Chasing His Kickass Luna Back Chapter 238

Abby

“I mean your cheating, of course.”

Gianna’s words cut through the air, leaving me feeling as though I’ve just been splashed with acid. It’s clear that her words were intended to cut deep, and all the while, Ethan just sits there beside her with a puzzled expression on his face.

My eyes are wide as I stammer out a response. “Ex… Excuse me?” I murmur.

An evil smirk tightens her face. “You heard me,” she says, her tone laced with pure and unadulterated venom. “You’re a cheater. I can’t even believe you’re sitting here right now, as if you did nothing wrong.”

Karl and I exchange a wary glance. It’s clear that he’s just as astonished as I am. My eyes slide over to Ethan, though, and his face betrays nothing.

I can’t tell what’s on his mind; I knew that Gianna must have spread some lies, manipulated reality while he was in his coma, and it seems to me that it somehow worked. But I can’t feel bad for him, not when he’s sitting here silently while his new girlfriend tries to start a fight at the dinner table.

“Well?” Gianna says with a chuckle, still swirling her drink around in her glass. She takes a slow, calculated sip, her eyes never leaving mine over the rim of the glass. “Nothing to say, Abby?”

I don’t know what to say. I thought that we were all on the same page here; that Gianna set up that whole scheme to make it appear as though I had cheated, all for her own gain. And yet, here she is, acting as though I did do it all along.

Before I can muster a reply, Karl suddenly intervenes.

“What the hell are you talking about, Gianna?” he hisses.

Gianna’s eyes snap over to him. “Don’t act like you don’t know,” she says.

Karl lets out a wry chuckle. “Seriously, Gianna?” he replies incredulously. “Abby didn’t cheat. You orchestrated the whole scenario with that gardener so you could become the new Luna. And now that you’re bitter over the fact that your little plan didn’t work, you now prey on my brother?”

As Karl speaks, his gaze shifts over to Ethan. Ethan’s face is an unreadable mask of stoicism, but I can see the way that his knuckles are turning white from clutching his wine glass so tightly. If he grips it any tighter, it’ll surely break.

But Ethan says nothing. I feel incredulous; is he really so oblivious, or is he simply refusing to see the truth?

Gianna scowls, her perfect facade wavering for a brief moment before she retorts with a voice that’s filled with venom. “I did no such thing,” she growls. “You framed me because you wanted to get back together with your cheating ex-wife and you had to cover your tracks, otherwise no one would support the relationship.”

A tense silence falls over the table. I can feel Karl’s body stiffening beside me, and he looks over at his brother, his eyes wide. “You’re just going to say nothing, Ethan?” he says with a scoff. “Seriously? You know she’s full of shit!”

Ethan, who has been mostly silent, takes a shaky sip of his wine and swallows before answering.

“Can we not just enjoy our evening?” Ethan says. “The wine is delicious, and the food is on the way. If we could all just get along—”

But Karl cuts him off by standing abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor so loudly that other nearby patrons begin to look our way. His voice is laced with disappointment as he addresses his brother.

“You know, I’m truly devastated, Ethan,” he says quietly, his voice hardly more than a mere whisper. “You were once intelligent, strong, and logical. Now you’re so easily swayed by a manipulator like Gianna. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt because of your coma, but I can only let it go so far.”

“A manipulator?” Ethan lets out a chuckle. “Is that truly what you think my girlfriend is?”

Karl throws his hands up in exasperation. “Really, brother?” he snarls. “Are you that dense?”

There’s a moment of silence, and I feel caught in the middle. I can’t figure out who’s truly at the root of this; me, or Gianna? Part of me wonders if none of this would have happened if I hadn’t come tonight, and that hurts more than anything.

Then, Ethan’s face darkens, and he shoots a warning glance at Karl. “Perhaps this dinner is over before it has even begun,” he mutters.

Karl’s resolve remains unshaken. He turns to Gianna with a stern expression. “I want to have a close relationship with my brother, but not at the cost of enabling this,” he gestures towards Gianna, “deceit and manipulation.”

“I’ve deceived no one,” Gianna hisses. “My emails were tampered with, Karl. You were the one who wouldn’t see reason.”

“Oh, is that what happened?” Karl asks with an angry laugh. “Because if I recall correctly, you were admitting to everything and professing your love to me not long ago. But I suppose you never bothered mentioning that to my sick brother, did you?”

Karl and Gianna glare at each other for what feels like an eternity, each of them seething more and more by the moment. Realizing that Ethan is going to do nothing to step in, I stand, taking Karl’s arm.

“Come on, Karl,” I whisper, giving his arm a tug. “Let’s just leave.”

Karl pulls his gaze away from Gianna, and his brown eyes are full of fury. But they soften ever so slightly when he looks at me, and he nods. “You’re right,” he says as he pulls his wallet out of his pocket. “I think it’s best if we do leave.”

That’s when Ethan finally stands. “Karl, there’s no need for all of this drama,” he says. “Please, stay.”

But Karl simply shakes his head and withdraws a wad of cash from his wallet, throwing it down on the table.

“That’s for the food and the wine,” he says, shoving his wallet back into his pocket with force. He then meets his brother’s gaze, and it’s then that I can feel his arm trembling with fury as he looks at him. “I’ll be more than happy to speak with you again once you’ve learned to see reason, brother,” he says quietly. “But until that happens, then I guess this is goodbye.”

Ethan stares at Karl for a while, his jaw clenched tightly, his hands gripping the edge of the table. Meanwhile, Gianna continues to sit beside him. Her face is twisted into a pout, but I can see right through it. Her eyes meet mine, and there’s a hint of mischief there.

She knows exactly what she’s doing; perhaps this was her plan all night. And, well, she’s done exactly what she set out to do.

“I suppose it is,” Ethan finally says with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Goodbye, Karl. May the best man win this election.”

Karl nods, straightening the bottom of his blazer. “Indeed. Goodnight, Ethan. Gianna.”

Without another word, Karl turns to me and takes my hand. He pulls me away from the table, weaving through the other tables and patrons. With each passing moment, I feel as though the two of us have just crossed a new line that cannot be uncrossed.

And as we burst out of the restaurant and into the chilly night air, I can’t help but wonder if Karl wouldn’t have just had that falling out with his brother if I hadn’t been here.