━━━─── • ───━━━

• Chase •

As he laid down in his bed and waited patiently for Luna to return from going out with Sarah and her sister, Chase's mind was busy. Vikram was taking a nap in their guest bedroom, and all he could focus on was what had been going on with his fiancée lately.

The cute little smiles she once showed to him only appeared when she sat thinking. The way she used to hug him wasn't as strong as it once was. To him, she was becoming a different Luna, and he'd catch her standing alone, mumbling to herself. Other times, it seemed like she was imagining someone was around her and spoke to them as if they were a real person.

Her attitude had changed long before they'd gotten engaged. And Chase had noticed many changes within her throughout the past year. There was something different about her, and she hadn't realized he'd been onto her for a while.

He knew something was going on when he heard her talking to herself in the kitchen after dancing. When he came around the corner, he heard her speak about traveling around the world.

Was she thinking of leaving me?

Chase shook his head. There was no way she'd up and decide to leave him. They loved and trusted each other. But leaving him . . . to fly to Paris? When he looked in on her, she seemed to tell the air something about money. He stopped her before she could finish her sentence and couldn't handle her talking to herself any longer.

The last time she spoke to someone who wasn't there was the time she saw Sam. Sam was there to hold her hand at church when their family attended it with his parents. Sam was there to cook meals with her and play games with Sarah. Sam had been dead for a year before she had started imagining him.

Luna had a hard time after his death, and Chase understood that when they'd spoken about it. He understood Sam had died on his daughter's birthday and knew Sarah had also missed him.

He didn't care to allow that to affect how he wanted to be a father to Sarah. He loved her like she was his daughter. He wanted them to officially become a family one day and live life happily.

Before either of them can proceed with wedding plans, Chase needed to find out what is going on with Luna. Was she really seeing someone who was not there physically?

Shifting his gaze toward the time, he hopped up and threw on his shoes. After tightening his shoelaces, he heard a masculine throat being cleared and spun around to see Vikram was up from his afternoon nap.

"Hey, brother."

"Hey, Vik," Chase replied. "Feel better?"

"Not much. I kept hearing noises outside. What are you about to do?"

"I was about to prepare some sandwiches."

Vikram stepped in through the doorway and stood beside the bed next to Chase. "That sounds good. I'm sure the ladies will be hungry when they return."

"They've been gone for a few hours now. Do you want to play a video game while we wait?"

Vikram nodded as Chase picked up his phone and asked Luna where they were. She replied they were at the ballroom and will be making it home in a couple of hours. After setting up the game system, the guys played a few sports games in the living room.

In the middle of a soccer game, when Chase was five points ahead, Vikram stopped playing and turned his way. "I was thinking about something."

"Yeah?"

"I guess I was going to ask for some advice. You and Luna seem to have a great thing going," he told Chase, laying his controller down.

"We do."

Vikram took several gulps of his Apple Juice and let out a deep breath. "How did you propose to Luna?"

"I did it at her studio," Chase answered. "I set up the proposal in the middle of a client's photographs, and the particular client had been sent as a decoy for me; a guy I work with that she didn't know. I had my friend take a picture of me holding a sign that said, 'Luna, Will You Marry Me?' Then later I put the photo in the middle of all of his. I was walking into her office with flowers and a ring. She beamed and appreciated the creativity of it. I then pulled out a small box with my grandmother's ring, and the rest is history."

"That was a nice proposal. I bet she was surprised." Vikram grinned.

"It was more than a surprise. She thought I was joking."

"You have helped raise Sarah all these years. I'm sure that matters a lot to her."

"Sarah is part of her, and her biological father died under horrible circumstances. I met Sarah when she was a year old, and she'll always be like a daughter to me. Blood isn't always about defining a person's relationship with someone."

Vikram nodded. "True. I come from an Indian family, and we hold our traditions and culture seriously."

"Are you thinking about asking Liberty for her hand in marriage?"

"I don't know how I want to."

"You could do something that will surprise her," Chase remarked, earning a snicker from Vikram.

"Liberty isn't great with surprises. She was panicking through our house to make sure she packed everything for the trip here. She didn't want to miss anything."

"Is Liberty someone you can picture spending the rest of your life with?" Chase asked, and Vikram glanced over at him, nodding. "Then you should think about proposing in a way she'll least expect."

"Are you and Luna going to get married this Monday? I mean, that's tomorrow."

"We can. We'll just have the public ceremony at a later time, and a pastor I know can conduct the wedding for us in the afternoon."

