The True Luna's Forbidden Temptation - Chapter 45: Chapter 45

One Mississippi.
Two Mississippi.
Three…
Four…
I don’t know how long I sit on the leather seats of the limousine. Unblinking. Barely breathing.
And when I take a deep breath, I catch a whiff of something intoxicating. A combination of pine needles, mint and wild flowers. But one thing is sure. I’ve smelled this before. Many years ago at the restaurant. He was far away, but I knew then that the scent was coming from him. And now, I just confirmed it.
‘OURS!’ That voice inside my head says excitedly.
Sitting across from me, his face half-shadowed, watching me with those piercing blue eyes that haven't changed in six years. My heart races, as if it recognizes something that my brain is still trying to decipher.
Sebastian Reid Blackwood. My stepbrother. The last person I expected to see tonight—and somehow, the one person who came to my rescue at my darkest hour.
“Are you okay?” His voice is deeper than I remember. But I cannot mistake the concern in it.
I open my mouth to answer, but somehow, I cannot find my voice. The limousine pulls away from Tyler’s house, but I barely notice the movement. All I can focus on is Sebastian.
He's changed. The boyish softness is gone from his face, replaced by sharp angles and a strong jaw darkened by evening stubble. His black hair is shorter now, styled with expert precision. He wears a charcoal suit that probably costs more than all the furniture in Tyler's living room.
Power radiates from him—not the desperate, showy kind that Tyler cultivated, but something that comes naturally to him, like he’s born with it.
He continues to stare at me, his eyes full of concern. They’re the same impossible blue I remember, but it looks harder now, and colder.
“You—came,” I finally manage to say.
“It took you that long to open that envelope.” It’s a statement, not a question.
“That guy you sent told me not to open it, unless I absolutely have no choice,” I reply. “I thought it was a prank.”
“Julian?”
I shrug. “He didn’t give me his name.”
Sebastian heaves a heavy sigh. I have a feeling that this Julian is not going to hear the end of it.
The silence stretches between us, filled with almost a decade of absence and unanswered questions. The interior lights of the limousine are dim, casting his face in dramatic shadows that make him look dangerous. I remember how the girls at school used to whisper about him. How even then, he seemed to belong to a different world than the rest of us.
"Where have you been?" I ask, my voice sounding weak, uncertain.
His lips curve into a hint of a smile that doesn't reach his eyes. "Busy. Heading a pa—,” he pauses. “I mean a company that’s one of the biggest conglomerates in the world is no walk in the park.”
"But you're here," I say. He’s one of the busiest people in the world. And yet, he’s here. Rescuing me from my unfortunate marriage.
He nods. "Yes, I'm here."
His simple confirmation unleashes a flood of memories. Sebastian at seventeen, towering over the other boys at school. Sebastian appearing whenever someone bothered me, never saying much, just standing there until they left. Sebastian watching me from across crowded rooms, his expression unreadable. Sebastian almost breaking the arms of that date who tried to date rape me.
And then the last time. The forbidden kiss that had haunted my dreams for years afterward.
The memory crashes over me with such force that I gasp. Sebastian had been avoiding me for months, barely speaking to me. But he came to me that night, speaking cryptic words that I cannot decipher until now.
Heat creeps up my neck. And then something in me snaps. Without thinking, I lunge forward and slap him hard across the face. The sound cracks through the quiet interior of the car.
He barely moves. I doubt the slap even hurt him.
He raises a brow. "What was that for?" he asks, his voice perfectly controlled.
“For the… kiss,” I murmur. “For crossing the line you know you shouldn’t cross.”
He nods slowly, his expression unchanged. "Alright. I guess I deserved that."
Without warning, I slap him again, harder this time. My palm stings with the force of it.
"And that?" he asks, still maddeningly calm.
"For… leaving without explaining why. For abandoning and leaving me in that house with your evil mother and sister."
He touches his reddened cheek lightly. "I deserved that too." He looks at me steadily. "Anything else?"
I stare at him blankly. My anger suddenly giving way to something else entirely. A realization that hits me with the force of a physical blow.
This man—this arrogant, powerful, devil-may-care guy—is the only person who has ever truly been on my side. Even when he seemed to be pushing me away, he was watching over me. Protecting me. The envelope proves that. For years, he kept a lifeline for me, knowing I might need it one day.
The truth pours over me like a cold bucket. My father cares more about his empire. My stepmother could barely tolerate me. And my stepsister hated me. I thought Tyler loved me. But it turned out, he was just using me for my talents, so he could achieve his ambitions. Without Sebastian, I would have been truly alone. And it turned out, even in his absence, he was there, waiting for my call.
