\u201cYes, Alpha. Do we know how much he owes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter,\u201d I said through my teeth. \u201cI want it all paid off. No questions asked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn it,\u201d Taylor agreed. \u201cI\u2019ll let you know when he\u2019s released and when Ethan is in custody.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis family isn\u2019t to go anywhere either. If they try, put them in custody as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was slight hesitation on his end for a moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Alpha,\u201d Taylor finally said after a beat of silence.<\/p>\n
Without another word, I hung up the phone.<\/p>\n
I needed to get out of here for a few minutes. I needed air and the fact that Judy kept something this important from me made me furious beyond belief. If I wanted to face her, I needed to have a clear head.<\/p>\n
Judy\u2019s POV<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, that was one way to tell him,\u201d Irene said, staring at the closed door with a frown. \u201cI\u2019m sorry that happened,\u201d she added.noveldrama<\/p>\n
I sat frozen, staring at the doorway that Gavin just disappeared through, my heart pounding in my chest and tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. I couldn\u2019t<\/p>\n
believe that just happened. Now Gavin knew the truth about everything and there was nothing I could do about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe it\u2019s for the best,\u201d Irene said with a shrug. \u201cNow he can do something about it. You shouldn\u2019t have kept this to yourself, Judy. He can help get your dad out of prison.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father\u2019s pride is at stake,\u201d I said softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s being tortured in prison. I think this goes beyond pride,\u201d Irene said, folding her arms across her chest. \u201cDon\u2019t you think?\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew she was right, so I nodded slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe I should go after him,\u201d I said as I started to stand, but Irene grabbed a hold of my arm, keeping me in place.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you should give him some space. I know that look in his eyes and it never ends well for anyone. When he\u2019s ready to talk, he\u2019ll come back,\u201d she assured me gently.<\/p>\n
It was odd having her be on my side right now; it\u2019s been months since I considered her a friend, but now it almost seemed as if she was back to her old self. I could tell she still had some questions and things on her mind as well, so I settled back onto the bed and took a deep breath, trying to calm my anxious<\/p>\n
nerves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI shouldn\u2019t have believed a word Ethan said to me,\u201d Irene said softly, tears filling her eyes as she studied my face. \u201cI\u2019m really sorry Judy. For everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I gave her a small smile as I wrapped her in my arms and held onto her tightly.<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m the one who\u2019s sorry, Irene. I\u2019m sorry you got hurt and you were forced to be in the middle of this,\u201d I whispered. \u201cBut it\u2019s not your fault\u2026 none of it was ever your fault. You were a victim of his cruel games.\u201d<\/p>\n
She nibbled on her lower lip for a moment before she nodded, realization setting in.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were a victim too,\u201d she told me gently. \u201cYou and your family. What he did was cruel and sickening. He can\u2019t get away with this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he won\u2019t,\u201d I told her. \u201cEspecially now that Gavin knows everything. He would never let Ethan get away with hurting you like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Not just me,\u201d Irene said, nudging me gently. \u201cHe wouldn\u2019t let Ethan get away with hurting you either.\u201d<\/p>\n
My cheeks burned from her words, and I stared down at my lap.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe,\u201d I said softly. \u201cEither way, Ethan is a dead man.\u201d<\/p>\n
We talked for a bit longer and it was nice having her back as a friend. She asked some more questions such as, \u201cWere you two still together when I met him?\u201d And \u201cDid he cheat on you with me?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked pale after I confirmed that he did cheat on me and that I had been marked by him when I turned 18. Whenever he\u2019s intimate with anyone, my mark burns. It got easier over time, especially since I was spending time with Gavin, it almost seemed as if Gavin eased the pain from the broken mate bond. But the ghost of the pain is still there.<\/p>\n
After a while, I decided to return to my room and get some rest. I waited around for a while for Gavin to return, but he didn\u2019t. I said goodbye to Irene and went to my hotel suite, expecting to see Nan tucked away in bed with Chester beside her or something. But when I got there, neither of them was in the room.<\/p>\n
Instead, I was being grabbed the second I stepped into the room and pressed against the wall, my breath hitched when I heard the low and threatening words that were whispered in my ear, \u201cNow, it\u2019s time for us to talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sara is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
We Built a Kingdom From Ashes That Still Remembered Love by Aila Frost 363 \u201cYes, Alpha. Do we know how […]<\/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":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shadow-slave-by-author-novelnozi-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21432","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=21432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21432\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}