Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Ashley heard herself speaking and did not stop. The disgust in her voice was easy to fake because there was enough real resentment underneath it to carry the rest. She left out what mattered. Left out the parts that would wound her pride. Left out the truth that Ethan and Amber actually liked Meadow. Left out the fact that Meadow was no longer just some disposable girl trapped by circumstance. Ashley could not say those things. Not to Cynthia. Not to the woman she still wanted approval from. Not when so much of Cynthia even speaking warmly to her felt tied to what Cynthia believed Ashley might soon become.

If Cynthia thought Ashley was important, chosen, close to becoming Luna, then Ashley wanted to keep that image alive as long as

possible.

Cynthia frowned.

“A live-in nanny? Ethan said she is his wife.”

“Of course she is his wife, by contract. He did not even go to the wedding. They have been putting up the pretence of trying to make the marriage work so that Luna Amber would not take Meadow for artificial insemination. I think Ethan does not want the mute to have his babies because of her condition.”

Ashley giggled a little after saying it, crueler than she needed to be, and then kept going.

“But Luna Amber is desperate and wants grandchildren by all means. Ethan told her they would try a natural way. I doubt they are, really. He might be screwing her, but it is all part of the contract. She is supposed to serve him in every way. I do not know the endgame, but there is no love there. When Joseph and I get married, and I become Luna, I plan to cut her loose. I do not like seeing

her about the place.”

Cynthia shook her head slowly.

“Poor thing.”

Ashley stiffened a little at that. She had expected interest. Maybe even satisfaction. Not sympathy.

“Do not feel bad for her. If she had not agreed to Luna Amber’s proposal, Ethan would be free for you to be with.”

The lie came easily. Too easily. Ashley knew it even as she said it. Meadow had not stolen Ethan from Cynthia. Cynthia had abandoned Ethan long before Meadow entered the picture. But Ashley said it anyway because she wanted Cynthia leaning in one direction and not another. She wanted Cynthia seeing Meadow as an obstacle. She wanted that thread alive between them.

Cynthia shook her head again, but this time there was something defeated in the movement.

“I have lost him, Ashley. Even if he was single, he would never take me back. You need to see how he looked at me and what he said when I returned. His eyes were void of emotion. There is no place for me in his heart.”

Her eyes looked wet by the time she finished. Not fully crying, not breaking apart, but close enough that Ashley felt the ache of it. This was no game to Cynthia. No simple rivalry. She had come back carrying regret and perhaps some small, foolish hope, and Ethan

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Chapter 98

had looked at her like she was already gone.

“l’actually went to the alpha’s office to see him, so I can apologise and take back everything I said to him to give us closure, but

Joseph blocked me.”

That made Ashley pause. So that was part of why Cynthia had come. Not just to look. Not just to remember. To apologise. To close something. Or maybe to see if it could be opened again.

Ashley knew at once what Cynthia was really asking without asking it. Where is he? Where can I find him? Did Joseph keep me

away because Ethan was there?

She chose her answer carefully.

“He isn’t home. Must have gotten tired of playing house with the mute and decided to go on a vacation. I learned they stayed in separate rooms the last time they were away; I am sure that is why he left, so he can have a breather.”

The last part was a lie, and Ashley knew it. Meadow smelled too much like Ethan for separate rooms to be true now. Ethan’s scent lived on her. Clung to her. Proved things Ashley did not want to admit out loud. But Ashley kept lying anyway. She could not help it Every time Cynthia looked wounded, Ashley wanted to soothe her with the version of reality that made Meadow small and temporary. Every time Cynthia seemed to measure her, Ashley wanted to come out looking important. Chosen. Secure.

So she lied.

And lied again.

They sat there far longer than either of them probably meant to. The coffee melted slowly with the ice while their conversation deepened and curled around old wounds, present half-truths, and Ashley’s growing web of inventions. Ashley kept talking, shaping the story to suit the image she wanted Cynthia to carry back with her. Meadow was irrelevant. Meadow was pitiful. Meadow was temporary. Ashley said it in different ways without always using those words. Cynthia listened, sometimes with pain, sometimes with silence, sometimes with the distant look of someone trying to decide what hurt more, what she had done years ago or what she

was hearing now.

Ashley knew the truth would not stay buried forever. Cynthia would find out eventually. Whitewood always told on itself. But until then, Ashley wanted to enjoy this. She wanted Cynthia to look at her with interest and trust and that old measuring approval. She wanted to stay, for just a little while longer, the promising one. The rising one. The one Cynthia could still respect.

So the lies kept coming.

And while they sat in that small café, talking over iced coffee and old ghosts and futures that would never happen, Ethan was

already on the road with Meadow.

The ride was smooth, and Ethan could not stop looking at her.

He tried not to make it too obvious, but he failed. Meadow was right there beside him, and all he could think about was her face when they arrived. He had held onto that thought through every step of the work. Through every decision. Through every colour choice. Through the nervousness that came with changing something that mattered. He wanted this to be right. More than right. He

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Chapter 98

wanted her to walk in and feel seen. Wanted her to know he had paid attention. Wanted her to know that what was theirs was fo longer haunted by what came before.

He kept his fingers crossed more times than he would ever admit out loud.

When they arrived at the cabin, Keith and Elaine were already there waiting.

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12:04 Wed, Jun 17

Underwater: The Silent Luna