The True Luna's Forbidden Temptation - Chapter 46: Chapter 46

Analise.
‘I can feel their curiosity. They pierce me like daggers.’
The maids stand in perfect silence as Sebastian strides through the living room towards the staircase, their heads bowed down, gazing at the marble floor.
But I have an inkling about what they’re thinking beyond their practiced composure. Sebastian carrying a disheveled, barefoot, bloodied stranger. I’m sure this is a scene they do not get to see on a daily basis.
I clutch my jewelry box tighter to my chest, the only thing I have to my name.
Sebastian doesn’t slow down. He doesn’t respond when the maids murmur their greetings. He moves easily, like a man who never had to explain himself to anybody. He carries me up the staircase effortlessly, like I weigh nothing.
“Do they always wait up like this?” I whisper.
“Only when I tell them to,” he replies. His voice is dangerously calm.
I rest my head against his chest, feeling his steady heartbeat. The scent of pine and mint wraps around me. It feels familiar and… intoxicating.
We pass by around six bedrooms before he stops at the door near the end of the hallway. He kicks the door open and carries me inside.
I take the room in. Emerald and royal purple—my favorite colors—wrap the space in rich, intimate warmth. A velvet-draped bed. Antique furniture glowing under soft lamps. Lilies and lavender in a crystal vase. It’s not just beautiful.
And it’s… so like me.
“You can put me down now,” I murmur, but my voice wavers. He’s still holding me. Still watching me like I might break apart the second he lets me go.
His arms don’t move. He doesn’t move. He just stands there, holding me, watching me.
His gaze drags over my face—unflinching, intense. My breath catches in my throat. His face is inches from mine. Older now. Sharper. And more dangerously handsome than ever.
There’s a faint scar above his brow. And the heat in his eyes…
Suddenly, my heart hammers in wildly in my chest.
He lowers me slowly, his hands lingering at my waist. Too long. Too careful.
“The bathroom’s through there.” His voice is rough. He clears his throat, stepping back. “You can freshen up. Take your time.”
I nod, but then I see it. On the bed. A stuffed bear. Chestnut brown. Green ribbon around its neck.
Memories rush through me. Suddenly, I’m feeling nostalgic.
“That…” My voice falters. “I had one like that at home. You gave me it to me on my sixteenth birthday.”
He doesn’t answer.
I step closer to touch the teddy bear. Even the feel of it is the same.
“Is this the same teddy bear?”
Again, he doesn’t answer.
I check the other items in room. Everything in this room feels like stepping into the familiar dream. The photo of my mom on the nightstand—the same one I used to keep beside my bed. The books, arranged in the exact order I once obsessed over. The music box that plays Clair de Lune.
“Sebastian,” I breathe. “These… they’re mine.” I spin to face him. “Aren’t they?”
Instead of confirming it, he walks toward a door, opens it. “There are clothes in here,” he says. “I’m sure they’re to your liking.”
I follow him into the walk-in closet—and stop cold.
It’s my wardrobe.
My dresses. My t-shirts. My green graduation dress. The sweater Dad gave me before I left. My Luxe Emerald jewelry. Pieces I haven’t seen in nearly a decade. I reach out, fingers trembling. “How do you have these?”
“They’re yours.” He leans against the doorframe, his arms crossed in front of his chest.
“But how?” My voice is shaking. “I left everything when I moved out of the house because Dad wanted me to break up with Tyler.”
He flinches at the name. “Your father thought you'd come back. He waited until you came back to your senses, and realize that Lewis is not the right guy for you.” He takes a step toward me. “When you didn’t… it nearly destroyed him. My mother wanted to throw your stuff out. She thought it would help your father to move on.”
I stare at him. “So you took them?”
“I told her I’d donate everything,” he replies.
“But you didn’t.”
He shakes his head.
“Why?”
His gaze hardens. “Because I knew you’d want it back.”
I turn in a slow circle. The whole room. A shrine to the girl I used to be. While I was shrinking myself to fit Tyler’s life… Sebastian preserved mine.
“And this house?” I ask. “Who owns it?”
“I do.” He walks to the window, jaw tight. “I live in my family estate most days with my grandparents and some… close relatives.” He pauses, choosing his words carefully. “But this one’s mine alone. I use it when I need space to think. To recuperate. To be away from the… clamor and the noise.”
I look around, every inch echoing with choices Sebastian made to protect pieces of me.
“You kept my entire life,” I whisper. “Why?”
He turns to me. “Because you mattered. Even when you forgot who you really are.”
Tears sting my eyes. I reach up to touch the soft fabric of my old yellow sundress. “I’m… lost for words. How can I thank you?”
He shakes his head. “You don’t need to do anything. Having you back to your old self and having you safe here—it’s enough for me.”
“But are you sure? Can I… really stay here?” My voice is almost too small to hear.
“Stay as long as you need.” His tone leaves no room for argument. “This room was just waiting for you to come home.”
His words crack something open inside me. While Tyler lied, cheated, and hollowed me out, Sebastian built this sanctuary. And waited for me to come back to my senses.
“But I won’t stay forever,” I say, wiping my tears. “I just… I just need time to grieve for the baby I lost. To find myself again. And then… I’m taking it all back. My father’s company. Luxe Emerald. Everything they tried to take away from me.”
Sebastian watches me. Something flickers in his eyes—something like approval.
“Like a phoenix,” I say firmly. “I will rise from the ashes.”
His eyes glint. Looking proud. “There she is. That’s my girl.”
I look away, heart thudding too fast.
‘That’s my girl.’ I repeat what he said inside my head.
I turn around, afraid that he will see the blush that is creeping up my cheeks.
“I’ll let you get cleaned up,” he says, moving toward the door. “Come down after. I asked the maids to prepare dinner for us.”
I nod, feeling exhausted.
“Sebastian,” I call out to him.
He stops.
“Thank you,” I say. “Not just for tonight. But for… everything.”
He holds my gaze for a beat. I cannot tell what he’s thinking. But he smiles and nods before shutting the door softly behind him.
I stand in silence.
For the first time in years, I feel something shift. The panic I’ve carried like second skin slips away. In its place: hope. And something hotter. Something that curled in my chest when he held me. Looked at me.
I peel off my clothes and step into the steaming shower.
The water runs over my skin, cleansing me. But it doesn’t wash away the memory of Sebastian’s touch. Or the way his eyes burned through my soul, igniting something that I cannot quite decipher.
‘He’s my stepbrother! He’s my stepbrother!’ I keep chanting inside my head.
I just lost my husband and my baby. I may also lose my father and everything else. I should focus on getting back everything I lost. Not feeling things for my stepbrother.
As I feel the water running down my skin, washing away the traces of my old life, a chill runs in my spine.
This isn’t just the end of my marriage.
This is the beginning of something else.
Something far more dangerous.
Something I cannot run away from.