Perhaps it was my overthinking. After a day of train travel, I felt utterly exhausted and should be relaxing. As I closed my eyes, basking in the tranquility, a sudden urgent knocking at the door startled my heart, quickening its pace.
"Who is it?" I donned my bathrobe and approached the door, feeling perplexed.
As I opened the door, my eyes met a spiteful woman, her gaze icy and her countenance gloomy.
"Hmph, you must be Anna Lambert? How dare you show your face here? We don't need such lowly people like you. Now scram!" She sneered, treating me like a pitiful insect.
A surge of indignation welled up in my heart, but I restrained my emotions, seeking help from the steward Claude, standing behind the madwoman.
Claude maintained his professional composure, but his tone turned cold and distant, as if he had become someone else.
"Miss Lambert, I suggest you heed Lady Cruella's advice. She is the mistress of the Montmorency family. She must have her reasons."
I nodded without saying much, silently accepting her command.
"Take your things and move to the servant's quarters in the attic. Remember, you wretch, don't linger here, lest you become a laughingstock to the Montmorency family." She vented her anger and departed.
I felt somewhat powerless as I dragged my luggage and found an empty servant's room in the attic. The triangular space was rather dilapidated, with sparse sunlight filtering through the windows, casting shadows on the dusty floor. Silently, I unpacked my belongings, arranging them neatly.
As I emerged from the attic, intending to find a vacant balcony to ease my emotions, I unexpectedly encountered Armand again at the corner of the spiraling staircase. It was already late at night, and he sat alone in the vast central hall, playing the piano with his head bowed, a trace of vulnerability evident on his handsome face.
I couldn't help but stop and gaze at him.
He turned his head, his eyes meeting mine, yet devoid of any warmth.
"It's Consolation No.3," I softly uttered the name of the piece he played. Liszt's classic, conveying profound sorrow and nostalgia.
Still, he remained silent, merely looking at me with indifference, as if I didn't exist. The feeling of rejection deepened my heartache, driving me to leave hastily.
I understood I was an unwelcome guest, a vulnerable Omega from the countryside in need of constant protection; whereas he was an Alpha born into a noble werewolf family, possessing abilities far beyond the ordinary, a rare and exceptional Alpha. We were destined to belong to different social classes.
Returning to my attic, I held the plush doll Corey gave me and lay on the bed.
Paris was a modern metropolis with a completely different social structure from my mansionge. If my lycanthropy were discovered here, I would be mercilessly exterminated. Not only did I struggle to control my transformation during full moons, but I also sleepwalked and talked in my sleep in human form. So, I couldn't stay in the university dorms.
But I didn't have the money to rent a place for myself. Before my father passed away, he urged me to seek help from the Montmorency family in times of trouble. He used to serve the Montmorency family and, over a decade ago, sacrificed his life to save Alexander Montmorency—now the head of the family—in a large-scale human-led hunt against werewolves.
Alexander Montmorency had promised him that if he or his descendants ever faced difficulties, they could seek help, and he would be there for them.
That's why I wrote to Alexander Montmorency seeking help, and he replied promptly, saying that he would send someone to pick me up. However, I didn't expect that when I arrived at the Montmorency estate today, I didn't meet Alexander Montmorency but was instead scolded by Cruella Montmorency—presumably his wife.
I couldn't fathom why Cruella despised me so much. Armand was also a peculiar person, and only little Lucien was likable.
I picked up my phone, thinking of calling Corey to let him know I had arrived in Paris a day earlier than planned. Corey was quite wealthy—not as rich as the Montmorency family, but much better off than I was. I also wanted to ask him if he could lend me some money so that I wouldn't have to stay suffocated in this mansion.
But I would see Corey at the university tomorrow, and I planned to surprise him by appearing in person. With this thought in mind, I put my phone down and settled into bed, anticipating a peaceful sleep.
The next morning, both Armand and I took separate cars to Elysee University. As I walked towards my teaching building, I spotted a familiar figure near a tree in the corner.
I saw Corey, but he wasn't alone; he was embracing a voluptuous blonde girl, their bodies pressed closely together.
I gazed at him incredulously as he kissed the girl, feeling a wave of nausea churn in my stomach.