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Chapter 16

Author: Kaleki Grayse
last update Last Updated: 2025-06-16 06:56:52

Luna didn't sleep that night. She sat curled in the window seat, staring at the photograph until her eyes burned. The woman in the picture had her face, her smile, but there was something different in her expression—a contentment that Luna had never seen in her own reflection. The kind of peace that came from carrying new life, from believing in a future worth building.

The man beside her mother wore a white lab coat, his face partially turned away from the camera. He looked familiar somehow, though Luna couldn't place him. Was he still alive? Did he know what had happened to her mother? To the baby?

She'd searched her memories until her head pounded, but found nothing. No recollection of her mother being pregnant, no dreams of a baby sister or brother. The child in her mother's womb would have been born around the time of the disappearance—if they'd survived at all.

But which child was she looking at in this photograph? Was the baby her mother carried the Luna who sat here now, or ha
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  • THE ACCIDENTAL BRIDE   Chapter 16

    Luna didn't sleep that night. She sat curled in the window seat, staring at the photograph until her eyes burned. The woman in the picture had her face, her smile, but there was something different in her expression—a contentment that Luna had never seen in her own reflection. The kind of peace that came from carrying new life, from believing in a future worth building.The man beside her mother wore a white lab coat, his face partially turned away from the camera. He looked familiar somehow, though Luna couldn't place him. Was he still alive? Did he know what had happened to her mother? To the baby?She'd searched her memories until her head pounded, but found nothing. No recollection of her mother being pregnant, no dreams of a baby sister or brother. The child in her mother's womb would have been born around the time of the disappearance—if they'd survived at all.But which child was she looking at in this photograph? Was the baby her mother carried the Luna who sat here now, or ha

  • THE ACCIDENTAL BRIDE   Chapter 15

    Dr. Sarah Morrison had kind eyes and a soothing voice, but Luna found herself resenting the woman's gentle probing into her fractured memories."Tell me about the nightmares," Dr. Morrison said during their second session.Luna curled deeper into the leather chair in what had once been a guest room, now converted into a makeshift therapy office. "They're not nightmares. They're memories.""How can you tell the difference?""Because nightmares fade when you wake up. These get clearer." Luna stared out the window, watching Grayson's gardener tend to the roses. "Every time I dream, I remember something new. A voice, a smell, a feeling. It's like my mind is slowly unlocking doors I didn't know were sealed.""That must be overwhelming.""Terrifying," Luna admitted. "What if I remember something that changes everything? What if the person I really am is someone I can't live with?""Who do you think you are now?"Luna was quiet for a long moment. "I used to think I was Luna Reyes—a survivor

  • THE ACCIDENTAL BRIDE   Chapter 14

    The days that followed blurred together in a haze of stilted conversations and careful distances. Luna found herself watching Grayson like a stranger, analyzing every gesture for signs of deception. He, in turn, treated her with the same polite formality he showed his business associates—kind but distant, protective but removed.Three days after Detective Roberts' visit, Marcus knocked on Luna's suite door with his usual precise timing."Mrs. Vaughn? Mr. Vaughn requests your presence in his office."The formal address stung, it felt foreign. She'd grown used to Marcus calling her Luna sometimes, a small intimacy that had felt like acceptance into Grayson's inner circleShe found Grayson behind his desk, staring at a stack of documents. He looked up when she entered, and she was struck by how tired he appeared. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, and his usually immaculate appearance was slightly disheveled."You wanted to see me?" she asked, hovering near the door."I had Marcus research

  • THE ACCIDENTAL BRIDE   Chapter 13

    She found herself in the garden where they'd danced just hours before. The fairy lights still twinkled in the morning sun, but they looked sad now, like stars that had lost their way.Luna sank onto the bench where Grayson had confessed his love, her mind reeling. If Roberts was right, if she really was Luna Winters, then everything she'd believed about herself was a carefully constructed lie. The foster families, the group homes, the struggle to survive—all of it built on a foundation of deception.And Grayson's family had built their fortune on her mother's stolen work."I knew you'd come here."She looked up to find him standing at the edge of the garden, his expression unreadable."I needed to think," she said quietly."And have you? Thought?" He approached slowly, as if she were a wild animal that might bolt."I keep trying to remember more, but it's like grasping smoke. I'll get a flash of something—a song, a smell, a feeling—and then it's gone."He sat beside her, careful to le

  • THE ACCIDENTAL BRIDE   Chapter 12

    The morning sun filtered through the gossamer curtains of Luna's suite, casting golden patterns across the Persian rug. She stood before the full-length mirror, her reflection a stranger in silk pajamas. The fairy-tale garden from the night before seemed like a dream now—Grayson's confession, their first real kiss, the promise of something genuine.But Detective Roberts' words echoed in her mind like a death knell: Luna Winters. Missing for twenty years.A soft knock interrupted her spiraling thoughts. "Come in," she called, expecting Mrs. Patel with breakfast.Instead, Grayson entered, still in his running clothes, hair damp with sweat. His gray eyes immediately found hers in the mirror, and she watched his expression shift from warmth to concern."You're up early," he said, approaching slowly. "Couldn't sleep?"Luna turned from the mirror, wrapping her arms around herself. "I keep thinking about last night. About us.""Having second thoughts?" The question came out rougher than he i

  • THE ACCIDENTAL BRIDE   Chapter Eleven

    Luna stared at her reflection in the vanity mirror, barely recognizing the woman looking back at her. Miguel had worked his usual magic—her dark hair fell in soft waves over one shoulder, her makeup was flawless, and the blue dress Mrs. Patel had chosen fit like it had been made for her. She looked every inch the wealthy socialite, the perfect wife for a man like Grayson Vaughn.But inside, she felt like she was fracturing.Luna Winters. The name echoed in her mind like a half-remembered song. She'd tried all afternoon to recall more details, to grasp the memories that seemed to float just beyond her reach. A woman's laugh. The scent of jasmine perfume. Equations written on a whiteboard in graceful handwriting.Mom?"You look beautiful."Luna's eyes snapped to the mirror's reflection, where Grayson stood in the doorway wearing a perfectly tailored charcoal suit. He looked like he'd stepped out of a magazine—sophisticated, confident, completely at ease in his own skin."Thank you." She

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