Chapter 41: Aria and Ester disagree

The mansion’s side garden was the only place Aria could breathe in peace.

The fresh scent of the flowers, the sound of water trickling from the small fountain, the shade of the trees—everything seemed to offer her shelter from the chaos seething within her mind.

But that morning, no amount of beauty was enough to silence her heart.

She had run away from him.

Since that night, her life had become a whirlwind. She couldn’t sleep properly. She couldn’t eat properly. Even her simple tasks—cleaning the hallways, carrying the water, tending to the sheets—became as heavy as chains.

And it wasn’t because of Damon himself. Not exactly.

It was because of her.

For the weakness she’d shown.

“I was… an idiot…” she murmured, clutching the empty bucket to her lap.

She sat on one of the stone benches in the garden, letting her eyes wander among the flowers. The blush returned to her cheeks just remembering.

His warm skin.

His strong arms wrapped around her.

The weight of his gaze, burning into her soul.

And, most of all, the feeling of finally being… touched.

Aria squeezed her eyes shut, ashamed of herself.

How many times had she silently fantasized about something like this?

How many times, during lonely nights, had she wondered what it would be like to feel a man’s body, to surrender herself to someone?

And then, when it happened, she… ran away.

A nervous laugh escaped her lips.

“I… I had to be stupid…”

She raised her hands and covered her face, trying to push away the memories. But it was useless.

Every time she closed her eyes, she remembered the night, the heat, the surrender. Not as sin, not as fear, but as something that had marked her. Something… she wanted to feel again.

Her heart clenched as she silently admitted it.

She wanted.

She craved.

And it consumed her with shame.

It was at that moment that the voice cut through the air.

“So this is how you walk now?”

Aria bit back a startled cry and whipped her head around so quickly she nearly dropped the bucket. Behind her, amidst the shadow cast by the trees, stood Ester.

Tall. Imposing. Red eyes glowing like embers.

Aria jumped to her feet, stumbling over her own two feet.

“Esther! I… I didn’t see you…”

A cold smile curved the woman’s lips.

“You didn’t see, you didn’t hear… you’re too distracted by your own thoughts. That’s quite unlike you, my right-hand woman.”

Aria tried to compose herself, straightening the skirt of her maid’s dress. But Ester’s presence crushed her as always.

“What… what do you mean by that?” she asked, forcing a firmness in her voice.

Ester walked toward her slowly, her heels echoing on the stone floor. His eyes scrutinized every detail—the pained expression, the blush still fresh on her cheeks, the way Aria clutched her hands to her chest.

He stopped in front of her, leaning in slightly so his words came out as a sharp whisper.

“Seeing you like this… it’s strange.”

Aria blinked, confused.

“L-like this?”

Ester raised an eyebrow, as if it were obvious, and then blurted out the sentence without the slightest delicacy:

“Thirsty to sit on that incubus’s dick.”

Aria’s world froze.

She swallowed hard, but the loud sound of her own breathing betrayed the impact. Her skin crawled from head to toe, and her legs felt weak as if they would give way right there.

“I-I…!” she tried to speak, but her voice was broken, almost a sob.

Ester just watched. Her red eyes glowed, cruel, as if feeding on the blonde’s shame. A smirk appeared on her face, nothing warm—just a curve that exuded superiority.

“Look at you. Trembling like a child caught red-handed.” She tilted her head, her long black hair sliding like shadows. “I just had to speak the truth out loud.”

Aria clenched her fists. Her heart was racing, pounding so hard it hurt. It was true. Every word. Ester knew it. Ester saw through her as if she were transparent.

“You don’t understand…” Aria murmured, trying to summon the strength to defend herself. “I didn’t… I didn’t plan that…”

“You planned?” Ester interrupted, laughing softly but humorlessly. “Of course not. You just gave in. You were weaker than his hunger. Weaker than your own desires. And you even had sex with him in the next room so I could hear everything?”

The words struck Aria like knives. She wanted to deny it, wanted to scream, but she couldn’t.

Because, deep down, it was true.

Her head lowered, her eyes welling up. “I just… I don’t know what came over me… I-I didn’t even know you were in the next room…”

Ester crossed her arms, her expression turning icy. “What happened to you is simple. You tasted something you can’t forget. Now you’re torn between shame and desire. And from what I see… desire is winning.”

Aria bit her lower lip, desperate.

The silence of the garden seemed to weigh a ton, only the sound of the fountain breaking the tension.

With each word Ester spoke, her shame grew—but along with it, her body remembered. The heat, the pleasure, the feeling of being complete. How could she deny it?

Ester moved a little closer, so close that Aria could feel the coolness of her aura brush against her skin.

“You disappoint me, you know? You know better than anyone why I hate Incubuses. Are you having sex with one? You’re just like the others. It just took longer to show it.”

Tears began to well in Aria’s eyes, but she held them in check.

She took a deep breath, trying to find some strength amidst the chaos.

“I… I’m not like them.” Her voice was low but firm, almost a whisper of resistance. “I’m not…”

Ester laughed again, turning away as if the matter were closed.

“Keep telling yourself that. Maybe one day you’ll believe it.”

And, without waiting for an answer, she began walking toward the garden exit.

Aria fell behind, her heart crushed and her body trembling. The words echoed in her mind like bells: “Thirsty to sit on that incubus’s dick.”

She bit her lip, shame burning every inch of her skin. But beneath the shame, a truth throbbed, painful and impossible to ignore.

However… someone heard all that… of course, he didn’t have that plan, but…

“So… Aria is Ester’s roommate… and she heard us having sex?…” Damon, standing behind a pillar, muttered before walking away with an even more devilish grin.

“If I can’t get strong enough to impress her… Then I’ll use everything at my disposal to make myself even more irresistible…” Damon grinned.

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