The Return of the Fallen Luna: Rise of the Heiress-Chapter 26 Mental Torture

A sharp ringing filled Ashley’s ears.

She had thought she’d already uncovered the worst of it, that she’d seen the full extent of their scheme. But this... this was something else. Even after draining her of everything she was worth, they still planned to send her away, to the Monster Duke.

Everyone knew who he was.

A man who had slaughtered his own kin in a fit of madness. A man whose brides never survived the night.

His castle might have looked like a dream from the outside, but anything tied to him turned into a living nightmare.

And they were going to hand her over to him?

For what? To squeeze out whatever use she had left, then toss her to her death while they stayed here, untouched, living as if nothing had happened?

Ashley’s chest tightened, anger and despair twisting together until she could barely breathe.

No.

She refused to accept an ending like that.

And to think it wasn’t enough for Nathan to ruin her reputation, he wouldn’t even leave her a way out.

She had believed she’d already hit the bottom, that her heart had shattered the moment she uncovered his plans. But now she saw it clearly that he could still sink lower.

The helplessness clawed at her. The man who once promised her love and protection was now the one orchestrating her ruin. It hurt far more than she expected, cutting deeper than anything she had tried to brace herself for.

She thought she had begun to move on, to harden herself against him, but it had only been hours since the truth came out. Her heart hadn’t caught up yet. It was still raw, still breaking, still struggling to accept what he had become.

"Nathan... why are you treating me like this?" Ashley whispered, her voice breaking as she pressed her palm against the glass.

On the other side, he didn’t hear her.

All she saw was Maddison pulling him into a deep, consuming kiss, as if the world had narrowed to just the two of them. The sight struck Ashley like another blow, her chest tightening painfully.

Then they stumbled back onto the bed.

Clothes shifted, hands wandered, and Ashley already knew where it was leading. She couldn’t keep watching. Her legs felt weak, her breath coming in shallow gasps as she turned her head away, yet the sounds carried clearly through the silence, which was distinct and sensual until Maddison started moaning, and she could even hear Nathan grunting like an animal in heat.

Each second stretched into torture, pressing down on her until it felt like she might break.

Ashley clamped her hands over her ears, desperate to block out the sounds from the other side. She tried, she really did, but it felt as though everything was amplified, every noise forced into her head, no matter how tightly she pressed her palms in place.

Nothing spared her. Not the sound of skin slapping skin, the sound of wet kisses, or the wet slushing sound when Nathan pounded on Maddison. She couldn’t just unhear all of this.

"Stop..." she whispered at first.

Then louder—"Stop!"

But it didn’t. It just went on, relentless, like a punishment designed for her alone.

She didn’t know how long it lasted. Time blurred, her thoughts turning sluggish and unfocused. She felt dazed, unsteady, as if something inside her was slowly unraveling. Tears threatened to spill, her chest aching as the image she once held of Nathan began to crack, then shatter, piece by piece.

Time blurred until Maddison’s voice cut through again. Ashley didn’t even know how long she had been sitting there, hollow and despondent.

"Ashley, did you hear that?"

A soft giggle followed.

Even without looking, Ashley could picture Maddison standing right in front of the mirror, facing her own reflection... or perhaps beyond the mirror itself and towards Ashley, whom she thought was standing behind it.

Maddison didn’t bother to cover herself. Instead, she stood there starkly naked, almost proudly, as though every love bite and mark left on her skin was something she wanted seen, displayed like proof, like a weapon meant to wound Ashley.

Then she spoke again, her tone light, almost playful.

"As you just heard, Nathan plans to use you as a bargaining chip to secure an alliance with the Monster Duke’s pack. Mad as he is, his power is undeniable... and he happens to be looking for a new bride. Though, of course, none of the previous ones lasted very long."

She tilted her head slightly, her smile sharpening.

"So tomorrow, after he’s done humiliating you... You’ll be sent off to fulfill your final purpose."

A quiet, satisfied chuckle slipped from her lips like she could already imagine Ashley’s reaction, savoring it before she even saw it.

Even though Maddison couldn’t hear Ashley’s reaction, she seemed to revel in it all the same, savoring every second. On the other side of the mirror, Ashley remained still, hollow, her silence heavy with despair.

Nathan hadn’t said a word.

But that silence was enough. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Maddison spoke, and he didn’t deny it, didn’t stop her, and didn’t even react. That alone told Ashley everything she needed to know. He was part of it. He always had been.

A bitter realization settled in.

If she hadn’t gone looking for her mother... if she hadn’t uncovered their affair... then everything would have unfolded exactly as Nathan intended. She would’ve walked straight into it, blindsided. Humiliated in front of everyone, stripped of dignity, and while she was still drowning in that pain, they would’ve sent her away... to someone else’s bed.

To be discarded. Destroyed.

The thought alone made her shiver, fear and anguish crawling under her skin.

She pushed herself to her feet and turned back toward the mirror.

Though Maddison couldn’t see her, Ashley’s gaze fixed on her with quiet intensity.

On the other side, Maddison suddenly stilled. A faint chill crept up her spine, making her frown, her expression tightening with unease.

A suffocating weight settled deep in Ashley’s gut, twisting into unease, pain, and a creeping despair that threatened to pull her under.

But then, her mother’s last look before her death surfaced, which tells her to ’Live well... in my stead.’

Ashley’s fingers curled into fists.

She couldn’t stay like this, trapped, broken, waiting to be used and discarded. No. If there was one thing she had always been good at, it was refusing to break. The Yorks had made sure of that, forging her to stand like a female Alpha.

Her jaw tightened, teeth grinding as she forced the pain back down, burying it beneath something harder.

Resolve.

But before Maddison left, she dropped another huge bomb.

"Oh! And did you know?" Maddison said slowly with a wide grin, making Ashley feel the knots in her stomach, then she continued. "I’m already two weeks pregnant..."

After hearing this, Ashley was already numbed from all the things she learned, so this was no different.

Ashley could only wait for a chance without succumbing to Maddison’s mental tortures.

But Maddison wasn’t finished with her.

When night fell, Nathan left the villa to continue searching, and Maddison followed soon after. Yet before she left, she made sure Ashley wouldn’t be spared. She sent others in her place.