The True Luna's Forbidden Temptation - Chapter 16: Chapter 16
You are reading The True Luna's Forbidden Temptation, Chapter 16: Chapter 16. Read more chapters of The True Luna's Forbidden Temptation.
My blood boils as I watch Lorraine’s smiling face on the LED screens, phone clutched in my white-knuckled hand.
Luxe Emerald. My mother's legacy. Her creation, her vision, her heart poured into every design.
But now my father thinks he can simply hand it over to Lorraine—a woman who has no claim, no right, no connection to what my mother built. The betrayal cuts deep, sharper than any knife could reach.
I've been disowned. I know this. The words still echo in my ears from that final, terrible fight. But being cut from my father's will doesn't erase my mother's blood in my veins. Doesn't erase the summers I spent at her desk, watching her sketch designs with those delicate, precise hands. Doesn't erase my name—Analise Emerald Lander McGregor—the name that carries the brand itself.
The phone feels heavy in my hand. I dial my father's number and hold my breath as it rings. Once. Twice. Three times.
"Analise." His voice is cool, controlled. "I was expecting your call."
Of course he was. He must know how I would react to the news.
"How's your husband?" he asks, as if we're having a casual chat over brunch.
"Don't." The word comes out like a growl. "I didn’t call you so you could pretend to be interested in how my husband or me are doing. I called to tell you have absolutely no right to give Luxe Emerald to Lorraine. No right at all."
"I'm not giving it to her," he says with that infuriating calm. "I'm simply making her in charge of operations."
"Even that—" I take a deep breath, trying to control the tremor in my voice. "She has no right to lead Luxe Emerald. None. That company is my mother's legacy, not yours to hand out like party favors to your second family."
A heavy silence hangs between us for three heartbeats. When he speaks again, his voice has hardened to steel.
"You have no right to tell me what to do, Analise. Or have you forgotten? You're no longer my daughter."
The words still sting, even though I've heard them before. "That doesn't change who my mother was."
"I've given you plenty of chances." His voice takes on that patronizing tone that makes me want to throw the phone across the room. "As long as you insist on being stubborn, your place in this family will continue to disappear. Piece by piece.”
I press my fingertips against my temple, where a headache is forming. "You can't do this, Father.”
"I already am." He says, and I can almost see him sitting at his massive desk, looking out over the city like he owns it.
“Can you even hear yourself? The company was Mom's creation. Not yours. And you can't just erase me because I didn't follow your grand plan."
"This isn't about your mother." His voice sharpens. "This is about business. About competence. About loyalty."
"Loyalty?" I laugh, the sound harsh even to my own ears. "That's rich coming from you."
"Lorraine has proven herself capable. She's dedicated. Focused." Each word feels like a deliberate jab. She needs to be rewarded for her loyalty.”
“Then buy her a house, a handbag, a brand new car, I don’t care. Just leave my mother’s company alone!”
“Analise!” He raised his voice. “You cannot tell me what to do!”
The silence that follows is thick, loaded. I can feel the weight of the years between us, the accumulation of resentments and misunderstandings hardening like amber.
“Tyler has already made a name for himself. His company has been enjoying a steady growth. Why can’t you still accept him?”
There is a long silence on the other end of the line. Then he says, “He didn’t make it alone. If it weren’t for the money of his investor, and your talent, he would still be waiting tables and creating cocktails behind a bar.” I hear his sharp intake of breath. “You had everything going for you, Analise. All you had to do is follow the program.”
I scoff. “What program? You mean I should marry a man you picked out for me from a catalog your secretary created?”
"I wanted what was best for you," he says, and for just a moment, I hear something like genuine conviction in his voice. "Tell me, Analise. Are you willing to relinquish your position to Lorraine? If not, you know what you need to do. Leave that man and come back home where you belong."
My throat tightens. “That man is my husband, Father. He’s going to be the father of my children. You canno ask this of me.”
Tyler. My husband. The one person who has stood by me through everything, who loves me for who I am, not what family I come from.
"I won't leave Tyler," I say, my voice low but steady.
"Then you’re the one who waived away your rights to my empire, and your mother’s company," he says simply. "Luxe Emerald will belong to Lorraine. Your mother's company will become hers soon.”
"You can't do that." The words sound weak even to my own ears.
"Can't I?" There's a dangerous edge to his voice now. "If you don't come to your senses soon, Lorraine won't just be CEO. She'll be Chairman. And when that happens, your mother’s legacy will be lost to you.”
The line goes dead before I can respond. I stare at the phone, my hand shaking. He hung up on me. Like I'm nothing. Like my opinion means nothing.
I stand frozen in the middle of the sidewalk, rage and heartbreak warring inside me.he walls closing in. How dare he? How dare he take my mother's company—my birthright—and hand it to Lorraine?
I will take back Luxe Emerald. The thought forms with crystal clarity. I don't know how yet, but I will. I have to. For my mother's memory. For everything she built for me.
But how can I do that without leaving Tyler? My father has backed me into an impossible corner, and he knows it. He's always been a master strategist, always three steps ahead in every negotiation.
A sudden, sharp pain doubles me over. It starts in my stomach and radiates outward, fierce and unexpected. I press my hand against my abdomen, confused by the intensity. Something feels wrong. Terribly wrong.
I look down and freeze. Blood. There's blood spreading between my legs, staining my light pants with a dark, terrifying red.
"Help…" I try to call out, but my voice comes out as barely a whisper. The world seem to tilt around me, the edges of my vision darkening. I try to keep standing but my legs won't support me.
The pain intensifies, stealing my breath. My last thought before the darkness takes me is of Luxe Emerald's logo—a glittering gem cradled in protective hands. My mother's hands.
