93\u2013It\u2019s Over\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeline:\u00a0<\/p>\n
I maintained eye contact with Baxter, wishing he would realize that I wasn\u2019t falling for his tricks anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. All this mess started because of you,\u201d I hissed, noticing how the confidence in his eyes began to fade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m telling you, I didn\u2019t know,\u201d he kept repeating, insisting that he was clueless, saying the same excuses over and over again. I had heard them all before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, that\u2019s because you didn\u2019t believe me. And look what happened. You got yourself fooled, and you almost cost me so much,\u201d I hissed again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then I noticed Graham shifting his weight from one leg to the other.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that even mean? Even if they prove the children are ours, it\u2019s not like we\u2019re going to take them away from you. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?\u201d he complained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA big deal? That\u2019s because I don\u2019t want the kids to be known as yours. Do you not remember how you said no? And before you start explaining your reasons, I don\u2019t care. I suffered, alright? You had all the time in the world to tell me, but you didn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I might have gone too far, considering the two of them had once tried to save my life. But with Graham, I had really messed up when I went into his father\u2019s office trying to steal the files. That was the hard truth. I had taken the keys from him and betrayed his trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fact that he had never called me out for it made me wonder how long before he finally would.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyway, I need to spend some time with my kids. The issue is that they\u2019re not letting me go back home,\u201d I sighed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is it an issue? Our kids are werewolves too. Wouldn\u2019t you rather have them grow up in a place where they\u2019re safe, instead of the human world where they\u2019d be killed the moment someone finds out what they are?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The harsh truth came from Baxter, his tone was rough and stern.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could respond, I noticed Ron walking out with the kids.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMommy, we\u2019re not leaving! Yay!\u201d they shouted in excitement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As they began to celebrate, everyone\u2019s eyes turned to me. I could feel their thoughts, wondering why my children looked so happy instead of worrying about ever going back home again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I didn\u2019t need to answer that now. I could drag it out as long as I needed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want, I can take them downstairs. You finish your conversation, and then you can join us,\u201d Ron suggested.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I\u2019m done,\u201d I replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But before he could leave with the kids, someone else barged in, stopping me from moving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yuvonne!\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had dark circles under her eyes, swollen lids, and a red, puffy face. Her lips were cracked and her nose red. I knew this was what she looked like whenever she had been crying for too long.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll take the kids down to the parking lot,\u201d Ron said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
93 It\u2019s OveT\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
The way he looked at Yuvonne and then glanced at me for my reaction made it clear, he already sensed the tension between us. Her interview had made it obvious to everyone that she wasn\u2019t exactly sweet or thrilled about having him back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Ron walked away, I straightened my back, bracing myself for Yuvonne to come at me, to accuse me of ruining her night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead, she looked past me straight at Baxter and walked right up to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy aren\u2019t you responding to my calls?\u201d she demanded, completely ignoring the people around her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baxter\u2019s hands rested on his waist. His expression was blank, but his clenched jaw gave him away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made me look like a liar and an incapable man,\u201d he said flatly, explaining why he hadn\u2019t felt the need to check on her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow? I told you she was the one who caused the scene!\u201d Yuvonne protested, still trying to twist the story in her favor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kids told me everything,\u201d Baxter replied. \u201cAnd I\u2019m not an idiot, Yuvonne. When I entered the room, I could feel the energy shift. You lied to me. And do you think I had gone far away to attend the call? I was away from the dining room, but I still heard enough. I gave you a chance to tell me the truth, but you decided to lie.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As soon as he said that, her face started to turn pale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI got a little carried away,\u201d she stammered. \u201cWhen I saw her, and how she was acting with my parents-\u201d Her voice cracked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNow they\u2019re your parents?\u201d Baxter shot back. \u201cDidn\u2019t you say they were her parents too? That she should see them because they missed her and wanted to apologize? And you really expect me to believe you weren\u2019t just luring her there to cause more trouble?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was stunned to see Baxter finally call her out. I was still angry about everything that had happened, but watching her face that reckoning, it was the most satisfying thing I\u2019d seen in a long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked almost hysterical, unable to process what was happening. She wasn\u2019t used to being confronted. Every time she\u2019d wronged me before, she\u2019d walked away untouched, I one daring to question her. But not this time. This time, things were different and she knew it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then you went ahead and did the interview,\u201d Baxter continued, \u201cjust to make sure there was a nail in the coffin. Even after I warned you last night\u2013don\u2019t tell anyone about the wolf thing. I told you to tell your parents that if anyone spoke about it, you\u2019d cut contact. I made that clear. I warned mine too. They kept quiet. But you didn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He went on about the damage she\u2019d caused after that argument.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could have spoken up, could have humiliated her like she\u2019d done to me but I didn\u2019t. Because hearing it from Baxter hurt her more than anything I could have said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yuvonne began sniffling, shaking her head, doing everything she could to look desperate. She even rubbed her face too hard, leaving faint scratches from her nails. When he didn\u2019t react, she stared at him in disbelief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d she whispered. \u201cOkay? I\u2019ll do another interview. I\u2019ll tell everyone I was emotional. Would that be okay?\u201d Her voice cracked again, softer this time, trembling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
93- Ove\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was painfully awkward for the rest of us to stand there, watching them unravel. But I didn\u2019t move. I wanted her to feel that humiliation with me standing right there to witness it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What Baxter said next, though, caught me completely off guard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cIt\u2019s over.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words hung in the air. Everyone, including me, gasped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
93\u2013It\u2019s Over\u00a0 Madeline:\u00a0 I maintained eye contact with Baxter, wishing he would realize that I wasn\u2019t falling for his tricks […]<\/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-19089","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\/19089","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=19089"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19089\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19294,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19089\/revisions\/19294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}