Chapter 395\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucien Duskgrave\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
#intehack\u00a0<\/p>\n
The longer my grandmother spoke, the more emotional she became-until her voice broke entirely and she started crying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gripped the phone tighter, her sobs cutting through the night like claws to the chest. My throat tightened with something I couldn\u2019t name-something uncomfortably close to guilt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll take care of her,\u201d I said softly, trying to case her worry. \u201cDon\u2019t worry, Grandma.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she still wasn\u2019t convinced.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLucien,\u201d she pleaded tearfully, \u201cRiley\u2019s in a fragile place right now. Please\u2026 be patient with her. Comfort her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI will.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she\u2019s suffered too much, that poor child,\u201d she continued, as if the floodgates had broken open. \u201cTalk to her more. Don\u2019t let her bottle everything up. She needs someone to really see her. To guide her out of all that pain.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She kept going-concerned reminders to prepare sobering soup, to make sure the blankets were pulled up over her at night, to keep the windows shut so she wouldn\u2019t catch a chill. Her voice was trembling with emotion. She cared about Riley in a way I hadn\u2019t fully realized until now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I listened. I listened to every word, nodding silently even though she couldn\u2019t see it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time I hung up, Riley was drunk. Properly drunk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She tossed the empty bottle aside. Her legs wobbled beneath her. I reached out instinctively, catching her before she could fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She leaned against me, soft and warm and helpless, her head tipped up, eyes glazed with confusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d she slurred.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I quickly ended the call and steadied her. \u201cYou\u2019ve had too much to drink.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it was like she didn\u2019t hear me. She lifted her finger and pointed it shakily at my face, squinting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
16:29 Fri, Jan 2 M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 395\u00a0<\/p>\n
746\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re Kael Vale, aren\u2019t you?\u201d she declared, voice loud and angry. \u201cYou\u2019re Kael, Vale!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her emotions flipped like a switch. She scowled, brow furrowing in raw, unfiltered hurt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate you, Kacl. You\u2019re not my brother anymore. Get out. I don\u2019t need a brother like you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then she pushed me. Or at least tried to. Her strength was laughable, kitten-light. But the force threw her off balance, and she started to tip backward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I caught her again, my arm sliding around her waist automatically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not Kael Vale,\u201d I said calmly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She blinked up at me, confused. \u201cYou\u2019re not?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shook my head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen\u2026 you\u2019re Maddox,\u201d she accused, voice trembling. \u201cYou\u2019re Maddox, and you\u2019re no better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her cheeks puffed in frustration, and she stared at me like I was the worst kind of traitor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were supposed to protect me,\u201d she mumbled, voice cracking. \u201d You promised you\u2019d always keep me safe. But you took her side. You helped Scarlett hurt me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her breath hitched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said you\u2019d study law to protect me. That you\u2019d put the bad people in jail. But I was the one you put there\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice broke completely, and tears fell fast and heavy, glistening beneath the moonlight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked so hard for you. I paid your tuition. I took every job I could find so you could get your damn degree. And I did it all without ever telling you. I didn\u2019t want to bruise your pride\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She choked, fists trembling in the air.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave you everything. My heart. My hope. And you let me take the fall for her. You let them throw me in a cell for something I didn\u2019t do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bridge was silent except for her sobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And the moonlight-goddess, the way it wrapped around her-made her look like something half-angel, half-ghost. Fragile. Shattered. Still fighting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t cry,\u201d I said quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to cry,\u201d she snapped, still hiccupping between gasps. \u201cI don\u2019t need your fake kindness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
16:29 Fri, Jan 2 M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 395\u00a0<\/p>\n
68\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fintahed\u00a0<\/p>\n
She shoved at me again, stumbling back a few steps, barely staying upright. But she was determined not to fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She pointed at me with shaking fingers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMaddox, I hate you. I\u2019ll never forgive you. Not in this lifetime. You\u2019re a bastard\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The breeze stirred her hair, swept the tears from her cheeks, and carried her scent to me-bitter with pain, sweet with buried strength.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I just\u2026 stood there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Watching.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a man who prided himself on never feeling, never folding, I was folding now. The iron wall I\u2019d built around my chest had a crack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t even know who I was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she\u2019d cried herself into exhaustion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When her knees buckled and she slumped forward, I stepped in without thinking and caught her in my arms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was so small. Barely reached my chest. And gods, she was light-too light. Like the weight of everything she\u2019d been through had hollowed her out from the inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her head drooped against my chest, hair tangled across her cheek.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I held her tighter and glanced down. The moon stretched our shadows across the pavement like threads, weaving us together in quiet defiance of the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the car, Duke was driving in silence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then I asked, \u201cYou told Matriarch Duskgrave?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His tone was neutral, but I caught the glance he threw me through the rearview mirror.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t answer right away. Just stared out the window, Riley curled into my arms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Duke coughed, then chuckled awkwardly. \u201cBoss, I just wanted her to stop worrying\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t talk so much,\u201d I said flatly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Duke laughed nervously. \u201cI did it for you, you know. She was practically summoning the Elders.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
16:29 Fri, Jan 2 M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 30S\u00a0<\/p>\n
934\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He peeked at Riley again in the mirror, then muttered, \u201cShe\u2019s pretty. You two look good together. But damn, she\u2019s tiny.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shot him a look sharp enough to make him flinch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He shut up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s breathing had evened out, though she still made the occasional hiccuping sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I frowned and gently patted her back, unsure why I even bothered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She murmured something unintelligible in her sleep, her words little more than breath.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at her for a long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Too long.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t like the way she made me feel. Unmoored. Human.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pulled out a cigarette. Flicked it between my fingers, halfway to lighting it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then paused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Glanced at her again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And slid the cigarette back into the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Outside, the lights of Mooncrest blurred past like falling stars. My reflection in the window looked cold. Distant. Familiar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But something inside me wasn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDuke,\u201d I said finally. \u201cBy tomorrow, I want a full report on her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGot it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because whatever she was running from\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
I needed to know.\u00a0<\/p>\n
856\u00a0<\/p>\n
B\u00a0<\/p>\n
4\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 395 Chapter 395\u00a0 Lucien Duskgrave\u2019s POV\u00a0 :\u00a0 #intehack\u00a0 The longer my grandmother spoke, the more […]<\/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-20669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20669","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=20669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20669\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}