249\u2013Played Again\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeline:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, Oliver,\u201d Baxter called.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man stopped and turned to look at him. He noticed the confusion on Baxter\u2019s face before he walked toward us, forcing a smile onto his lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you guys doing here?\u201d he asked. Then his eyes landed on the bags.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh no. Did you come here looking for a place? I\u2019m really sorry. We found it earlier,\u201d he added with a shrug, looking genuinely apologetic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was devastating. We had thought everything was settled and ready, but now it was going to be difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They had found the place first, and I could tell the kids were inside the cabin with their uncle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, actually, we saw this place the other day. We thought we had it marked for us,\u201d Baxter replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It sounded awkward even to me, because how does anyone decide who gets to keep a place?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh. I\u2019m really sorry. I wish you the best of luck, and I hope you\u2019re able to find a home,\u201d Oliver said, gesturing with his hand before turning to walk back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It felt like they had taken our home, though I knew that was not the case. They had arrived before us, probably with their bags.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe not. If they were already inside, how could we ask them to leave now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do we do?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baxter straightened his posture and stepped forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOliver,\u201d he called again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man stopped once more and turned around, looking tired, as if we were interrupting him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah?\u201d he replied, sounding exhausted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you guys going back? Because you haven\u2019t checked out,\u201d Baxter asked, likely thinking that if they left, we could take over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, we\u2019ve already checked out,\u201d Oliver answered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Baxter and I shared a glance before looking back at him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember I told you my brother\u2019s fianc\u00e9e was going to come. She went over there to check out,\u201d Oliver added, clearly ready to walk away again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour wife is in the hospital,\u201d Baxter announced.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oliver stopped and turned back immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cReally? Oh no. Which hospital? I\u2019ll go check on her,\u201d he said quickly. Then he added, \u201cAnd, um, I hope you guys find a home,\u201d his words carrying more pressure, as if he wanted us gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The men started to walk away, and now we were left without any hope, I turned to look at Baxter, who sighed. Before we could leave, something else happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
249 Payak Aykroy\u00a0<\/p>\n
Someone came out of the cabin, calling for Oliver.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOliver, how about we take the downstairs rooms with the children?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes widened when I saw Bonnie rush out, looking completely fine. That was when Oliver stopped and turned to look at us, likely realizing she had to acknowledge that we were still there. Both Baxter and I were in shock.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were in the hospital,\u201d I said to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She followed her husband\u2019s gaze and my voice, then looked at me. I noticed her swallow hard, almost like an admission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI came back home,\u201d she replied, blinking several times, as if trying to distract from the lie. 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut your husband acted like you weren\u2019t home,\u201d Baxter pointed out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She rolled her eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, he always forgets about me. Anyway, I think you guys should look for some other place. You already lost this one,\u201d she remarked, shrugging her shoulders arrogantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nothing made sense anymore until Bonnie pouted and stepped forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI told Ronnie and Riley not to tell you about our home. She told you, and you came to steal it from us,\u201d Bodhi accused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At his words, Baxter and I looked back at the couple. They hesitated for a moment, then Bonnie stepped forward again. The woman I thought I had made a new friend with stretched her shoulders back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, so what? Being a rogue means you have to be prepared for competition. It\u2019s not my fault you were stupid enough to tell your kids about your secrets,\u201d she commented. All the sweetness she had shown me earlier disappeared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It finally made sense, but the way she treated us angered me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you weren\u2019t sick?\u201d I asked sharply.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSick? Huh. If you want to call it that. And why would you be upset about someone stealing something from you? Didn\u2019t you steal your sister\u2019s fianc\u00e9?\u201d she shot back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman who had been so pleasant earlier now sounded bitter and cruel. I stared at her in disbelief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNow go. This is our home,\u201d she said, waving her hand at me before grabbing her husband\u2019s arm and pulling him\u00a0<\/p>\n
away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what?\u201d I turned to Baxter. \u201cI want to build a home right here, right now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I stomped my foot, Baxter sighed. Bonnie stopped and turned to glare at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell then, good luck with that,\u201d she replied sharply before stomping away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBaxter, say something. They stole our home,\u201d I said, slapping his chest with the back of my hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He groaned and looked at me. But it had come down to this. I was furious. Everything had been taken from me since I was a kid, and I wanted this home, no matter what.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ruby Walker is a rising voice in the world of romance and spicy fiction. With a gift for weaving deep emotions, sizzling chemistry, and unexpected twists, her stories are a blend of passion and drama that captivate readers from start to finish. Ruby\u2019s writing style is bold and irresistible\u2014perfect for those who crave intense, addictive love stories.<\/p>\n
249\u2013Played Again\u00a0 Madeline:\u00a0 \u201cHey, Oliver,\u201d Baxter called.\u00a0 The man stopped and turned to look at him. He noticed the confusion […]<\/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-19450","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\/19450","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=19450"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19618,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19450\/revisions\/19618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}