Return of The Betrayed Luna

Chapter 1 : Who is Juliette?

Naomi was stuck in an indescribable place. Like a limitless ocean around her. There was no bottom in sight, not a surface she could swim up to.

Darkness was the only thing she knew in that place, along with the resentment and heart-wrenching pain of betrayal all over her body.

Those were the only sensations she felt as she floated in the endless abyss with nothing in sight. She seemed to be moving, yet she didn't know where her destiny was sending her. She had no control over herself.

After what felt like an eternity of mindless floating, the endless darkness parted before her, but her closed eyes did not notice.

A shadow came closer to her, gently took her hand and guided her towards the opening of another world. It was a new beginning that Naomi was unaware of. Her senses were drowning under the weight of her feelings. She was unable to understand how the road of destiny changed.

But as she came closer to the end of this dreadful ocean of nothingness, the weight on her heart slowly lifted. It dispersed into an aura and protectively surrounded her.

Finally, Naomi was once again capable of feeling. The sensation was slow and light, it gradually took over her. Instead of drowning, Naomi thought she was floating. Finally, seeing the top of the ocean.

Her legs thrashed, desperate to go up and steal a mouthful of air. The will to live was stronger than ever.

The shadow and the aura helped her cross the lines. Finally, a new beginning had welcomed Naomi, and it welcomed her with a chance to start over with a sweet revenge and an even sweeter life.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

When her eyes opened to light again, they saw an unlit chandelier hanging on the white and gold ceiling. Her fingers felt the soft silk over and under her. It was hard to tell whether the softness belonged to the silk or her slender fingers.

Naomi's hands were full of callouses, but the hand that was lifted by her will was soft and beautiful. Thin fingers and beautifully trimmed nails. Naomi blinked carefully and felt her long lashes according to her cheekbones.

The air around her was lightly scented and fresh. Naomi was confused. This isn't how she lives.

The way she breathed was different too.

With a deep sigh, she closed her eyes again, thinking it must be a dream. She never had silk bedsheets, nor had she ever seen a chandelier that beautiful. It must be the influence of her last moments. Anything is possible when a person is dying.

Naomi's imagination was especially good and it took her a few minutes to come to the conclusion that her brain was making up scenarios to distract her from the pain of dying. Instead of seeing a flashback of her miserable life, Naomi much preferred this illusion in those last moments of her life.

Naomi kept her eyes closed, waiting for the illusion to end and the pain to spread again. She waited a minute, two minutes, three minutes.... She started to doze off again.

A series of knocks startled her out of the light slumber.

It is easy to be frightened by such actions when a person believes they are in an illusion. There shouldn't be more people in her personally designed dreams!

Naomi puffed her cheeks and got out of bed. The first thing she noticed was the large TV hanging on the wall opposite to the bed, and the second thing was the size of the room. It was easily the size of a small hall!

The room was fully equipped with everything a living person might need.

A big bed, a small sitting area by the balcony, a walk-in closet attached to the ensuite bathroom. Since when did Naomi start thinking of well-designed rooms like this?

Her knowledge of interior decoration was as good as a cow's of swimming. A cow would inevitably drown and Naomi would fail horribly at the task.

She was thoroughly impressed by her own brain's capacity for making up such superficial illusions in those last few moments she had left.

Spending the last few breaths on dreams did not feel like a bad idea to her. It was a good investment!

The night gown she was wearing was of satin, her arms were exposed, so light and smooth that it was hard to believe it was herself.

She held the door handle and felt a chill in her hands. The metal handle was cold and hard. Naomi paused and frowned. She looked down at her palms and gently rubbed them together. A light red hue spread over the fair skin due to friction.

At that moment, Naomi realised that everything looked very real. And that she was able to feel everything. With a troubled heart, Naomi opened the door. By now she was already having doubts about the so-called illusion.

The door looked heavy but it was surprisingly light.

Outside the door was a girl dressed in plain clothes and a glass of water covered with a coaster. When Naomi opened the door, the girl extended the glass over to Naomi.

Naomi did not know the purpose of the glass but she took it. Half of the reason was because the girl was polite in the way she offered it. And the other was to see if she was really in an illusion or not.

"Thank you," Naomi said after receiving the glass full of water.

The girl was young and blushed very easily. She lowered her head and gave the message she intended to pass on to her.

"Miss, breakfast will be ready in ten minutes."

"Okay. I will be there," Naomi said.

Naomi was shocked to hear the soft voice. It belonged to someone youthful and charming. Full of childish fantasies and a hint of cheerfulness. It definitely wasn't Naomi's. A strange thought crossed over her mind.

After gulping down the water, the glass was handed over and the girl scurried away like a rabbit.

