Night Carved Paths Into Silence by Zyrel Ash ` 289
He stood up, walked over to the balcony, and lowered his voice.
His tone was ice–cold, devoid of any warmth. “Are you done?”
The woman on the other end was taken aback by his harsh tone
and started crying harder. “Bradley, please help me. You’re Mr.
Kline’s only son. He’ll definitely listen to you.”
“Listen to me?”
Bradley scoffed, mercilessly calling her bluff. “Listen to me
about what?
Listen to me teach him how to play with women?”
“No… I…”
Bradley completely lost his patience and cut her off.
His voice was filled with undisguised mockery and weariness.
“Get to the point. Stop the act.
How much?”
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The crying on the other end stopped abruptly, as if someone
had hit a pause button.
After a moment, the woman’s sobs quieted, and her tone
became hesitant and calculating. “Bradley… what do you mean
by that…‘
“It means name a price, take the money, and get lost. Don’t
bother me again.”
Bradley’s voice was completely flat, as if he were discussing a
routine business transaction.
“This is the first and last time. If you dare to call again, you’ll
face the consequences.”
After saying that, he didn’t give her a chance to speak again and
hung up the phone.
He tossed the phone back onto the sofa, where it landed with a
dull thud.
He had to deal with this kind of thing every so often; he was
already used to handling it.
He raised a hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, an
indescribable frustration tightening in his chest.
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He turned around, leaned against the sliding glass door of the
balcony, and his gaze fell on the kitchen.
He wasn’t sure when the sound of running water had stopped.
Charlotte had her back to him, slowly drying the clean dishes
with a cloth.
A phone rang again. It was Charlotte’s.
Were all the phones this busy today?
“Bradley.”
Charlotte didn’t turn around, calling out to Bradley, “Can you
bring me my phone? It’s on the table.”
Bradley agreed and went to pick up her phone.
Simon?
Bradley raised an eyebrow, a faint, almost imperceptible smile
playing on his lips.
Oh… so it’s her “boyfriend.”
He walked over with the phone, and Charlotte turned around.
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“My hands are wet, can you get that for me?”
She had a client meeting today, so it was probably them calling.
Bradley leaned against the kitchen door, answered with a smile,
and thoughtfully put it on speakerphone.
On the other end of the line, an oblivious Simon started to
speak.
“Charlotte, are you busy?”
Charlotte’s hands froze, and she quickly turned, nervously trying
to grab the phone from Bradley’s hand.
Bradley raised an eyebrow and lifted his hand. He was tall, and
Charlotte couldn’t reach it even on her tiptoes, so she had no
choice but to give up.
“Charlotte?”
When Simon didn’t get an answer, he called out again.
“I–I’m here.”
Charlotte looked at Bradley, her heart pounding, and quickly
answered.
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She could only pray that Simon wouldn’t reveal everything.
“How’s that case you’ve been working on recently?
Is it going smoothly?”
“It’s fine.”
“That’s good. Are you free in the next few days? I’d like to treat
you to a meal.”
Charlotte bit her lip. Although Simon’s tone was a bit formal, at
least he hadn’t blown her cover yet.
She cleared her throat. “A meal? Sure, anytime.”
After saying that, she wanted to end the call quickly and was
about to make an excuse to hang up.
But, no such luck.
Simon on the other end of the line didn’t seem to notice the
tense atmosphere, his voice tinged with apology. “Actually, I
wanted to apologize to you. You know… my junior colleague
was transferred to our department.”
Charlotte’s throat tightened. She could feel Bradley’s eyes on
her.
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“That thing I promised you before, I probably can’t do it now.”
Charlotte felt like Bradley’s gaze could almost burn two holes in
her face.
She didn’t dare look at him, her fingers unconsciously
tightening around the dishcloth until her knuckles turned white.
Simon sighed. “Thinking about it now, I never should have
agreed to help you lie to him. But you seemed so troubled back
then… Now I think you should have handled the problem
between you two more directly. Sorry I couldn’t help you for
long.”
Lie to him.
Those three words exploded like thunder in the quiet kitchen.
Charlotte froze completely, her face turning paler by the
second.
She could even feel the lazy, playful aura around Bradley vanish
in an instant.
Replaced by a cold, oppressive silence.
On the other end, Simon finally, belatedly, sensed something
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was wrong. “Charlotte?
Are you listening?
Is something going on over there…?”
Bradley finally moved.
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.