Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 26
Underwater: The Silent Luna
Chapter 26
After breakfast, Ethan asked Meadow to join him in the living room. His voice was flat, unreadable, but the request alone made her
straighten a little. She followed quietly, her steps soft on the wooden floor.
Ethan positioned his wheelchair beside the armless couch, then gripped the edges and transferred himself with practiced precision.
He settled, adjusted his posture, then motioned for her to sit.
“Sit where I can see you,” he said, voice devoid of warmth but not cruel. “I need to read your signs.”
Meadow obeyed immediately, taking the spot across from him. Her back remained straight, her hands folded neatly in her lap. But
she picked at her fingers, tiny, nervous motions she likely didn’t realise she was making.
Ethan watched her in silence for a moment.
She looked like she wanted to disappear into the cushions.
He thought her nervousness… was cute.
A strange, dangerous thought for a man who had locked away his softer sides.
To distract himself, he asked, “Do you have a hobby other than reading?”
She looked up, startled, then signed with gentle, practiced strokes.
“I can draw. I love painting, but my mother said it’s too expensive… and too messy.”
He nodded, considering her words.
“Write down everything you’ll need,” he said simply. “I’ll have them create a studio for you at the mansion.”
Meadow’s breath caught.
Her eyes widened.
Her lips parted.
Light, real light, not the fragile polite kind, flickered in her expression for the first time since he’d met her.
She signed Thank you with trembling fingers.
Ethan felt something warm move in his chest. A sensation he wasn’t ready to acknowledge.
“I want to ask you something,” he said, pulling himself back into the realm of control.
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Chapter 26
Meadow focused on him instantly, attentive, silent, waiting.
“Did you think you were getting married to Joseph?”
Her gaze dropped. Her shoulders dipped. Shame and resignation clouded her expression.
“They didn’t tell me who I would marry,” she signed.
“So… I assumed it was him.”
Her final movement, the subtle downward flick of her hand, was a sigh.
Ethan swallowed something bitter.
“Did you sign the prenuptial agreement thinking it was Joseph? And go to the altar believing it was him?”
He already knew the answer.
Every girl in the pack had once admired Joseph.
Ethan, before the accident, had been the one they whispered about.
After the accident, he became the one they feared and pitied.
Meadow paused, then nodded.
Honesty, pure, unfiltered honesty, never seemed to frighten her.
A flicker of pain flashed across Ethan’s face.
His voice dropped, rougher now. “You must have been disappointed when you saw it was me.”
She stared at him, eyes wide, too wide. Something in her expression made his stomach twist.
He lifted a hand, stopping her before she could respond,
He didn’t want to hear it.
He already believed the answer.
But Meadow, being Meadow, disobeyed gently.
“I was afraid,” she signed, her movements small but steady, “but not disappointed.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why?”
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Chapter 26
Her hands slowed, more careful now.
“People say you are cruel and wicked… so I was scared you would be cruel to me.”
A pause.
“But I wasn’t disappointed.”
Her cheeks turned pink. She looked away. She did not elaborate, and he didn’t dare ask.
Ethan exhaled, baffled.
“Would you have gone to the altar and signed the prenuptial agreement if you knew it was me?” he asked her, his tone deceptively
even.
She hesitated.
Longer than he expected.
Long enough for him to stop her again.
He shook his head. “Don’t answer that.”
But she raised her hands anyway.
“I wouldn’t have signed it.”
The honesty cut him like a blade.
She continued,
“Because I would be scared that you wouldn’t treat me well.”
Ethan froze.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Something small and painful tightened in his chest.
It wasn’t his disability this time.
Not his legs.
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Chapter 26
Not the scars.
It was him.
His character.
His reputation.
His anger.
Her sincerity hit him harder than all the past rejections combined.
He frowned, studying her, really studying her, and realised he understood her less than he thought.
Somewhere deep inside him, a forgotten warmth stirred.
Foreign.
Unwelcome.
Hopeful.
He crushed it immediately.
He refused to feel anything that could burn him again.
But for the first time, he couldn’t ignore the truth:
Meadow was not what he expected.
Not weak.
Not naive.
Not blindly obedient.
She was honest.
Direct.
Courageous in her own quiet way.
And the feeling that rose inside him because of that,
He shoved it away before it could become dangerous.
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Chapter 26
Because warmth, for Ethan McCloud…
Had always led to fire.
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Underwater: The Silent Luna
Ruby Walker is a rising voice in the world of romance and spicy fiction. With a gift for weaving deep emotions, sizzling chemistry, and unexpected twists, her stories are a blend of passion and drama that captivate readers from start to finish. Ruby’s writing style is bold and irresistible—perfect for those who crave intense, addictive love stories.
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