The Return of the Fallen Luna: Rise of the Heiress-Chapter 11 Caught In The Act

Ashley couldn’t accept the thought that slammed into her mind, but she couldn’t push it away either.

Her breath caught harshly in her throat as she inched closer, instinctively suppressing her presence. The door wasn’t even fully closed, showing how confident they are that Ashley wouldn’t come home at this time. The closer she got, the clearer everything became: the sharp rustle of sheets, the steady, rhythmic creak of the bed.

Her hand trembled as she reached the doorframe and forced herself to look.

Her eyes widened.

A broken gasp almost slipped past her lips, but she reacted just in time, clamping her hand over her mouth, biting down on the sound before it could escape.

That back...

She would recognize it anywhere.

The man she loved.

The man she trusted.

And now... he was there, completely bare, moving with a relentless intensity, his body driving forward again and again as if nothing else in the world mattered. The woman beneath him responded just as fiercely, her breathless moans filling the room, intimate and unmistakable.

It hit Ashley like a physical blow.

Her stomach twisted violently, something sharp and unbearable clawing at her insides. Nausea surged up her throat as her chest tightened, making it hard to breathe.

Shock. Disbelief. Betrayal.

All of it crashed into her at once, tearing through her as she stood frozen in place, unable to move, unable to look away, yet wishing more than anything that she hadn’t seen it at all.

How could he?

The man she was about to marry and be mated with, the one she was meant to be bound to for life, was in their home, their sanctuary... taking another woman as if it meant nothing.

Their home.

The place they had chosen together. The place meant to hold their future, their intimacy, their trust.

And now it was being defiled right in front of her.

The thought alone made her stomach churn violently. Bile rose in her throat, and for a moment, she thought she might collapse. The betrayal was suffocating, too heavy for her to take.

And yet... she didn’t move.

Some cruel part of her clung to rationality, forcing her to stay, to see it with her own eyes, to make sure there was no mistake, no misunderstanding she could hide behind.

Even now, a fragile piece of her still wanted to believe in Nathan’s promises... in the love he had sworn to her.

But her hands moved anyway.

With a shaking, unsteady hand, she pulled out her phone.

She took a few slow steps back, her gaze still locked on the scene inside, until she reached the far edge of the wall. There, her silhouette melted into the shadows cast by a nearby pillar, hiding her presence.

Her fingers tightened around the phone.

Then...

She made the call.

Ring.

Ring.

The sudden ringing of the phone cut sharply through the room; it was loud, jarring, and impossible to ignore.

Both figures on the bed stilled.

Nathan froze first.

Irritation flashed across his face, his brows drawing together as he exhaled harshly. His body tensed, chest rising and falling as he dragged a hand through his sweat-damp hair, evidence enough of what he had been doing, and for how long.

But that wasn’t what mattered.

Ashley’s gaze locked onto him as he glanced at the phone.

The moment he saw the caller ID, he hesitated.

Then he reached for it.

It was obvious he was barely holding onto his temper; being interrupted at such a moment had clearly pushed him to the edge. When he finally answered, his voice came out rough, low, and edged with impatience.

"What is it?" he snarled.

Yet even as he spoke, the woman beneath him didn’t stop. Her hands wandered over him in slow, teasing strokes, as if deliberately testing his restraint.

Nathan sucked in a sharp breath, his jaw tightening. He caught her wrist quickly, gripping it to still her, as though he knew he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back otherwise.

A strained sound escaped him, half breath, half suppressed groan.

Ashley heard it.

Through the phone.

And from behind the door.

The overlap made her stomach twist even harder.

Fortunately, her Vertu phone was high-end, its system filtering out background noise. There was no echo, no feedback, nothing that would betray her presence on the other side.

So Nathan remained unaware.

Completely unaware.

"Where are you?" Ashley’s voice came out steady, almost normal, but it took everything in her to make it sound that way.

Inside, she was unraveling.

Her stomach churned violently, bile rising in her throat as if she might be sick at any moment. Her chest felt tight, like something was crushing it from the inside, and every beat of her heart sent sharp, splintering pain through her ribs, as if it were breaking apart piece by piece.

And yet... a part of her still refused to let go.

A fragile, stubborn piece of her clung desperately to Nathan, to his promises, to his love, to the years they had spent growing up together.

Or at least... what she thought was love.

Maybe she had never really known him at all.

The thought flickered through her mind, cold and cruel, but emotions drowned it out just as quickly. Logic told her what she was seeing. Logic screamed the truth at her.

But her heart—

Her heart refused to listen.

So she called.

This was her last chance, her last attempt to hear it from him, to give him the opportunity to come clean.

But if he did... what would she do?

She didn’t know.

She couldn’t even begin to imagine it.

Still, somewhere deep inside, she clung to a foolish hope that maybe he had only lost his way for a moment... that he would still choose her in the end.

That he would come back.

She forced herself to believe it.

Because the alternative was too unbearable.

When had she become like this?

Weak. Hesitant. Clinging.

This wasn’t who she used to be.

But maybe... she had already started breaking long before this moment.

Ever since she learned she wasn’t truly her father’s daughter... ever since she lost her family, even if only for a time... something inside her had changed. Fear had taken root, quietly, deeply.

And when she was given them back, she became afraid of losing them again.

So she compromised.

She suppressed her own thoughts, her own feelings, bit by bit, until she barely recognized herself anymore.

All of it... in just a single month.

How had she fallen this far?

"Be good..." Nathan’s voice came through uneven, each word catching between strained breaths as if he was forcing himself to sound composed. "I’m still at the office... there’s something urgent I need to finish."

"And besides..." he continued, his tone dipping, rougher now, "I have to stay with Maddison. She’s not doing well, panic attacks, one after another... just at the thought of seeing you tomorrow."

His breathing hitched again, barely controlled. "She’s not ready for you yet... so I need to be here. To calm her down."

Beneath him, the woman didn’t stop, her movements slow, deliberate, urging him on, pulling quiet, suppressed sounds from his throat. He was still buried deep, every shift of her body making it harder for him to stay composed.

"But... I need you right now. It’s important. Can’t you spare me... a moment?"

Ashley’s voice faltered despite her efforts to steady it. It came out tight, fragile. If Nathan had been paying attention, really paying attention, he would have heard it. The tremor. The quiet desperation. The way she was holding herself together by a thread.

"Ha... Ashley," he exhaled, his voice rough, almost breathless. "Be good and wait for me. Tomorrow, we’ll be properly mated, you’ll be my Luna. Just stay home and wait for me, alright?"

His voice carried through the phone, low and hoarse, laced with faint, involuntary sounds he clearly wasn’t able to suppress completely.

Ashley heard everything.

And still, she pretended she didn’t.

"Nathan..." she pressed again, her voice softer now, but heavier. "Are you really not coming home? Where are you? I need you. It’s important..."

There was a pause, it was brief but tense.

Then...

"Ashley, can’t you be sensible for once?" His tone snapped, irritation breaking through. "I told you, I’m helping Maddison settle down. Because of your mother, she’s dealing with a lot of trauma. I’m already doing this for you to help fix your relationship. Isn’t that enough?!"

His voice rose into a growl.

And before she could say anything else...

The line went dead.

"You’re doing enough, Nathan... too much, in fact..." Ashley thought bitterly as she stood outside, peering through the narrow gap of what was supposed to be their marital bedroom. Her fingers curled against the wall, nails digging into the wood as she watched him, watched them.