Naomi stared into empty space for a while before closing the door.

Naomi walked over to the large french window and stood there for a while. She sensed the coldness of marble under her feet, the gentle breeze from the open balcony on her face. Sensations weren't a thing in dreams ....

Naomi's eyes flashed with an indescribable emotion. She rushed over stood before the wall mirror in the closet and her eyes fell upon the reflection in the mirror.

The person in the reflection was a completely different person.

She was obviously seeing from her own eyes, but the reflection in the mirror wasn't hers.

The reflection belonged to a young girl (much younger than Naomi was). She had a full head of chocolate brown hair, full cheeks and big eyes which gave her an air of childishness. Her limbs were thin and fair. When she blinked, the green eyes in the reflection also blinked back.

Naomi was a materialist. She did not believe in ghosts and spirits. But in the face of evidence, she had to believe it.

Naomi finally figured out that it wasn't a dream or an illusion made up by her brain in the last moments of her death. It was possible that the Naomi she knew was dead in that street. The Naomi in front of her was just a soul in another body.

It sounded ridiculous, but in the face of evidence, she had to accept it.

Instead of going to the afterlife, did she possess someone's body? Naomi had endless questions but not a single answer. She did not remember anything after she was attacked on the deserted street. How did she enter this body? Who is this young girl?

If she could, Naomi would stand there and keep thinking about it until her body gave up all its strength. But the body of this young girl was especially fragile. Within a few minutes, her body started to show signs of hunger and fatigue. Naomi pursed her lips and got some clothes to take a shower.

Anyway, she was already in this body so she had to treat it well. She had to take it as a second chance of life. After the quick shower, Naomi changed into new clothes and pulled her long hair into a ponytail. It was so weird. Because Naomi did not feel strange in another person's body. As if her soul fit in like a puzzle piece.

Naomi left the room to find someone or the kitchen to get some food. She had to figure out the young girl's identity as well. She was under a lot of pressure.

Outside the room was a long hallway lined with blue carpet from one end to another.

At the two ends of the hallway were a set of stairs each. After closing the door, Naomi quietly made her way down the stairs. She did not fail to notice the various paintings on the wall; they looked expensive. The entire place was a big mansion with decorative pieces placed in an orderly manner.

With curiosity in her eyes, Naomi went down the stairs. Before she had the chance to explore the oversized foyer, she encountered the girl who came to give her warm water. The girl hurriedly took him to a room attached to the foyer.

"Miss, you are right in time. He arrived a minute ago," the girl said enthusiastically. She was so excited that even Naomi was affected by her.

"Who has arrived?" Naomi asked. Her voice fell like a beautiful melody which melted the listeners heart.

The girl smiled cheekily and replied, "Master, of course!"

Naomi was clueless about this 'Master'. She followed the girl into the room. This was the only way she could find out more about the body she was in.

The room attached to the foyer was the dining room. The dining room was furnished in the same way as other parts of the huge mansion. Paintings hung over all four walls, huge windows lined with light curtains and full of sunlight.

A large marble dining table was in the middle of the room, surrounded by cushioned chairs. At the very front, an attractive man sat alone at the large table with a plate full of food in front of him.

When Naomi entered the room, the man looked up. He wasn't attentive. His penetrating brown eyes barely lifted up to see the owner of those loud footsteps and went back to eating his breakfast.

His negligence tugged an invisible string inside her. It made a painful sound that hurt her.

Naomi gulped subconsciously, her heart, which was calm even when she found that she was in someone else's body after death, started to hammer loudly in her chest.

It was an abnormal reaction that scared her further. A faint surge of emotions welled in her throat and her eyes turned misty at the sight of that man's ignorance. Those were not her emotions.

"Miss, please take a seat," the girl pulled a seat farthest away from the man.

Naomi sat silently. They were on opposite sides. Parted by several meters. The path between them was decorated with candles and fancy flowers.

Yet the man, on the other hand, was cold and unapproachable. Naomi swallowed the lump of emotion. It was so uncomfortable that she wanted to run away.

"Miss, what would you like to eat? I will serve you," the girl came with a large tray full of bowls. The bowls were full of food.

Naomi randomly pointed out a few things and the girl served them onto her plate. Naomi's eyes were inexplicably fixed on the man she had never met before.

"Will you stop starting at me, Juliette? It is making me uncomfortable."

Naomi's eyes, that had just fallen on breakfast, snapped up towards him.

Wide green eyes looked straight into the narrowed, unmoving eyes across the table. Time froze. Silver cutlery fell to the ground first, followed by the soft thump of Naomi's body hitting the carpeted floor.

The last thought she had was, 'So that's who she is.... Juliette.'