Hidden Lies

Chapter 2

Six years ago

“Yes, yes! I’ll marry you, Conan, how could I not?” Luna smiled and with tears in her eyes, she kissed Conan ever so sweetly.

Her mama used to call them happy tears and she was shedding them right now. As she examined the ring Conan had slipped onto her finger when she said yes, she bit her lower lip and smiled.

She was about to get her happy ever after.

“Thank you, baby, you know you’ve made me the happiest man alive right?” Conan said as he kissed her forehead, and let his fingers caress her dark curls, how we loved the feel of her hair against his fingers.

“I sure as hell am not giving you seven babies Conan, we’ll have to review that request of yours” Luna teased, making Conan grin widely, showing off his dimples.

“Oh Luna, You know waking up to you by my side every morning is just enough for a man. My mother surely wants grandkids and lots of them but we’re only going to give her as many as you allow, my love.” He joked, but Luna’s face fell instead.

“What is it, baby? Why do you look so sad?”

“Your mother would not approve, Conan and your grandfather. He’s not going to let that happen as long as he’s alive. No, this was a mistake.”

Luna said, teary-eyed. This time she didn’t have happy tears in her eyes. Her reality had struck her, why did she think she could get married to Conan?

“Listen to me baby, listen.” Conan held Luna's face in his hands and looked into her eyes as he spoke,

“Nobody’s going to stop us from getting married, okay? You and me? We’re getting married. And we’re going to buy that cozy house you keep talking about and we’re going to be happy. Okay?” He watched her give a shaky nod before he hugged her.

Luna was his and he wasn’t going to let neither his mother nor his grandfather change that.

The first time Conan Gregson, only grandson and heir to Billionaire Tech giant, Billy Holloway and his dynasty spoke to her, she felt like she had been handed a piece of silver.

At twenty years old, Luna Morales was a naïve, shy and dreamy only child of Gabriella Morales, the janitor in the Gregson Mansion.

Although she was already a freshman, with a law major at Brighton University, she was a nobody according to societal standards and definitely no match for Conan Gregson in his mother’s opinion.

Karen Gregson despised Luna and wished that her son would let go of this madness called love and look at the bigger picture.

Luna was a nobody, the daughter of an immigrant who scrubbed floors and worked three jobs to make ends meet, that wasn’t the type of woman he needed at his side, no!

Even though he knew of his mother’s reservations regarding Luna, Conan didn’t care. He had one more year to finish college and enough time to make his life with Luna worthwhile.

They were young, yes, but Luna made him happy. He had to tell his mother soon, he knew she would disapprove but still, he had to tell her.

When his father died, he had fallen out with his mother and gone rogue, doing everything he knew would hurt her, at first even dating Luna was an act of rebellion because he knew his mother wouldn’t approve, and he was right but then he fell in love.

Luna taught him how to let go of all that anger he harboured towards himself and his mother, she made him a better person.

Immediately Luna ran through the door after Conan dropped her off at her mother’s house, Luna ran straight into the kitchen where she knew her mother would be, screaming excitedly.

“Mama! Mama!” Luna screamed as she made her way to her mother.

“What is it chica? Want to scream down our already leaking roof?” Gabriella Morales frowned.

“He asked me to marry him, Mama!” Luna squealed excitedly, waving her ringed finger in front of her mother.

“Who asked you to marry him?” Gabriella’s eyes narrowed to a slit

“Conan, he asked me to marry him and I said yes!”

“No” Gabriella clutched her chest, going over to where Luna stood and hugged her “I’m so happy for you mija, but what about his family?”

“Well, Conan promised me they wouldn’t be a problem and I believe him, mama, I do,” Luna said quietly, trying to dampen the fear that had begun to arise in her mind.

If Conan said he would handle it, then she believed him with all her heart.

The next morning, Conan sat fuming in the exotic living room of his home, he was having a hard time convincing his mother to let him get married to Luna.

“Being poor is not enough reason to reject anyone, Mom. I love the girl for heaven’s sake, does that not mean anything to you?” Conan asked after many failed attempts to make her see reason.

“She’s a gold digger son. I can see through the girl.” His mother continued.

“But-”

“I don’t want to hear any more about this girl, Conan. If you go ahead with this, you forfeit your inheritance and trust me, I’m not bluffing.” Karen said.

She watched Conan try to digest what she had just said and smiled to herself, maybe mentioning his inheritance was a good idea.

It would keep him thinking for a few days before she decided what to do.

Luna Morales was a low-life opportunist who thought she could make a name for herself by clinging to her son, but not on her watch.

As Conan tried to make sense of what his mother had just said, his phone rang. It was Edward, his grandfather’s housekeeper.

“Edward, is there a problem, why’d you call so early?” Conan asked when he answered the phone.

“I’m afraid it’s bad news, Mr. Gregson,” Edward said solemnly.

“What happened? Is Grandpa okay?” Conan’s heart had begun to thump, somehow he knew something was wrong with his grandfather.

“He’s dead sir”

“What?!”