Rebirth of the Broken Luna A Second Chance at Luna's Heart novel Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Lumina

85

“I wanted to apologize,” I said directly to Sophia, keeping my tone neutral and professional. Last thing I wanted was for Xenois to see that I was bluffing my way through this bullshit.

“Xenois mentioned that our conversation yesterday may have been… misunderstood. If I said or did anything that made you or Riley feel unwelcome, that wasn’t my intention.”

The words tasted bitter in my mouth, but I forced them out. This was just a performance, a necessary measure to get Xenois to back off from me so I can focus on what’s truly important.

Sophia’s eyes widened slightly, as if she hadn’t expected me to actually show up and apologize to her. She seemed to be looking at me intently, probably trying to figure out my plan here. Was she counting on me being too proud to apologize that she could use it to fuel the tension between me and my mate.

For a moment, she looked almost… disappointed? But then her expression changed back to that fragile mask she wore so well.

“I… thank you,” she said softly, glancing at Xenois before looking back at me. “That means a lot.”

Riley still hadn’t looked at me directly since I came here, his small hands were gripping his fork so tightly his knuckles were white.

The fear radiating from him was so intense it was making me uncomfortable.

What had Sophia told him about me to make him react this way? Especially after we had such a nice conversation the day before?

“Riley,” Xenois said gently, his voice sounding gentle, taking on that paternal tone that he never used with Ollie.

“Lumina is trying to apologize to you for what she did. Can you look at her?”

The boy’s head snapped up, and when his eyes met mine, I saw something that made my blood run cold.

It wasn’t just fear, It was recognition of something, like a PTSD response to a trauma that somehow my presence was triggering.

What the hell happened to this child?

Before I could think about it further, Xenois’s phone rang loudly against the table as he looked away from Riley. He glanced at it, frowning.

“I need to take this,” he said, already standing up from the table. “It’s the contractors working on the new pack houses. Give me five

minutes.”

1/3

15:45 Wed, Jan 14

Chapter 25

85

He stepped away from the table, moving toward the restaurant’s entrance where he could speak privately without us eavesdropping on his conversation.

The moment he was out of earshot, the entire atmosphere at the table changed as Sophia’s wounded expression was quickly replaced by something cold and calculating.

She leaned back in her chair, a slight smirk playing at the corners of her mouth.

“Well, well,” she said, her voice sounding different now, more confident.

“That was quite the performance you put on in here in front of your mate. Though I have to say, your acting skills could use some

work.”

I kept my expression neutral, though internally I was furious as I resisted the urge to clench my fist. This was the real Sophia – the

one Xenois never saw.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I replied looking at her intently.

“Oh, please.” She laughed, a bitter cruel laugh that was sounding nauseating to the ears.

“We both know you didn’t mean a word of that apology. But it doesn’t matter, does it? Xenois believed me over you. He chose my

truth over yours.”

She leaned forward, her eyes filled with malicious satisfaction.

–

“Do you know how easy it was? One phone call, a few tears in my voice, and just like that he was ready to confront his own wife.

Ready to force you to apologize for something you didn’t even do.”

I rolled my eyes, unable to hide my disgust any longer.

“Congratulations. You manipulated a man who’s too honorable to see through your lies. What a remarkable achievement, really

thumbs up. You deserve this. Do you want a medal.”

“Honorable?” Sophia chuckled darkly as she continued,

‘Is that what you call it? I call it weak. A strong alpha would have seen right through me. But Xenois… he wants so badly to be the hero, to save the poor single mother and her traumatized child.”

She glanced at Riley, who was still sitting rigidly beside her, his breathing shallow and quick.

The sight of his distress was genuinely disturbing to watch, but Sophia seemed completely unbothered by it.

“Speaking of traumatized children,” she continued, her voice taking on a more sinister tone as she gestured towards Riley,

2/3

15:45 Wed, Jan 14

Reborn From Regret A Second Chance at Luna’s He