
Or at least… she thought they did.
But now that she knew she was switched at birth—
Even those memories felt fragile.
Was she ever truly anyone's first choice?
She hugged her knees tightly.
"I don't want money… I don't want status… I don't even want this mansion…"
Her voice cracked.
"I just wanted someone to choose me."
The words broke her.
Choose me.
Not because I'm useful.
Not because I'm convenient.
Not because I can protect someone else.
Just…
Me.
Her tears fell harder.
She didn't cry beautifully.
She cried like someone who had held too much inside for too long.
"I tried to be good," she whispered.
"I tried to be obedient. I tried not to ask for too much. I tried not to be greedy for love…"
Her hands tightened around the fabric of her dress.
"So why… why do I never get the one thing I want the most?"
Love.
That simple word.
It felt like something forbidden to her.
At school, she watched her classmates hug their parents after class.
She watched couples hold hands on the street.
She watched Luna receive affection so naturally tonight.
And she always stood there—
Smiling.
Telling herself:
It's okay. Maybe someday.
But someday never came.
And now she was being sent to marry a man who didn't even believe in emotions.
A man who destroyed families without hesitation.
A man who didn't allow women to touch him.
She let out a soft, broken laugh.
"Maybe I'm not meant to be loved."
The moonlight entered through the window and illuminated her face.
Her tears shimmered like fragile glass.
She slowly crawled toward the window and knelt there.
Looking up at the dark sky.
"God…"
Her voice was barely audible.
"If you're listening…"
She wiped her tears roughly with her sleeve, but they kept falling.
"Why did you let me be born if I'm only meant to be used?"
The wind outside rustled the trees.
There was no answer.
She closed her eyes tightly.
"I don't ask for wealth."
Her breathing trembled.
"I don't ask for power."
Her fingers pressed against her chest.
"I only ask for one person… just one… who will choose me first."
Her tears soaked into her dress.
"Is that too much?"
Her voice broke completely.
"Why does everyone I love… end up leaving me?"
Her foster mother had passed away three years ago.
The only person who used to hold her when she cried.
The only person who used to say:
"You're my precious girl."
After that—
Silence.
Loneliness.
And now this arranged marriage.
She lowered her head until it touched the cold glass of the window.
"I don't want to marry him…"
Her voice was small.
"But if this is the only way I can stay here…"
If this is the only way I won't be thrown away again…
"I'll endure."
She took a shaky breath.
"But please…"
Her hands trembled as she pressed them together.
"Please don't make him hate me."
That was her biggest fear.
Not his anger.
Not his coldness.
Not even his rumored cruelty.
It was—
Being unwanted again.
If he looked at her with disgust…
If he treated her like a burden…
If he chose someone else—
She didn't know if her heart could survive that.
"I know I'm not that lucky," she whispered softly.
"I know I'm not Luna."
Her voice turned almost childlike.
"But I'm trying."
The moonlight reflected in her teary eyes.
And in that quiet moment—
A soft breeze slipped into the room.
It brushed against her face gently.
Like a hand.
She froze.
Her tears slowed.
The air felt different.
Warm.
Strangely comforting.
She lifted her head slightly.
"…Mom?"
Her voice trembled.
She knew it was foolish.
But the breeze wiped away the tears on her cheeks so gently it felt almost real.
She closed her eyes again.
"If you can see me from somewhere…"
Her lips quivered.
"Am I really that unlovable?"
Silence answered her.
But the breeze remained.
Soft.
Persistent.
She slowly opened her eyes.
And for the first time since entering this mansion—
Her crying stopped.
Not because the pain was gone.
But because she realized something quietly inside her heart.
She had survived without love before.
She had endured loneliness before.
She had stood up every time life pushed her down.
Maybe…
Just maybe…
She was stronger than she believed.
She wiped her face slowly.
Her eyes were still red.
Her heart was still aching.
But there was a faint determination growing beneath the pain.
"If no one chooses me…"
She whispered to herself.
"Then I'll choose myself."
The words were soft.
But they carried weight.
Tomorrow she would become the wife of the most dangerous man in the city.
Tomorrow she would walk into a marriage built on fear.
Tomorrow she might lose whatever fragile hope she had left.
But tonight—
She allowed herself to cry.
She allowed herself to grieve the love she never received.
And as she stood up slowly, walking toward the bed, one final thought echoed in her mind.
If she was destined to marry a monster—
Would he truly be her nightmare…
Or would he be the first person who finally chooses her?