The Forest girl : Luna

Chapter 19 : A Glimpse Behind the Mask

After slipping the vial into my jacket, I made a beeline for Joel. He was always level-headed, my go-to for advice when I stumbled onto something... complicated.

In the lab, Joel took the vial with a raised brow. "This what I think it is?" he asked, already setting up the equipment. Together, we started analyzing the contents. I filled him in on the mission details, explaining how I'd found the strange liquid in a hidden lab room.

As we worked, I heard the door creak, and Edward stepped in. His expression was unreadable, a mixture of curiosity and frustration. I could see the flicker of something in his eyes as I explained what we'd found. He listened intently, his gaze shifting between me and Joel, then back to the vial, as if piecing together a puzzle in his mind.

When I finished, he gave a soft, almost imperceptible nod, a fleeting look crossing his face. As he turned away, I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. Did he realize that I wasn't trying to leave him, or run away from this life? Maybe, deep down, he knew I'd never accept him as my groom, that there would always be that invisible line between us. But for now, we had a truce—one that neither of us seemed eager to break.

I shook off the thought, shifting my focus back to the task at hand. My birthday was coming up soon, and I'd decided to invite my aunt and brother to spend a few days with me at the Shield Territory. I called them, booking their travel and arranging rooms for their stay. It felt good to think of something outside the endless cycles of missions and secrets, even if only for a few days.

Later, Edward mentioned he had plans to travel overseas after my birthday. He didn't say where or why, which only made me more curious. But I let it go, figuring I'd eventually get the details, whether he wanted me to or not.

That evening, I went to take a long bath, hoping it might clear my mind. The warm water was calming, but just as I was stepping out, I heard footsteps in my room. Figuring it was probably the maid, I wrapped myself in a towel and walked over to the closet. But when I looked up, I froze.

Edward was sitting at our shared table, casually flipping through some notes. He glanced up, smirking when he saw me. His eyes traced my damp hair and the towel, a mischievous glint in his gaze.

"Nice look," he teased, leaning back as if to get a better view.

I rolled my eyes and headed into the closet, ignoring his flirty banter as I quickly dressed. When I came back out, he had returned to his usual calm demeanor, motioning toward the report we still needed to finish from the mission.

We dove into the paperwork, going over every detail of the mission, triple-checking that all loose ends were tied up. He was focused, intense as usual, but every now and then, his gaze would linger on me, a hint of something I couldn't quite place.

When we finally finished, I leaned back in my chair, exhausted but relieved. Edward's gaze softened just a bit as he looked at me, a rare, almost unguarded expression crossing his face.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing," he replied, a faint smile tugging at his lips. But something in his eyes told me it wasn't nothing at all.

And as I got up to leave, I couldn't shake the feeling that the space between us was shifting, in ways neither of us fully understood—or wanted to admit.