"But Chase," Vikram countered, raising an eyebrow. "That would defeat the purpose of how Luna had probably planned to get married. I'm sure she doesn't want a quick wedding without her parents there."

"I know, but I'm hoping she agrees to it. We can marry now in a private setting, and later have it public. All of our friends and family will be there."

"And if Luna doesn't agree?" Vikram asked.

"Well, our next date will be in October this year."

"October? That's in five months."

"I know, but that's enough time for planning."

Vikram lost the football game by three points and cocked his head at Chase. "You sure about marrying on Halloween?"

"Yeah, considering we met that day."

"Luna and Sarah are lucky to have you. You're a great man."

Chase climbed to his feet and walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. "Thank you for saying that."

"I'm serious. Liberty has given me a short history of the people who've done Luna wrong. And you haven't."

"Luna and I have spoken about our past relationships. But I can't deny something feels off about her."

Vikram joined Chase in the kitchen as they gazed outside the window. "I don't mean to bring up her mental health, but do you feel like she's experiencing her hallucinations again?"

Chase stepped around Vikram and sat at the counter, arms crossed in front of him. After a few minutes of silence, they heard the front door open. Sarah dashed towards him and hopped into his arms. He wrapped his arms around Luna and Sarah's shoulders as Liberty joined with a few shopping bags in her hands. He grabbed a small sippy cup for Sarah and filled it with milk while helping the girls with their new purchases, then ushered Luna to the side to hug her.

"How was your day?" Chase asked her with his face in her hair.

"Good. Liberty and I are thinking about heading to a club tonight."

"Really? I thought you didn't like going to those types of places."

"I don't. The last time I went to a club was with Lynette and Walter for her birthday. But I want to hang out with my sister wherever she wants to go," Luna replied.

"Okay. But I expect you home by midnight."

"Not gonna work. We'll be home when we are tired."

Chase pursed his lips, smirking at her. "As long as you two are okay, I'll be fine."

"All right. There is something we should talk about. Something that could change things between us."

"You're not leaving me, are you?"

Luna giggled and shook her head. "Of course not. Sarah and I love you."

He smiled and moved in closer to her face. "I love you, too. Both of you are my darlings."

"Darlings?"

He nodded. Right when he was just about to connect his lips to hers, they were interrupted as Liberty rushed at them.

"Guess what? Guess what? Vikram just proposed," she announced, bringing up a small diamond ring on her third finger.

Luna and Liberty hugged it out and squealed together. Chase then stepped outside the door when a call came in on his phone.

Answering it, he said, "Yeah?"

"Chase! It's me, Lacey. Can you walk to the end of your street?"

"Why?"

"It's important."

"I'm walking your way now," Chase said, pacing quickly toward the end of his driveway, spotting Lacey's black SUV.

"I didn't mean to pull you away from your future in-laws visiting, but this couldn't wait."

"What's so urgent, Lacey?"

"It's about Luna," she said.

"What do you mean?"

Lacey quickly pulled up her phone and showed Chase a recording of Luna talking to herself as she walked around the ballroom earlier. His stomach tumbled and his mouth became bone dry as a small lump settled in his throat.

Sam was back!

"Do you see it?"

His intuition and his brain kept telling him that she might need help again. He may need to have an intervention with the Carlyle's.

Chase pushed away from Lacey's car and walked to a tree nearby, slamming his fist into it. "I can't believe this."

"When was the last time she'd taken any medication?"

"For her delusions, two years ago. For headaches and minor things like that, she takes them all the time."

"Luna might be sick again," Lacey said. "She came by the hotel today to show Liberty where you guys took dance lessons. She wasn't acting like herself."

"Oh, no."

"I'm just trying to forewarn you about the possibility —"

"That she's mental, again?" Chase finished for her. "Is that what you were going to say?"

"I'm sorry. I don't know how to help with these kinds of things."

"I need you to do something for me, Lacey."

"Yeah. Anything."

"I need you to get a room ready at the hospital. After Memorial Day, I'll sign the paperwork and get everything in order."

"But Chase . . . you aren't her husband."

"Luna signed for me to be her healthcare proxy. I can make medical decisions on her behalf, and I'll talk to her family about what's going on. We have a video that proves Luna is sick." With a shaky breath, he finished, "I'm having her committed."

━━━─── • ───━━━

The inner claws of Chase are slowly coming out. There's more to be unveiled.

Please keep in mind that once all three books are rewritten, new chapters without votes or feedback will be posted. Prior to Chapter 18, each story arc has been tightened. In the newer version, this point in the timeline occurs much earlier. While the characters and plot remain, the writing has improved. Thank you for reading these books.