Underwater: The Silent Luna novel Chapter 97

Chapter 97

She sighed after saying it, and the sound of that sigh reached Ashley in a way the words almost did not. This was not someone simply talking about an old regret. This was someone still standing inside it. Still bleeding from it in places nobody could see.

Ashley stared at her, almost stunned.

Cynthia went on as if she had just exposed something she could no longer keep buried.

“I see you are with Joseph.”

Ashley blinked. Her mind stumbled. She had not expected the turn. Her relationship with Joseph was not exactly hidden, but neither was it the kind of thing people openly discussed all the time. Not the way Ethan and Meadow were discussed. Not the way pack gossip moved around louder couples. Ashley narrowed her eyes, genuinely curious.

“How did you know?”

The waitress returned with their drinks, setting them down before leaving again. Cynthia waited until she was gone, then smiled. It was the first time Ashley saw a flash of the old Cynthia again. Sharp. Observant. Quietly amused.

“You live in the mansion. You can use the services there. The driver treated you with a lot of respect, so it meant you were with someone powerful. There are only two men in that house that I can envisage you with. It cannot be Ethan because he is married to the mute of the pack, so it is Joseph, and you also reek of him.”.

Ashley felt heat crawl into her cheeks before she could stop it. Cynthia’s tone had turned teasing by the end, and Ashley found herself smiling despite herself. There it was again. That thing she had always admired. Cynthia noticed details others missed. She saw people quickly, almost clinically, and still made it look effortless. Ashley had always found that fascinating. Even now it thrilled her a little, hearing Cynthia reduce all the clues to one clean conclusion.

She took a sip of her coffee and grinned.

“Joseph is a nice catch. I wish you two the best.”

Ashley softened a little under the words. It felt stupid how much that simple approval meant to her, but it did. It was Cynthia saying it. Cynthia, who she had admired for years. Cynthia, who somehow still made her feel seen and measured at once.

“What about you, Cynthia? What will you do now that you have left Sebastien?”

Cynthia’s expression dimmed again. The shadow returned so quickly it almost hurt to watch.

“I will try and fit in. Although I am not over Ethan, I can see he has moved on.”

There was pain in the way she said it, naked and quiet and undeniable. Ashley felt something twist inside her. For a moment she really did feel sorry for Cynthia. Not out of pity exactly, but because there was no pretending around those words. Cynthia had come back and found out life had not paused for her. Ethan had not remained frozen where she left him.

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12:04 Wed, Jun 17 MO

Chapter 97

Or at least that was what Ashley wanted her to believe.

“He waited for you, you know. It was Luna Amber that got him hitched to the mute. It was forceful. Luna Amber married her to be Ethan’s live-in nanny since all the ones she hired quit. She wanted someone who would have to do the job and not have the option of quitting. She even has a contract with the mute. She is to care for Ethan in every way possible and bear him children. She offered to cut the mute loose when she gave her a grandchild, but the mute fell in love. Hence, she refused.”

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MermicornQueen

Just calling Meadow ‘the mute’, so disrespectful

7 days ago

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12:04 Wed, Jun 17

Underwater: The Silent Luna