"You saved me," I whisper, my voice thick with unshed tears. "Tonight. I have nothing left. Tyler, his family, Lorraine… they maxed me out! I have nothing and no one. And yet, you saved me again. Just like you always do.”
His expression softens fractionally. "It took you long enough to make that call.” He reaches forward to push a lock of stray hair away from my face. “I’ve been waiting for that number to ring.”
That's all it takes. The dam breaks. Years of disappointment, months of suspicion, weeks of devastating confirmation, and hours of humiliation pour out of me in heaving sobs. I cry for the baby I lost while Tyler was in another woman's bed. I cry for the years I wasted trying to please people who never saw me as good enough. I cry for the father who lies comatose in a hospital bed, unable to tell me if he has already forgiven me.
"He—he used me," I choke out between sobs. "I gave up everything for him. My family. My name. My inheritance. And he—he—"
"I know," Sebastian says quietly.
"I lost our baby while he was with your sister," I say, the words burning like acid. "I was in the hospital and he was with Lorraine."
Sebastian's face hardens at the mention of his sister, a muscle jumping in his jaw. But he doesn't interrupt. Instead, he pulls a pristine handkerchief from his pocket and offers it to me.
I take it, wiping roughly at my wet cheeks. "They looked down on me," I continue, unable to stop now that I've started. "Tyler, Vivian, Tanya. They thought I had nothing. No family. No connections. No money." I laugh bitterly. "I never told them who I was, but it didn't matter anyway. My father disowned me."
"No, he didn’t," Sebastian says firmly.
I blink at him. "What?"
"He was protecting you. He knew Tyler would try to get his hands on your inheritance if he found out who you really were."
"But he refused to see me. He cut me off."
Sebastian reaches across the space between us and takes my hand. His palm is warm against mine, his touch unexpectedly gentle for such a powerful man.
"He was waiting for you to come to your senses," he says. "He was keeping your place secure until you were ready to come home."
"But now he's in a coma," I say, fresh tears threatening. "He never told anyone that we talked already. And I don’t think he was able to get the papers done in time.”
Sebastian's fingers tighten around mine. "Don’t worry. I'm here now. I will help you reclaim what's rightfully yours. Your family. Your father’s empire. Your mother’s company.”
I search his face in the dim light. "But you will go against your sister.”
His expression hardens. "Lorraine made her choice when she betrayed her own family. She deserves whatever comes next."
"She's planning to dismantle my father's company," I tell him. "She told Tyler they could sell off the assets piece by piece. Make millions. She doesn't care about the legacy or the people who work there."
"Lorraine will not succeed," Sebastian says with quiet certainty. "I won't allow it."
"Why would you help me?" I ask, suddenly desperate to understand. "After all this time?"
He studies me for a long moment. "Your father has been a father to me, too. Unlike my sister, I know how to repay the kindness that has been shown to me.”
A tiny spark of hope ignites in my chest. With Sebastian beside me, I might actually survive this. More than survive—I might reclaim everything I lost.
The limo stops. I look out hte window and see that we are parked in front of a massive white house. Sebastian’s house, I assume.
“Is this your house?”
He nods. “One of my homes. This one is more—secluded, private.”
He steps out of the car first, then opens my door for me. I step out of the vehicle, instantly feeling the cold cement against my bare feet.
Sebastian looks down and sees that I’m barefoot. He curses under his breath and then before I have time to protest, he bends and lifts me off my feet.
"Hey! What are you doing?" I gasp. One of my arms hug my jewelry box and the other automatically wraps around his neck for balance. I can a blush creep up on my cheeks.
"You don't have shoes," he murmurs.
"I can walk," I protest, though the feeling of being held against his solid chest is more comforting than I want to admit.
"I know," he replies, walking towards the house. "Think of it this way. You’ve been walking on your own for almost a decade. You don’t have to do that anymore.”
I bite my lower lip and offer no more protest. The front door opens even before we reach it. A butler greets us at the door.
Sebastian carries me into a vast foyer, all marble and crystal and quiet opulence.
“Sebastian…”
He looks dow at me.
“Thank you,” my voice is barely a whisper.
“Don’t thank me just yet,” he whispers. “Who knows? This may just be the beginning of both our doom.”
“Doom?” I echo.
But instead of answering, Sebastian just tightens his arms around me, and for the first time in years, I feel completely safe.