27\u2013Like Father Like Son\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeline:\u00a0<\/p>\n
I panicked and instantly turned my back to him, pulling my robe shut and hugging myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was pretty sure he saw it. He saw my entire front. I closed my eyes awkwardly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so sorry,\u201d I heard Baxter murmur.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I slowly turned around to check on him, I noticed he was facing away, anxiously running a hand through his hair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI promise I didn\u2019t see anything. No, no, no\u2013I don\u2019t promise, but I didn\u2019t see anything,\u201d he stammered, trying to explain to calm me down, but only made it worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What did he even mean by not wanting to promise?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay. I was wearing undergarments anyway,\u201d I lied, quickly tying the bathrobe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, right,\u201d he replied with a hint of sass.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I guess he didn\u2019t really want to make me feel better, otherwise, he wouldn\u2019t have questioned me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was calling out my lie, but what could I do now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I awkwardly clicked my tongue and lightly slapped my forehead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had almost forgotten that he had keys to my room, and I had keys to his, just in case of emergencies since my kids were still sick, I didn\u2019t want him waiting if I called for help.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyway, I\u2019m covered now,\u201d I said, and he turned around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes immediately darted to his pants, noticing the clear bulge. I looked away again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you fucking serious, Baxter?\u201d I snapped, folding my arms over my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him look down and place a hand over his pants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nothing, it\u2019s a calm situation. I\u2019m just not wearing underwear,\u201d he blurted out, trying to make an excuse twearing underwear, he blurted out trying to make an excuse\u00a0<\/p>\n
I almost smiled, remembering how bad he was at lying especially in moments like this.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But my smile faded quickly when I saw him notice it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyway, you were going to talk about the sickness,\u201d I said, clearing my throat and sitting at the table in the middle of the suite.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a luxurious high\u2013rise, I could see the city buildings through the window.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baxter walked in and sat down, holding a file in his hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He opened it and showed me a list of names submitted by parents of the children suffering from the sickness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe names keep adding up, Madeline. It\u2019s not looking good,\u201d he muttered, anxiously tapping his pen against the\u00a0<\/p>\n
paper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know. Is that what you came here for?\u201d I asked, thinking maybe he just needed moral support.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
#25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, actually,\u201d he said, scratching the back of his neck before pointing to one particular note, a statement from a child.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe child said he was led into the woods. He was picked up and placed on a swing, and someone was p him. And it hit a nerve because I remember having that dream when I was a kid, Madeline.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As he s\u00a0<\/p>\n
pushing\u00a0<\/p>\n
spoke, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same place. The same feeling of being lifted, placed on a swing by someone tall whose face I couldn\u2019t see. The purple autumn leaves, everything was the same.\u201d he paused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of it, Madeline. I don\u2019t understand. And you know who mentioned it?\u201d he went on, giving me one shock after another.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But this time, I wasn\u2019t surprised. I already knew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBodhi did,\u201d I whispered in a broken voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. My son did,\u201d he admitted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that moment, we just stared at each other helplessly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019ll go and sleep now,\u201d he said suddenly, breaking the silence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The way he shut the file was gentle, like someone who had accepted defeat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He placed his hands on the table, pushed himself up, and straightened his posture, showing how exhausted he\u00a0<\/p>\n
was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I kept watching him the entire time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then he slowly picked up the file and gave me a look, a look filled with sadness and longing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that moment, I felt like he might be feeling lonely in his room, maybe even wanting me to ask him to stay.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I didn\u2019t. I stayed silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He began to walk away, dragging his feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He moved slowly, turning around a few times to give me a small nod, as if to say he was leaving now, but I could tell he was waiting for me to stop him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had taken care of him before. I knew exactly why he was so tired and sad. I knew it all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But this time, I didn\u2019t want to help him. Taking care of him in the past had only left me feeling uncared for.\u00a0<\/p>\n
v suite.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And just like that, he walked out of my\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a few seconds, I felt guilty for not asking him to stay, but then I reminded myself, he hadn\u2019t cared for me before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why should I care now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I went to bed and woke early the next morning to visit the place with the kids,\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were all excited, thinking it was going to be a picnic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I guess that was fine, because if I told them the truth, they wouldn\u2019t understand. They\u2019d only be scared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baxter was the one driving us to the woods, with Alpha Ron following in his own car.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t have to stick with us, though,\u201d Baxter complained, knowing full well I wasn\u2019t responding to his whining.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m okay with him coming. It\u2019s his pack anyway,\u201d I replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you ask him to come?\u201d he asked again, making me roll my eyes and shake my head while I stared out the window, avoiding his gaze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, we arrived. I carried Elara, while Gina and Bodhi held hands, happily walking into the woods.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elara seemed a little scared for some reason.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We led the kids straight to the tree with the purple autumn leaves. And when I say I gasped, I truly gasped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even Alpha Ron and Baxter turned to look at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was still the same beautiful tree, holding so many memories, but this time, something was different.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The tree was starting to wilt and die from the top, not the bottom. Somehow, that made it even eerier.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen this tree in my dreams,\u201d Bodhi whispered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And to make things worse, my kids confirmed it, running toward the tree and touching the swing beneath it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The same swing Baxter and Bodhi had seen in their dreams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
BIG SALE: 3500 bonus free fou y\u00a0<\/p>\n
you\u00a0<\/p>\n
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27\u2013Like Father Like Son\u00a0 Madeline:\u00a0 I panicked and instantly turned my back to him, pulling my robe shut and hugging […]<\/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":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-no-daddy-novel-by-novelnozi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19023","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=19023"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19228,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19023\/revisions\/19228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}