Chapter 330\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I woke up in Kael\u2019s room. Again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first thing I saw was Mia, perched at the edge of the bed, gently dabbing a cool salve over the swelling on my cheek with a cotton swab. Her eyes were full of worry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When she noticed I was awake, she leaned in and mouthed something.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Riley, does anything else hurt?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice was muffled and distant. The slap from Alaric had worsened the hearing in my already damaged right car-everything now sounded like I was underwater.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I could read her lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t known how to do that before I went to prison. Back then, I hadn\u2019t needed to. But after losing most of the hearing in my left ear, I\u2019d had to teach myself-painfully, desperately-so I could understand the orders barked at me. Misunderstandings led to beatings. Lip reading kept me alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked back the sudden sting of tears and forced a small smile. \u201cI\u2019m fine, Mia. Just\u2026 really hungry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The look that crossed her face-pure guilt and concern-nearly broke me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat would you like to eat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cClear broth noodles.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll make it right away.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She rushed off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pulled myself upright, leaning against the headboard, my gaze drifting to the window. I don\u2019t know how long I sat there before the door opened again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I thought it was Mia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara stepped into the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She met my indifferent gaze and flinched slightly but didn\u2019t retreat. Instead, she sat down beside me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiley, I made you some clear broth noodles myself. Please, try it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She reached to feed me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I moved away. \u201cI\u2019ll do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took the bowl and chopsticks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
FRI\u00a0<\/p>\n
26\u00a0<\/p>\n
C\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\u00a0<\/p>\n
R !!!\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:56 Fri, Dec 26\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 330\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
The broth was light, the noodles perfectly tender. Finely chopped green onions floated on top alongside a single soft-boiled egg. No extra spices, no garnishes. But the scent hit me like a punch to the chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took a bite.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Familiar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So familiar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The warmth of the broth slid down my throat and curled in my belly like a memory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow is it?\u201d she asked gently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I paused mid-bite. \u201cYou made this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. Even Scarlett has never had noodles I made myself. You\u2019re the first.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She smiled as if expecting praise, pride shining in her eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I couldn\u2019t feel touched. I couldn\u2019t even pretend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead, I gave a small, cold laugh and kept eating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t know, of course, what clear broth noodles meant to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back in high school, during my first winter at the Vale estate, I returned home one night soaked in snow. No lights were left on for me. Everyone was asleep. The food had gone cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That night, I threw up everything I ate and curled up alone in agony.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Until Mia woke up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She found me. Took care of me. Made me my first bowl of hot, clear broth noodles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After that, she started leaving the porch light on. And every night, she\u2019d warm something simple-porridge, dumplings, noodles-just for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone in the Vale family knew Kael had a sensitive stomach. No one ever cared that I developed one too. No one noticed that being back here, starving half the time, had eroded my health.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the rouges\u2019 pack, I never had stomach problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only when I returned to my \u201chome\u201d did I start getting sick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I finished the entire bowl-every drop of broth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara beamed. \u201cDid you like it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked straight at her lips. Then I cut to the point.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have something to say, say it. No need to sugarcoat anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The temperature in the room dropped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:56 Fri, Dec 26 M JA.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 330\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her smile faltered. \u201cRiley, I\u2019m trying. Why can\u2019t you just let go of the past?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I said nothing. Just stared. Watched the twitch in her lip, the guilt she tried to hide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me what I need to do,\u201d she pleaded. \u201cWhat will it take for you to forgive me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still silence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because I knew it didn\u2019t matter. Even if I answered, she wouldn\u2019t do it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She kept talking. Kept playing the part. But I remained cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, she sighed heavily. \u201cRiley, I know you\u2019re upset. But you can\u2019t let your emotions cloud your judgment. The Vale family is in trouble. If we don\u2019t fix things with Blackmaw, we could lose everything. You\u2019re one of us. You should help us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
There it was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The real reason for the visit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t care about the noodles. She didn\u2019t care about me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wanted to use me to clean up their mess.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And the most insulting part? She brought Mia\u2019s noodles and pretended they were hers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt nauseous.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGet out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara blinked. \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou or me. Someone leaves. Now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stood, shocked. \u201cHow did you become so unreasonable?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I snorted. \u201cFive years of beatings and isolation will do that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had a roof over your head-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I snapped. \u201cI had prison walls! You let me take Scarlett\u2019s fall. You deleted the footage. You ruined my life. Don\u2019t talk to me about love.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUnbelievable,\u201d she muttered. \u201cYou\u2019re completely irrational.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood. Then stay out of my life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She fled, unable to meet my eyes any longer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stayed in Kael\u2019s room the rest of the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That night, Alaric came storming in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He raged about losses. Ten billion gone in one day. All because I refused to grovel at Ronan\u2019s feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
314\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:56 Fri, Dec 26\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 330\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled through his tirade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That smile nearly gave him a stroke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As he left, Kael lingered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He gave me one long, unreadable look before following the others out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the time, I didn\u2019t understand what it meant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not until morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I woke, the hearing in my right car had started to return-faint, but there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I came downstairs and overheard two maids whispering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMia didn\u2019t come today?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHeard something happened to her daughter. School\u2019s threatening to expel her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart stopped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked toward the sofa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael sat there casually, reading the paper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned. Met my gaze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And smiled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 330 Chapter 330\u00a0 Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0 I woke up in Kael\u2019s room. Again.\u00a0 The first thing […]<\/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-20603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20603","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=20603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20603\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}