Chapter 321\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment the footage ended, I couldn\u2019t breathe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fifteen minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was how long it took to drive Riley home from the prison.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fifteen minutes of her sitting motionless, her hands resting on her lap, body pressed against the window like she wanted to disappear into the glass.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She never even glanced at Scarlett\u2019s dress hanging beside her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And yet, we accused her-again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned back in the driver\u2019s seat, the luxury leather suddenly feeling suffocating. My chest ached, like something heavy was lodged there, impossible to cough up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s voice echoed in my ears. Cold. Flat. Final.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes when she looked at me-no hate, no sadness, just absence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like I didn\u2019t exist anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like her brother had died a long time ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I remembered-how she used to smile at me every time I came home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGege\u2019s back! You must be tired, I made you tea.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She used to beam.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now she couldn\u2019t even look me in the eye,\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pressed my fingers against my temple. The headache had been building all day, but now it pulsed like a war drum.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know how long I sat there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Until I heard her voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Soft. Familiar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/7\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:01 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 321\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
A\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMia, it\u2019s fine. Go back inside.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll\u00a0<\/p>\n
go, but you\u00a0<\/p>\n
call me if anything happens, alright?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sat up like I\u2019d been struck.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There she was. Riley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Standing outside the villa gate, her plastic bag in hand. Mia by her side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leaving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without a word. Without a fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just walking away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I threw the door open, barely aware of how loud I was. \u201cRiley! Where are you going?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My voice cracked through the quiet courtyard like thunder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia flinched. \u201cYoung Master! You-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shot her a glare. She fell silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then I turned back to Riley, barked out, \u201cStop right there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t even pause.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She just kept limping forward like I was air. Like she didn\u2019t hear me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then it hit me-\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t hear me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ran toward her, heart pounding, grabbed her arm. \u201cAre you deaf? I told you to stop!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She turned, startled, her expression shifting when she saw it was me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I realized it then.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was deaf. At least partially.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something in her eyes told me everything I needed to know.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/7\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:01 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 321\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d never asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Never wondered why she didn\u2019t respond sometimes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just assumed she was ignoring me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She yanked her arm back. \u201cLet go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
M\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you serious right now?\u201d I snapped. \u201cYou ruined Scarlett\u2019s birthday party and now you\u2019re storming off like some tragic heroine? Grow up, Riley.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t mean to grab her so hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I latched onto her arm and pulled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go. You\u2019re coming back inside-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me go!\u201d she shouted, her voice trembling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tears welled in her eyes. Her body jerked against mine, and her injured leg buckled with the effort. She could barely stay upright.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia was hovering nearby, begging, \u201cYoung Master, she\u2019s still hurt-please, don\u2019t pull her like that-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I loosened my grip a little.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But didn\u2019t let go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI said come home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d rather die on the streets than live another day under that roof!\u201d she cried.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And something in me snapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anger-rage-guilt-everything boiled over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t think.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I just acted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My foot moved-lashed out-and struck her in the leg.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWILL YOU COME HOME NOW?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/7\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:01 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 321\u00a0<\/p>\n
She screamed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sound carved into me like a knife.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She dropped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Collapsed into the pavement like a puppet whose strings had been cut.\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her arms wrapped around her leg, her whole body curled up like a wounded animal, lips trembling, face white as bone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was crying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not screaming. Not sobbing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just leaking tears like her soul was bleeding through her eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia fell to her knees beside her. \u201cMiss Riley?! What happened?! What\u2019s wrong?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley couldn\u2019t answer..\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was shaking, mumbling incoherently, her voice low and broken: \u201cI\u2019m sorry\u2026 don\u2019t hit me\u2026 I didn\u2019t mean to\u2026 I\u2019m sorry\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over and over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice was small.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Terrified.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like she wasn\u2019t even here anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like her mind had gone somewhere darker. Farther.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood frozen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Heart pounding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No-slamming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2026 what are you saying?\u201d I murmured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked up at me, her eyes glassy and lost.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry\u2026 please don\u2019t hit me again\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia pushed me aside with strength I didn\u2019t know she had, her fingers fumbling to roll up\u00a0<\/p>\n
4\/7\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:01 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 321\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s pant leg.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then I saw it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her leg.\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was ruined.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarred. Crooked. Twisted in ways no bone should ever be. The skin bore every memory it never wanted to keep-red, purple, bruised, raw, old.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There were scars that hadn\u2019t faded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wounds that had never healed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And stared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And stared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026What the hell happened to her?\u201d I whispered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was fine five years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When they dragged her away in handcuffs, she was whole.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now she was\u2026 this.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia\u2019s voice trembled. \u201cShe was in prison. You think it was a safe place for a girl like her? An Omega?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My throat tightened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart cracked open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I realized-I had never once asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Never once wondered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What happened to my sister after I let them take her away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wasn\u2019t even twenty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I handed her over like a problem to be erased.\u00a0<\/p>\n
5\/7\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:01 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 321\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lunged forward and scooped her up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was so light.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Too light.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like someone who\u2019d gone hungry for far too long.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t stop to think. Just ran-through the courtyard, into the house.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the second I reached the main hall\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
I froze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t even know where her room was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d lived here all my life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I didn\u2019t know where my\u00a0<\/p>\n
sister slept.\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMia,\u201d I said, my voice hoarse. \u201cWhere\u2019s her room?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She hesitated, then pointed down the servants\u2019 corridor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis way, Young Master.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I followed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The hallway was narrow. Damp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It smelled like dust and mildew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The deeper we went, the harder it became to breathe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then Mia opened the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The smell hit me first.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then the sight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A room the size of a closet. Stained walls. No windows. A single broken fan in the corner. A fold-up cot pressed against the wall, surrounded by piles of junk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stared like the world had ended.\u00a0<\/p>\n
6\/7\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2026 she lives here?\u201d I choked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u3002\u00a0<\/p>\n
730\u00a0<\/p>\n
M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 321 Chapter 321\u00a0 Kael\u2019s POV\u00a0 The moment the footage ended, I couldn\u2019t breathe.\u00a0 Fifteen minutes.\u00a0 […]<\/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":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20594","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=20594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20594\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}