Chapter 369 Natalie’s death

Viola climbed out of bed and walked a slow circle around the mannequin, taking in every detail.

“This is lovely.”

The excitement that rose in her chest was something she hadn’t felt about getting dressed in a very long time, she had never owned anything even close to this beautiful. She told the omegas she would shower herself and come out ready for them to help with the dress and makeup, since the gown already looked like something that needed more than one pair of hands to put on properly.

She was looking forward to this ceremony for more than one reason today. There was her own quiet surprise for Tess and Kenny, and for Sebastian, that she had been carefully planning, and the wondering of whether they would receive it the way she hoped, since it was coming entirely from her heart.

She stepped out in her robe after her shower, having been careful the entire time not to use her ability even accidentally, something she only allowed herself in spaces where there was no risk of being seen.

She found the omegas laughing and chatting among themselves, clearly mid-gossip.

“…the bitch thinks she is something because she married him. He will no doubt find plenty of beauties today, see how far a cheater—”

Viola cleared her throat loudly. The circle broke apart instantly, the omegas scattering back to their duties with flushed faces and downcast eyes, moving with sudden purpose.

She shook her head quietly at them. Common omegas like these should be more careful about the ground they were walking on, if she wanted to, she could make their lives very difficult. But they hadn’t said it to her face, and so she let it go and pretended she didn’t know they were talking about her.

She lotioned her own skin before settling onto the stool in front of the mirror for her makeup.

It was while her makeup was being applied that her phone beeped on the vanity. She reached for it and saw a message on the screen from a private contact. A frown immediately creased her face as she tapped it open and began reading what had been sent to her.

[Your happy days are coming to an end, Mrs. Kade. You will be the next he kills for no reason, just like he killed Natalie. Her death was never about the curse. Did he tell you that?]

Viola felt her hand tremble slightly as she stared at the message, trying to figure out who could have sent it. When she noticed the omegas trying to peek at her screen, she quickly exited the message and turned the display off.

Outwardly, she acted as though nothing had happened and sat back so they could resume applying her makeup, but throughout it all, her mind kept circling the message. Who had sent it? And what did they mean by saying Natalie’s death had never been about the curse?

Natalie had died after being marked despite not being the prophesied mate. At least, that was what Viola had always understood…

She couldn’t shake the message from her mind, nor the words claiming that her happy days were coming to an end. The thought sent a chill down her spine and made her stomach churn.

No… please don’t let my happy days come to an end.

This was the life she had always wanted. The life she had longed for.

She needed to talk to Sebastian and show him the message, Viola thought, but only then did she realize her makeup was still being done and she couldn’t simply get up halfway through. She forced herself to calm down, telling herself it was probably nothing, just so she could sit through the rest of it.

Despite the omegas’ obvious dislike of her, she was genuinely impressed by how skilled they were once they got to work. By the time they finished, both her makeup and the way they had styled her hair were nothing short of stunning.

Her hair was styled in a voluminous messy bun, with soft curls pinned high on her head and delicate face-framing tendrils cascading down along her cheeks. The omegas pinned two diamond teardrop-shaped earrings into her ears and clipped the diamond necklace around her neck, where it caught the light and sparkled.

The dress came next, and she had to step into it from the bottom so that all the work on her face and hair wouldn’t be disturbed. Once the gown had been pulled up and the zipper drawn carefully up her back, even the omegas gasped, stepping back and staring at her with their lips parted, unable to help themselves at the stunning woman before them.

The Supreme Luna looked breathtakingly beautiful. The dress looked as though it had been made specifically for her body and no one else’s, her fair shoulders left bare, her long neck emphasized perfectly by the gold diamond necklace resting against her collarbone.

Not one of the omegas could move. They stood there as though caught in a trance, unable to look at her the way they had been looking at her all morning, as something ordinary, something beneath them.

When she said quietly, “My shoes?” they all stumbled over each other to retrieve them, bowing as they lifted the hem of the gown and helped her step into them one at a time.

Her shoes were still being fastened when the door opened and Sebastian came in, fully dressed, trying to work the knot of his tie into place as he walked, and then he stopped completely at the sight of his wife’s back.

As though she felt him, she turned around, smiling, and his breath left his body.

“Sweet mother of nature…” He muttered, his hands dropping away from the tie entirely as he simply stood there and stared.

Sebastian knew his wife was beautiful. He had always known it. But he hadn’t known that beauty could be multiplied tenfold like this. The dress clung to her waist and hips perfectly, and from the knees downward it flared out in a sweep of gold. He got caught in a spell and couldn’t even blink as he took her in from head to the hem of the dress.

“How do I look?” She asked with a slightly self-conscious smile, taking him in, his black and gold attire that matched hers almost as though it had been planned that way, which it had.