Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The rest of the ride fell into weighted silence. Each brother carried his own bundle of nerves, Joseph worrying about politics and safety, Ethan worrying about Meadow and the home he’d just left behind.

Both of them feared what awaited them in Ceenas.

Alpha Malcolm wasn’t a man anyone trusted easily.

Joseph would have travelled alone if Malcolm hadn’t specifically demanded the “true Alpha of Whitewood” be present for the treaty

negotiations.

It was a move that unsettled both brothers for different reasons.

Joseph finally broke the silence, attempting small talk.

“How are Keith and Elaine?”

Ethan’s face softened, unexpectedly. His entire posture eased as though someone had gently unknotted his shoulders.

“They’re doing well,” Ethan said, a small smile forming. “They brought us casseroles. Elaine even came the next day to help with the

house before we left. I think Meadow likes her. And the feeling is mutual.”

He paused, eyes distant with warmth.

“They didn’t talk, but… I could just feel it.”

The light in his eyes when he mentioned Meadow was unmistakable.

Joseph saw it.

And he didn’t like it.

He didn’t trust Meadow, not because she’d done anything wrong, but because she represented uncertainty. Vulnerability. A risk to

his already fragile brother.

In Joseph’s mind, Meadow was either extremely obedient…

or extremely cunning.

Either way, he didn’t want her to hurt Ethan.

“Ethan,” Joseph began gently but firmly, “you need to be patient and watch that girl. She wouldn’t be in your life if our mother

didn’t trick her. She would’ve run the moment she realised who she was marrying.”

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Ethan didn’t deny it.

“I’m not agreeing with what Mother did,” Joseph continued. “If she’d told me beforehand, I would have stopped her. After everything you’ve gone through… I have to look out for you.”

Ethan turned toward him, a faint amusement tugging at his lips.

“She told me she wouldn’t have agreed if she knew it was me.”

Joseph froze.

Ethan chuckled softly, a sound Joseph hadn’t heard in years. It startled him.

“She was that honest?” Joseph asked, shocked.

Ethan nodded. “Brutally honest. The woman can’t lie to save her life.”

Joseph absorbed that, noticing for the first time how Ethan referred to her, not as the girl, but the woman. That tiny shift revealed

more than words could.

“Wow,” Joseph murmured. “At least you don’t have to guess what she’s thinking.”

Then a thought hit him, one that made him blink.

How were they communicating?

“You must be doing a lot of reading lately,” Joseph teased lightly.

Ethan frowned, clearly confused.

Joseph laughed. “I mean, she’s mute. No offence. I was wondering how you two talk.”

Ethan exhaled, expression softening.

“I took a three-month sign language class.”

Joseph’s head whipped toward him.

“Damn,” he breathed. “You’re dedicated.”

Ethan shrugged modestly. “We communicate easily. She’s… a joy to be around.”

The tiny chuckle he released afterward felt almost like a confession.

Joseph leaned back, watching his brother closely.

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“And her reasons for that breakdown?” he asked.

Ethan’s eyes sparked with amusement, as if holding a private joke.

“She said she wouldn’t have agreed to marry me because I’m mean and cruel.”

Joseph blinked. “And you find that funny?”

“You don’t get it,” Ethan said, shaking his head. “She didn’t mention my condition.”

Joseph’s eyes widened slowly as the revelation sank in.

“She was brutally honest about everything, but my disability wasn’t her reason for refusing. It was my personality.”

Joseph finally understood.

And he understood why Ethan was drawn to her.

“Which brings me to something important,” Ethan said more seriously this time.

Joseph straightened.

“A few sounds escaped her lips at different times…” Ethan said carefully.

Joseph smirked. “I’m guessing that was during the, ”

Ethan gave him a look that shut him up instantly.

“It wasn’t that,” Ethan muttered. “The point is… mute persons we know don’t make actual sounds. Only clicks or pops.”

Joseph nodded slowly.

“So it got me thinking,” Ethan said, voice low. “I want you to find out what caused her mutism. She wasn’t born like this. She spoke

until she was four. Something happened. Something traumatic. I believe her condition might be selective.”

Joseph inhaled sharply, discomfort tightening his chest.

He didn’t want Ethan clinging to hope.

Hope was what destroyed him after the accident.

Hope was what broke him after six months of failed physiotherapy.

“I don’t want you getting your hopes up, Ethan,” Joseph said softly.

Ethan’s gaze turned steady, unshaken.

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Chapter 56

“I won’t be disappointed, I like her the way she is. I just want to know if it’s something we can help… or not. It doesn’t matter/to

me.”

He smiled faintly.

“We communicate well. I’ve made sure the staff in my wing know sign language. It doesn’t change anything for me.”

Joseph exhaled slowly, the tension leaving him.

“Very well,” he said. “I’ll get to it when we return.”

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Underwater: The Silent Luna