100\u2013Giving Her A Second Chance\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baxter:\u00a0<\/p>\n
I returned to my room alone. No one accompanied me, and it didn\u2019t seem like anyone was required, just maybe\u00a0<\/p>\n
someone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that someone had not only drifted away from me and moved on, she had done so many years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Or perhaps she had never been attached to me enough to move on in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I grunted, wandering down the third\u2013floor hallway by myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All the while, I couldn\u2019t help but think about her husband. It wasn\u2019t only jealousy that made me focus on him or want to look deeper into who he was, there was something else.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He seemed strangely familiar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After pacing around for a while, I noticed my cell phone ringing. I already knew who it was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s been calling us a lot,\u201d I told my wolf, referring to Yuvonne.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe feels guilty, maybe?\u201d my wolf wondered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shrugged, I couldn\u2019t be sure. Yuvonne had really disappointed me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All these years, I thought I knew her, at least.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But then she pulled this stunt and ruined everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The only person I thought I could trust turned out to be ignorant when it mattered most.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, I answered the call and pressed the phone to my ear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAt least you picked up,\u201d she remarked from the other end, her voice thick and nasal, suggesting she had been crying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know I\u2019d answer your call even if I were in the middle of a war. But what you did, Yuvonne, you embarrassed me,\u201d I told her, taking a deep breath.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, I almost wanted to burn everything down for Madeline again, until her husband appeared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then I realized how easily I had forgotten the way she treated me in the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why did I turn blind to her again?\u00a0<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t fair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The only person who had stood by me through the years was Yuvonne, and yet I was punishing her so harshly because of Madeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was as if Yuvonne heard my thoughts, because she started speaking as though she knew exactly what was running through my mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFine, I was angry with her. After she left you hurt, I just I couldn\u2019t stop. I couldn\u2019t think straight. In anger, I decided to give her a taste of her own medicine, to make her realize how much it hurts when someone talks about your past or mocks your condition,\u201d she explained, her voice breaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think I wanted to ruin my engagement dinner? No. I did it because I wanted her to see she was wrong. And\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
100\u2013Gving Her A Second Chance\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m really sorry. If you want, I\u2019ll even apologize to her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she began to cry, I started to feel bad for her because she was right.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeline had done me wrong but still, she should have not done her so much damage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, don\u2019t ever do that again. You don\u2019t need to take any step for me or argue with her on my behalf, you hear?\u201d I warned her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t. But does that mean you forgive me?\u201d she asked, her tone hopeful.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll take me some time to readjust to the idea of an engagement ceremony,\u201d I replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a strange feeling in me, whispering that I was doing something wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But whenever I thought about my past, about how Madeline had wronged me, I convinced myself otherwise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Madeline could move on without ever apologizing, then I had the right to be with someone who would stand by me through thick and thin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t owe Madeline my loyalty after she broke my trust. (1\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI will not disappoint you again. You know, Baxter, I only care about you,\u201d she told me, her tone gentle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you eat dinner?\u201d I asked, forcing concern into my voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew I was wrong to lead her on, but after she started caring for me, she simply grew closer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then one day, she proposed. She told me she wanted to be with me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the time, I told her I didn\u2019t feel the same way, but she said all she needed was a chance and that she wouldn\u2019t disappoint me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After that, we began dating, and everything became a blur.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a good relationship, we rarely fought. Yuvonne was truly understanding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a mature relationship, to be honest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And it wasn\u2019t that I didn\u2019t find her attractive or that I didn\u2019t like her, I did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that wild spark I once felt for Madeline wasn\u2019t there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Or maybe that was simply because we weren\u2019t teenagers anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We were adults, reacting as adults.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI did. By the way, I heard you\u2019re going to be staying at my back for a few days. That means I can meet you,\u201d she said from the other end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her words made me step into my room and close the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We started talking about random things, the cure, mostly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, as I walked to the window and looked outside, I saw Madeline on the road. My heart instantly skipped a beat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d Yuvonne must have noticed that I have zoned out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing,\u201d I replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
100\u2013Giving Her A Second Chance\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you staying at the guesthouse mansion?\u201d she asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded instinctively, as if she could see me through the phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMadeline\u2019s mansion is right next to it, right? Everyone\u2019s been talking about how the researcher\u2019s staying at the back,\u201d she continued, explaining why she\u2019d brought it up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d was all I said. Then came another long silence, until she broke it again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow about I come over there?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As soon as she said that, my muscles tightened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. You have your own floor, right? You must be lonely. I could come stay there. We don\u2019t have to share a room, I\u2019d just feel better knowing you\u2019re nearby. And I\u2019m sure you\u2019d love to have me around too,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I stared down at Madeline, recalling how timid and clingy she\u2019d been with Sawyer, anger rushed through me, and I did what I always did when angry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, sure. Move in. It\u2019ll be great having you around,\u201d I hissed, inviting her for all the wrong reasons. 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
The truth was, I wanted Madeline to watch me with Yuvonne and feel the same pain I felt seeing her with Sawyer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But deep down, I knew she wouldn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe I was bringing Yuvonne closer only so I wouldn\u2019t lose myself in Madeline\u2019s eyes again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was more punishment for me than for Madeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeline didn\u2019t want me. She had made that clear many times before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a while, I hung up and saw Elgin rush out onto the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t help but wonder what was happening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was he really about to make a fool of himself, or was he trying to win her heart?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something was up, and I needed to be there too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
100\u2013Giving Her A Second Chance\u00a0 Baxter:\u00a0 I returned to my room alone. No one accompanied me, and it didn\u2019t seem […]<\/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-19096","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\/19096","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=19096"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19301,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19096\/revisions\/19301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}