After a long while, I finally got the courage to move and return to my room for the night. The second I was behind the closed doors and saw that I was alone, I burst into tears, crying until I couldn\u2019t cry anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s been crying all night,\u201d I heard Nan whispering. \u201cSince we got back from dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you think happened\/\u201d Chester asked, his concern clear as he spoke in a whispered tone, as if I wasn\u2019t awake and could hear everything they were saying. At least they were getting along even though their common dominator was me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I were to guess, I\u2019d say it\u2019s Gavin related,\u201d Nan said thoughtfully.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has the final round of the competition today; this isn\u2019t good,\u201d he said, shaking his head. \u201cShe\u2019s unfocused.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sit up in bed and glare at them.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know I can hear you, right?\u201d I ask, staring between them. \u201cAnd I assure you, my performance today will be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
I quickly get out of bed and grab my workout clothes, my brain a jumbled mess<\/p>\n
after last night. I could feel their eyes on me still though and I hated it. I hated that<\/p>\n
I was someone they were now concerned about. I hated that I was someone becoming unstable; someone they needed to be wary of.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are here if you want to tell us what happened,\u201d Nan said softly as she watched me roam around the room, collecting my things before I went into the bathroom. I stared at myself in the mirror, fully realizing why they were so concerned. I looked awful. My face was red and blotchy, my eyes were puffy, my nose was glowing red, and I had tear streaks down my cheeks. I also had dark bags under my eyes and my lower lip was bruised from biting it after a night of stifling sobs.<\/p>\n
I hated that I looked this pathetic, and it was all because of a stupid guy.noveldrama<\/p>\n
I quickly dressed, threw my hair in a pony and splashed some cold water on my face. I tried to force a smile, but it looked fake, so I gave up.<\/p>\n
Nan and Chester were still watching me as I walked out of the bathroom, and I froze at the sight of their eyes on me.<\/p>\n
I sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cGlad you two have common grounds,\u201d I murmured.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe care about you,\u201d Chester said with a shrug. \u201cThat cancels any of the tension between us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nan nodded in agreement; her eyes still fixed on my face.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t like concerning them like this.<\/p>\n
I sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cGavin was with another woman last night,\u201d I murmured.<\/p>\n
Nan\u2019s brows furrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWait what?\u201d She asked. \u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to his hotel room last night and Daisy Baldwin opened the door. She was naked, only wearing a robe and she looked disheveled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nan shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Irene and Matt are staying with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey went out apparently,\u201d I murmured. \u201cI don\u2019t know. It was kind of late, so maybe he bought them another hotel room for the night so he can sleep with Daisy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you actually see him?\u201d Nan pressed, not buying any of this.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t have to see him,\u201d I muttered. \u201cDaisy said he was in the shower.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you believed her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow else would she end up in his room?\u201d I asked. \u201cNaked and disheveled looking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it\u2019s hard to get a key when you aren\u2019t the account holder,\u201d Chester said, rolling his eyes and thinking about his own experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s a Baldwin; it wouldn\u2019t be hard for her,\u201d Nan murmured.<\/p>\n
I shook my head as tears filled my eyes; I hated crying, especially in front of<\/p>\n
others. I was stronger than this.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fine,\u201d I said softly. \u201cOh, and Ethan is here, which is great.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat??\u201d Nan gasped. \u201cAt the same time as Daisy? This explains everything. This has Ethan written all over it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head and wiped my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe doesn\u2019t know her, and I doubt Daisy would involve herself with Ethan and his stupidity,\u201d I muttered. \u201cLet\u2019s face it, Nan. I was played for a fool by a Landry. I shouldn\u2019t be surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just doesn\u2019t sound like him,\u201d Nan said softly. \u201cI don\u2019t understand\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to understand. It\u2019s the facts. Gavin played me\u2026 he\u2019s with Daisy and now I\u2019m the stupid one with a broken heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
I glanced at the time and sighed. I was going to be late, and I promised I\u2019d meet Tabby beforehand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to get to the arena and somehow get through this competition. Then, I\u2019m quitting my job and going to try and move on,\u201d I told her, as I walked past her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is your plan for work?\u201d She asked, her brows furrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlpha Levi offered me a job earlier\u2026\u201d I told her softly. \u201cI\u2019ll think I\u2019ll take him up on the offer.\u201d With those words left in the air, I stepped out of the hotel room.<\/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 379 After a long while, I finally […]<\/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-21448","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\/21448","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=21448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21448\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}