Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Didn\u2019t Scarlet have enough troubles to deal with?\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was a realist, knowing that love wasn\u2019t essential. It was nice to have, sure, but she could do perfectly fine without it. Ayla refused to give up. \u201cRyan is honestly amazing. He\u2019s a gentleman, considerate, and knows how to care for others. \u201cHe\u2019s nothing like William, that cheating jerk. He\u2019s serious when he\u2019s in a relationship. If it weren\u2019t you, I wouldn\u2019t even bother introducing him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucy\u2019s eyes lit up. \u201cIf he\u2019s that great, introduce him to me! She doesn\u2019t want to date, but I do!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me a break Nyla scoffed. \u201cYou\u2019d drag down our family\u2019s average IQ\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucy lunged and locked an arm around her neck. \u201cSay that again?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ayla immediately grabbed her back \u201cYou bully me every day and still think you can marry my brother? In your dreams!\u201d \u201cLet go of me!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou let go first!TM\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo! You grabbed me first. You should let go!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet calmly lifted her plate off the table, well\u2013practiced by now, just in case the two of them knocked it over mid\u2013wrestle and dumped food all over her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Genuinely baffled, she muttered, \u201cI\u2019m so mature and level\u2013headed. Why am I friends with you two, exactly?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucy and Xyla shouted together. \u201cThree, two, one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, they released each other at the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucy flipped her hair. \u201cDon\u2019t you remember? Back in school, if I hadn\u2019t shamelessly clung to you, you wouldn\u2019t have given me the time of day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you won people over by being relentless, too?\u201d Xyla narrowed her eyes. \u201cDon\u2019t tell me you\u2019re ENFP as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDamn. You too?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two who\u2019d just been trying to strangle each other now warmly shook hands like long\u2013lost comrades. \u201cFellow ENFPS unite. We\u2019re not doing anything wrong. We just like squeezing into introverts\u2018 space.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet stared at them. What did introverts like her ever do to deserve this?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tonight\u2019s rooftop restaurant was Xyla\u2019s pick. It was well\u2013known, with glass walls on all sides and an unobstructed view of Lebavia\u2019s dazzling nightscape. Snow dusted the roof, and inside, the lights were dim and warm. Candles flickered on every table, casting soft, romantic shadows.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As they were getting ready to leave, Lucy glanced around at all the couples seated together. \u201cHonestly, the food was pretty average. It\u2019s just the atmosphere that\u2019s nice. This place is clearly meant for dates. Why are the three of us even here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with the three of us?\u201d Xyla said, digging through her bag for her credit card. \u201cCan\u2019t the three of us live our lives well together?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ignoring the cashier\u2019s barely suppressed smile, Scarlet pulled out her phone. \u201cI\u2019ll get it today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The cashier pulled up their table\u2019s bill and was about to scan the code when she paused. \u201cOh, sorry, this table\u2019s already been paid.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPaid?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
X CLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
& brvation hoba\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0ab9\u00a0<\/p>\n
Play now\u00a0<\/p>\n
212\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, Xyla shouted, \u201cRyan!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet turned and saw Ryan walking out after finishing dinner with his friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Xyla leaned in and whispered urgently, \u201cI swear this wasn\u2019t a setup. If I\u2019m lying, may lightning strike me the moment I step outside!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet thought she didn\u2019t have to be that brutal to herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you done eating? I just wrapped up, too. I can give you a ride back,\u201d Ryan said, exchanging a few words with his friend before the friend left.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucy said, \u201cI drove here. I\u2019ll take Scarlet back later. You just take Xyla home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Xyla shoved her bag into Ryan\u2019s hands. \u201cWait for me a second. I need to use the restroom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re unbelievable,\u201d Lucy muttered, already following her. \u201cWait up. I\u2019m coming, too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet and Ryan stayed by the restaurant exit to wait for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A notification popped up in the hospital group chat. Madison tagged her, and she lowered her head to check the message. After a moment of silence, Ryan said, \u201cXyla\u2019s always acting on impulse. Has she been causing you trouble?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlet looked up and realized he was watching her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe it was the restaurant lighting, but his gaze felt softer, more intimate than she\u2019d expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He must\u2019ve heard what Xyla said earlier. She knew exactly what he meant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy divorce with William isn\u2019t officially finalized yet. It\u2019s messy as it is, and the paperwork still isn\u2019t done. You\u2019re his friend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you get caught up in it and people start talking, that wouldn\u2019t be good for your reputation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re always thinking about other people first, aren\u2019t you?\u201d Ryan said. \u201cYou said all that, but not a single word about yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I finally found a game\u00a0<\/p>\n
Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Didn\u2019t Scarlet have enough troubles to deal with?\u00a0 She was a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-end-of-the-contractstart-of-his-obsession"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13559"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13597,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13559\/revisions\/13597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}