The Abandoned Luna's Journey to Power (by Emily Reed) novel Chapter 188

Chapter 188 A Failed Experiment

Cindy’s POV:

After that night’s conversation, the understanding between Prince Adam and me deepened.

The next morning, the carriage set out once again.

Prince Adam began what he called his friendly approach.

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When he lifted the curtain to bring us breakfast, he deliberately softened his features-forcing the corners of his mouth upward into what he believed was a gentle, friendly smile.

“Good morning, Astra,” Prince Adam said, lowering his voice on purpose until it sounded almost unlike him. “There’s fresh goat’s milk today. Would you like some?”

The result was catastrophic.

In Astra’s eyes, this tall man suddenly baring his teeth didn’t look kind in the slightest. Instead, it looked like a predator displaying its fangs before feeding.

Astra jolted in fright, the jerky slipping from his hand.

And like a startled hamster, he darted behind me in a flash, clutching my waist with all his strength. Only one eye peeked out, staring at Prince Adam in sheer terror.

Prince Adam’s smile froze on his face. His hand, holding the goat’s milk, hung awkwardly in midair.

I held back a laugh and took the cup from him. “I’ll take it. Thanks for the trouble.”

Prince Adam let out a helpless sigh, lowered the curtain, and retreated.

First round a crushing defeat.

A few days later, Prince Adam changed his approach.

“If being nice to him directly doesn’t work,” he whispered to me during a rest stop, “then I’ll be nice to the person he cares about most. That’s how it works in the animal world. If you treat the cub’s mother well, the cub will see you as safe.”

I wasn’t Astra’s mother, but in his heart, I was his only anchor. Prince Adam’s logic didn’t seem wrong.

So we began an awkward performance of affection.

At lunch, Prince Adam no longer just passed the food inside. He carefully cut my steak for me before handing it over.

“Cindy, eat more. You’ve gotten too thin lately,” he said, his voice so tender it could melt water, his eyes full of indulgence.

I felt a bit unaccustomed at first, but quickly caught on and returned his smile. “Thank you. You should eat 13

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Chapter 188 A Failed Experiment

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more too.”

Whenever the road grew rough, Prince Adam would stop the carriage and lean in to ask with concern, “Cindy, did you get bumped? Should I add another cushion?”

When we camped at night, he rushed to lay out my sleeping roll for me. He even draped his cloak over my shoulders, fastening the ties with careful, gentle movements.

We tried to create the impression that even this tall man was docile and harmless in front of Cindy. We wanted Astra to understand that this man listened to Cindy, cared for her, and was therefore someone he could trust.

But we both underestimated the warped logic of post-traumatic stress.

Two days passed.

Astra’s hostility toward Prince Adam didn’t lessen. It doubled.

That evening, we rested by a small stream.

Prince Adam walked over with a waterskin and naturally reached out to me. “Cindy, have some water.”

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The instant his hand was about to touch mine, Astra, who had been sitting quietly at my side, suddenly exploded into motion.

“Grrr!”

He lunged forward, not at Prince Adam, but at me, throwing his frail body in front of mine as a shield.

He bared his sharp little canine teeth and hissed furiously at Prince Adam. In his silver-gray eyes burned a ferocity I had never seen before, edged with desperate madness.

Both his hands reached back to grip my arms tightly, his nails nearly digging into my flesh as he tried desperately to pull me away.

Prince Adam froze. So did I.

This wasn’t wariness easing. This was him seeing Prince Adam as an enemy trying to take me away.

“Cindy, he’s not guarding food,” Diana’s voice turned sorrowful in my mind. “He’s afraid. In his memories, when bad men were ‘nice’ to women, it was often a prelude to violence. Or he thinks this man is going to take you away, and then he will truly have nothing left.”

I looked at Astra’s small face, twisted by fear and rage, at his trembling, skeletal back that still refused to retreat. Pain tore through my chest.

Our performance, in his eyes, may have turned into another kind of nightmare.

Prince Adam clearly realized how serious the situation was. He slowly raised both hands and stepped backward, one step at a time.

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