Chapter 262 262 The Man Who Would Not Let Her Go 3

Chapter 262 262 The Man Who Would Not Let Her Go 3
Tears filled Ashley’s eyes, and she nodded because he was right. Maybe she had known that deep down all along, but shame had made her deaf to sense.
“I couldn’t face the pack members, Joseph. I was a laughing stock. Even my parents gave me hell for it. As of then, it felt like the right thing to do. I honestly did not care about dying in the process,” she said.
Adam and Malcolm quietly excused themselves so Joseph and Ashley could talk. Malcolm linked Sebastien to delay a bit. Sebastien was not happy about Joseph being alone with his mate, but he humoured Malcolm because the conversation was clearly something Ashley needed.
“I couldn’t live with the shame. My parents saw me as a failure. They said I brought shame to them,” Ashley said, wiping her tears.
Joseph’s anger shifted. He had been angry at her foolishness, but now he was angry at the people who had helped push her into it.
“Everything I had ever done was to please them, Joseph. I cared about you, but I wasn’t desperate to be Luna. That was my parents’ dream, and I had to do what they wanted. I am a warrior,” she said, then laughed bitterly at herself.
She wiped her face again, trying to hold herself together.
“I am more of a tomboy than the girly type, but I had to pretend. When I caught your attention, it got worse. They expected everything from me, and I did not know how to deliver. I am sorry, Joseph. I am,” she said.
Joseph was stunned. He had known Ashley was difficult. He had known she lied and schemed and tried too hard. But he had not known how much of it had been forced into her by her parents. The Gastons had been stupid and wicked to do that to their own child. He remembered how hysterical Maya had been at the hospital and felt fresh anger towards her. The woman had acted like a worried mother, but where had that concern been when her daughter was drowning under pressure? Where had it been when Ashley was being shaped into something she was not just to satisfy their ambition?
He felt terrible for Ashley. She had been underwater the whole time, struggling to achieve an impossible task for people who cared more about status than her happiness. It was a hard life, and suddenly, Joseph understood why she had run and not looked back. He did not excuse the choice to run straight to the place where the man who stabbed her lived, but he understood the desperation now.
He also blamed himself a little. Maybe he had not let her down gently enough. Maybe he should have protected her image better after ending things. Maybe he had been so eager to free himself from what felt wrong that he had not thought enough about what shame would do to her. It was water under the bridge now, but that did not stop the guilt from touching him.
“It is okay, Ashley. I will speak to your parents. They have no reason to be hard on you. You were the best in your set. You graduated top of your class. You would have made a fine Luna, all your scheming and lies aside,” Joseph joked gently.
Ashley let out a teary laugh, and Joseph smiled a little because at least she could still laugh.
“I will address all those in the pack and restore your honour. You deserve a happy life too, Ashley,” he said.
He touched her arms carefully, trying to offer comfort without giving her false hope.
“Did that douchebag force you to join his pack?” he asked, referring to Sebastien.
Ashley shook her head immediately.
“He isn’t a bad guy, Joseph. He is just misunderstood,” she said.
Joseph frowned at her. The defence came too quickly. Too softly. It did not make sense to him.
“What do you mean by that? He stabbed you, Ashley. He stabbed you with poison and tried to kill you for Cynthia’s sake,” Joseph said.
The memory of Ashley lying on the floor, bleeding out, flashed in his mind. He remembered taking the deal to save lives. Remembered feeling trapped. Remembered the rage that came with powerlessness.
“I took the deal to save your lives,” he said, rage sharpening his voice.
Ashley shook her head.
“He isn’t a bad guy, Joseph. He didn’t mean to,” she said.
Joseph stared at her, and a cold thought slipped into his mind. Had she been brainwashed? The idea did not feel impossible. He thought about everything he had seen since arriving in Ceenas. The people were acting normal. Too normal. They were not behaving like people under bondage. No one looked afraid. No one looked broken. Had they all been brainwashed too? Or was there something else happening that he still could not see?
“I am taking you home. We can talk about it when we get to Whitewood,” Joseph said.
He held her upper arm, ready to move her with him. Ashley tried to pull away, but before she could say anything, Sebastien entered the lounge growling. Klein clearly could not bear seeing Joseph touch his mate, and Sebastien could no longer stay away.
Joseph growled back at once and moved Ashley behind him, placing himself between her and Sebastien. She might not be his mate anymore. He might not be in love with her. But she had been a member of his pack, and he would not allow any harm to come to her.