Chapter 402\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0f25 .74%\u00a0<\/p>\n
+5 Pearls\u00a0<\/p>\n
I slid back into the car, placing the enormous bouquet of red roses on the passenger seat. The overwhelming floral scent filled the space, sweet and heavy-almost too much.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I glanced at the flowers, imagining the look on Riley\u2019s face when she saw them. Maybe she\u2019d freeze, startled. Maybe her eyes would well up with tears, her lips would tremble, and she\u2019d finally realize I wasn\u2019t such a bastard after all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A smirk tugged at my lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yeah, right.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward Mooncrest Second Hospital. I wasn\u2019t on staff there, but I\u2019d dropped by enough for research collaboration that most of the nurses knew me. Can\u2019t say it hurt that I\u2019m easy on the eyes-people tend to remember that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment I stepped into the lobby with a massive bouquet of crimson roses in hand, every nurse at the station turned to stare, eyes wide and brimming with curiosity. The air was practically vibrating with gossip.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Hale, bringing flowers for a patient?\u201d one nurse teased, grinning like she\u2019d just caught a live soap opera.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gave her my trademark half-smile. \u201cYeah. For someone very sick. In the head.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She laughed, probably thought I was joking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I approached the desk. \u201cI\u2019m looking for someone-Riley Wale. She should\u2019ve been admitted recently.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The nurse blinked, then nodded. \u201cRoom 312, third floor\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t say more, but I caught the glint in her eyes. Riley must\u2019ve left an impression-and not just because of her injuries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I made my way to the room, I couldn\u2019t shake the feeling gnawing at my gut. Last time I saw her, she was barely hanging on. If anything happened again\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pushed the door open, expecting to see her lying in bel-pale, weak, maybe asleep.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the room was empty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart stuttered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Had she run away again?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then came the sound of water flushing. A second later, he bathroom door opened, and she stepped out, dressed in hospital scrubs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She froze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So did I.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her face went stark white, panic flaring in her eyes. And then-just like that-she turned and bolted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hell no.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:10 Mon, Jan 5 G\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 402\u00a0<\/p>\n
74%\u00a0<\/p>\n
+5 Pearls\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tossed the bouquet onto the bed and lunged forward, rabbing her wrist before she could get far. \u201cWhat the hell, Riley? You act like I\u2019m here to drag you off to the dungeons.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me go!\u201d she cried, struggling against me. Her voice rembled with fear. \u201cDid the Ebonclaw Pack send you? Did my father-?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let go immediately, stunned by the sheer terror in her voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I\u2019m not here on anyone\u2019s orders,\u201d I said, trying to sound calm, reasonable. \u201cI just\u2026 wanted to see if you were okay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes narrowed. \u201cYou expect me to believe that? Youve always taken their side. You all want me gone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gods.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sighed and grabbed the bouquet from the bed, shoving it at her. \u201cWould I have brought you flowers if I wanted you dead? Seriously, do you even hear yourself?\u00a0<\/p>\n
She flinched as the weight of the bouquet landed in her arms. Ninety-nine blood-red roses. A romantic gesture, completely inappropriate for someone recovering from a trauma-induced collapse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her hands trembled. And then, to my absolute horror-she started crying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat now?\u201d I snapped, voice harsher than I intended. \u201cIs it the roses? You don\u2019t like red? Say something, damn it, don\u2019t just cry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I rubbed the back of my neck, frustration bubbling. \u201cFine. Tell me what kind of flowers you like, I\u2019ll buy them. I\u2019ll buy a damn greenhouse if that\u2019s what it takes to get you to stop looking at me like I kicked your puppy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I reached forward, intending to take the bouquet from her and chuck it in the trash-maybe I could salvage a shred of dignity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then the door creaked open behind me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI seem to have come at the wrong time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man who entered the room was tall, with a rigid po ture and a glacial expression. He wore a custom- tailored suit like it was part of his skin, and those gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose did nothing to soften the storm in his eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d I asked, tone defensive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He ignored me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes were locked on Riley, or more precisely-on the bundle of roses she still cradled like a shield. His gaze darkened slightly as he stepped forward and, without a word, took the bouquet from her arms and placed it neatly on the table beside her bed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, with a gentle tone that made my skin crawl, he said, \u201cYou must be hungry. My grandmother made this herself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He opened a polished thermos and began arranging food on the tray table like this was his damn kitchen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:10 Mon, Jan 5 G.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 402\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood there, feeling like a third wheel to my own intentions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Who the hell was this guy to waltz in here, steal the scene, and act like Riley was his mate?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0f66 \u0f5b\u0f7173%\u00a0<\/p>\n
+5 Pearls\u00a0<\/p>\n
I glanced at Riley, waiting to see if she\u2019d protest. She didn\u2019t. She looked stunned. Caught between us like prey between two predators.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiley,\u201d I said, sharper than I meant to, \u201cI came to see how you were doing. That\u2019s all.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She blinked at me. \u201cWhy? What do you want?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The coldness in her tone hit harder than I expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was here with roses. She looked at me like I\u2019d brought weapon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I clenched my jaw, masking the sting. \u201cSo now I can\u2019t visit without an agenda? Great.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man remained silent, but I could feel his gaze pressing down on me like a silent threat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t like him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I didn\u2019t like how Riley looked at him either-like she didn\u2019t know whether to be afraid or grateful.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I wasn\u2019t going anywhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Send Gifts\u00a0<\/p>\n
924\u00a0<\/p>\n
B\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:10 Mon, Jan 5\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 402 Chapter 402\u00a0 Theo\u2019s POV\u00a0 \u0f25 .74%\u00a0 +5 Pearls\u00a0 I slid back into the car, […]<\/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-20677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20677","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=20677"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20677\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}