Then everything goes black.
Luxe Emerald. My mother's legacy. Her creation, her vision, her heart poured into every design.
But now my father thinks he can simply hand it over to Lorraine—a woman who has no claim, no right, no connection to what my mother built. The betrayal cuts deep, sharper than any knife could reach.
I've been disowned. I know this. The words still echo in my ears from that final, terrible fight. But being cut from my father's will doesn't erase my mother's blood in my veins. Doesn't erase the summers I spent at her desk, watching her sketch designs with those delicate, precise hands. Doesn't erase my name—Analise Emerald Lander McGregor—the name that carries the brand itself.
The phone feels heavy in my hand. I dial my father's number and hold my breath as it rings. Once. Twice. Three times.
"Analise." His voice is cool, controlled. "I was expecting your call."
Of course he was. He must know how I would react to the news.
"How's your husband?" he asks, as if we're having a casual chat over brunch.
"Don't." The word comes out like a growl. "I didn’t call you so you could pretend to be interested in how my husband or me are doing. I called to tell you have absolutely no right to give Luxe Emerald to Lorraine. No right at all."
"I'm not giving it to her," he says with that infuriating calm. "I'm simply making her in charge of operations."
"Even that—" I take a deep breath, trying to control the tremor in my voice. "She has no right to lead Luxe Emerald. None. That company is my mother's legacy, not yours to hand out like party favors to your second family."
A heavy silence hangs between us for three heartbeats. When he speaks again, his voice has hardened to steel.
"You have no right to tell me what to do, Analise. Or have you forgotten? You're no longer my daughter."
The words still sting, even though I've heard them before. "That doesn't change who my mother was."
"I've given you plenty of chances." His voice takes on that patronizing tone that makes me want to throw the phone across the room. "As long as you insist on being stubborn, your place in this family will continue to disappear. Piece by piece.”
I press my fingertips against my temple, where a headache is forming. "You can't do this, Father.”
"I already am." He says, and I can almost see him sitting at his massive desk, looking out over the city like he owns it.
“Can you even hear yourself? The company was Mom's creation. Not yours. And you can't just erase me because I didn't follow your grand plan."
"This isn't about your mother." His voice sharpens. "This is about business. About competence. About loyalty."
"Loyalty?" I laugh, the sound harsh even to my own ears. "That's rich coming from you."
"Lorraine has proven herself capable. She's dedicated. Focused." Each word feels like a deliberate jab. She needs to be rewarded for her loyalty.”
“Then buy her a house, a handbag, a brand new car, I don’t care. Just leave my mother’s company alone!”
“Analise!” He raised his voice. “You cannot tell me what to do!”
The silence that follows is thick, loaded. I can feel the weight of the years between us, the accumulation of resentments and misunderstandings hardening like amber.
“Tyler has already made a name for himself. His company has been enjoying a steady growth. Why can’t you still accept him?”
There is a long silence on the other end of the line. Then he says, “He didn’t make it alone. If it weren’t for the money of his investor, and your talent, he would still be waiting tables and creating cocktails behind a bar.” I hear his sharp intake of breath. “You had everything going for you, Analise. All you had to do is follow the program.”
I scoff. “What program? You mean I should marry a man you picked out for me from a catalog your secretary created?”
"I wanted what was best for you," he says, and for just a moment, I hear something like genuine conviction in his voice. "Tell me, Analise. Are you willing to relinquish your position to Lorraine? If not, you know what you need to do. Leave that man and come back home where you belong."
My throat tightens. “That man is my husband, Father. He’s going to be the father of my children. You canno ask this of me.”
Tyler. My husband. The one person who has stood by me through everything, who loves me for who I am, not what family I come from.
"I won't leave Tyler," I say, my voice low but steady.
"Then you’re the one who waived away your rights to my empire, and your mother’s company," he says simply. "Luxe Emerald will belong to Lorraine. Your mother's company will become hers soon.”
"You can't do that." The words sound weak even to my own ears.
"Can't I?" There's a dangerous edge to his voice now. "If you don't come to your senses soon, Lorraine won't just be CEO. She'll be Chairman. And when that happens, your mother’s legacy will be lost to you.”
The line goes dead before I can respond. I stare at the phone, my hand shaking. He hung up on me. Like I'm nothing. Like my opinion means nothing.
I stand frozen in the middle of the sidewalk, rage and heartbreak warring inside me.he walls closing in. How dare he? How dare he take my mother's company—my birthright—and hand it to Lorraine?
I will take back Luxe Emerald. The thought forms with crystal clarity. I don't know how yet, but I will. I have to. For my mother's memory. For everything she built for me.
But how can I do that without leaving Tyler? My father has backed me into an impossible corner, and he knows it. He's always been a master strategist, always three steps ahead in every negotiation.
A sudden, sharp pain doubles me over. It starts in my stomach and radiates outward, fierce and unexpected. I press my hand against my abdomen, confused by the intensity. Something feels wrong. Terribly wrong.
I look down and freeze. Blood. There's blood spreading between my legs, staining my light pants with a dark, terrifying red.
"Help…" I try to call out, but my voice comes out as barely a whisper. The world seem to tilt around me, the edges of my vision darkening. I try to keep standing but my legs won't support me.
The pain intensifies, stealing my breath. My last thought before the darkness takes me is of Luxe Emerald's logo—a glittering gem cradled in protective hands. My mother's hands.
Then everything goes black.
End of The True Luna's Forbidden Temptation Chapter 16. Continue reading Chapter 17 or return to The True Luna's Forbidden Temptation book page.