Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 169

Chapter 169

Joseph started laughing. He could not help it. Not because the situation was funny in a pleasant way. It was not. But because the

sheer stupidity of what she had convinced herself of pressed laughter out of him before irritation fully took over again. Ashley really

thought he would stoop that low. Really thought he would involve himself with Cynthia in that way. Really thought he would betray

his brother and his own blood for some social-climbing mess of a woman who had once broken Ethan and now came back sniffing

around for whatever scraps of old power she could reclaim. His laughter died into something colder.

“How can you think I will stoop that low? It is bad enough that I got mixed up with you; why would you think that I would get

involved with a woman that broke my brother’s heart, a bloody gold-digging social climber? Why would you even think that,

Ashley?” Joseph asked.

The question silenced her. Because there was no answer she could give that would not make her look worse. She stood there with

tears on her face and nothing useful in her mouth, and for once Joseph was glad of her silence.

“You weren’t with her last night?” Ashley asked.

The question came out smaller now, less defensive, more foolish. Joseph felt a weary disgust move through him. All this drama

because she had been feeding her own insecurities all night. He pushed her gently aside, not rough, just enough to move past the

pathetic question.

“No, I wasn’t. I was handling my business,” Joseph said.

The words made her look even more foolish. Joseph saw the realisation settle into her face. She had imagined too much. Let her

complex and fear build a whole betrayal out of nothing. And now she stood there exposed by her own assumptions.

“Then why are you breaking up with me?” Ashley asked.

This time the tears felt more real because now she knew it was not Cynthia. Now the thing dying in front of her was something she

had done with her own hands.

“Because you disobeyed me, Ashley, and I cannot settle down with a woman that would actively work against me and disobey me.” Joseph said.

That was the truth of it. Not all of it, maybe. But enough. Joseph was not a man who could build a future on defiance and childishness. He had told her one thing. One simple thing. Stay away from Cynthia. He had not given her ten conditions. Not chained her life down. Just one boundary. And she ignored it. Ashley opened her mouth quickly.

“It was Cynthia that…” Ashley started.

He cut her off immediately.

“I do not care who invited who. I asked you to do just one thing; stay away from her, and you couldn’t even do that. You insulted my brother and the entire family by continuing your friendship with that woman. You chose your friendship with Cynthia over me. I am done. I do not want to see you again,” Joseph said.

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Chapter 169

There was finality in his voice now. Not the hot kind that came with temporary rage. The cold kind. The kind that meant the

decision had already settled too deeply to be pulled back with tears. Then Joseph turned away from her and went to the bathroom.

He did not slam the door. He did not look back. He did not offer some lingering chance for her to chase. The tone in his voice had

already told Ashley what she needed to know. He was done.

And Ashley knew it. That was what frightened her most. Because she understood men like Joseph. Or at least she understood

enough to know when something had gone beyond ordinary anger. She needed to think fast because once she left the mansion she

knew this would become real in a way she could not undo. If she stepped out of his room and out of that space in his life, there was

no guarantee he would ever open the door again.

Panic moved through her hard. She knew she had to seek help from Luna Amber. If Joseph would not hear her, maybe Amber would.

Maybe the Luna could smooth the edges of it. Maybe she could speak to him, soften his temper, remind him of the pregnancy, the

future, the wedding already set in motion. Ashley clung to that possibility because she had nothing else.

At that same time, elsewhere in the mansion, Luna Amber was in her office attending to pack matters. She was feeling somewhat

better than before. The medication Dr Rosenberg gave her had helped her regain some strength. Not enough to make her happy

about the state of her health, but enough for her to sit upright and push herself through work. Amber had always been that kind of

woman. Even when her body struggled, she kept going. Maybe stubbornness. Maybe pride. Maybe duty so deeply rooted it felt

impossible to stop..

She sat with documents spread in front of her when her phone rang. The caller ID made her cringe almost instantly. For a moment she considered not answering. Just letting it ring. Letting the man tire himself out. But she knew better. If she ignored the call, he

would only keep calling, and sometimes that was more exhausting than getting the ugliness over with. So she answered at the last

possible second.

“Hello,” Amber said.

The person on the other end chuckled, and Amber’s face tightened.

“Linus, what do you want?” Amber asked.

The chuckle stopped.

“That isn’t how to greet your late husband’s cousin, Amber,” Linus said.

She sighed. Already tired. Already regretting having picked up at all.

“How are you, and how are Joseph and Ethan?” Linus asked.

The question should have sounded caring. In someone else’s mouth maybe it would have. From Linus it sounded like intrusion

disguised as concern.

“What do you want?” Amber asked.

She asked again because she knew him too well to waste time.

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Chapter 169

“Am I not allowed to enquire about them? It is your fault that they don’t talk to me. Since my cousin died, you blocked me from

them because I did not want you to marry that sleaze bag. Cain must be rolling in his grave,” Linus said.

Amber drew in a slow breath, trying to keep the irritation from tipping into something louder.

“You know why I had to marry him,” Amber said.

She had said it so many times over the years that the words had become tired even to her own ears.

“Do not give me that shit, Amber. You could have handled the pack until Ethan was of age. You did not need him” Linus said.

“He handed the pack to Ethan, you know,” Amber said.

She said it because Linus never tired of making Levi sound like a thief waiting in the hallway. Levi had not taken the pack. He had

given it where it belonged. That should have mattered.

“Is that so, Amber? And what happened to Ethan after that?” Linus asked.

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Underwater: The Silent Luna