\u201cTell me again why you dragged us to the gym so early in the morning?\u201d Irene asked as she rested her head against the weight machine.<\/p>\n
Matt was practicing his aiming at the archery station, and I was lifting weights, seated next to Irene.<\/p>\n
\u201cFamily bonding,\u201d I said with a grin. \u201cYou wanted to get your mind off your failed engagement, you can\u2019t do that cooped up in the suite all day.\u201d<\/p>\n
She rolled her eyes in a typical Irene fashion.noveldrama<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sun isn\u2019t even up yet,\u201d she murmured. We already went out last night as a family. Do we really need to spend the morning together, too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last day of the competition is today so I won\u2019t have a lot of time later,\u201d I explained, grunting as I lifted the weight, my bicep bulging.<\/p>\n
She sighed and continued to lift her dumbbell.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, how was your date with Daisy Baldwin?\u201d Irene asked, smirking.<\/p>\n
I froze for a moment and looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a date,\u201d I muttered.<\/p>\n
Irene laughed and waved off my concern.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just kidding, Dad. Obviously, it wasn\u2019t a date. I mean, you got back way too early last night. Like super early. We had time to not only go swimming, but also get ice-cream after you got back from dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was true; it was only dinner. It took a little over an hour and then we returned to the hotel. I barely even said goodbye to her as I went to my suite and then took my kids out for some much-needed family time.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, did you tell Judy you went out with Daisy?\u201d Irene suddenly asked.<\/p>\n
I froze again and narrowed my eyes at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would I need to tell Judy anything about who I went out with?\u201d I asked, my tone coming out harsher than I intended.<\/p>\n
She rolled her eyes again and put the weight down, turning to me, giving me her full attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not blind or stupid, Dad. Neither is Matt. We see the way you are with each other\u2026 the way you look at her. You like her way more than you are letting on. Something tells me if she finds out you went out with Daisy, she\u2019s going to be upset\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
This was a conversation that I didn\u2019t want to have with my daughter, but I knew her\u2026 she was stubborn like her mother always was and she wasn\u2019t going to let me get out of this conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cJudy is aware of the kind of relationship we have,\u201d I told her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she?\u201d Irene asked, raising her brows. \u201cAnd what kind of relationship is that, Dad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kind that\u2019s not your business,\u201d I shot back. \u201cWhy the sudden concern for me and Judy?\u201d<\/p>\n
She shrugged casually.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to see either of you get hurt, that\u2019s all. Honestly, Dad. If you have feelings for her, you should tell her. And don\u2019t let her find out about your dinner date with Daisy from anyone else. If I know Auntie Daisy, I know she\u2019ll try something to hurt Judy.\u201d<\/p>\n
My blood went cold at her words and Irene could see the realization dawning on my face because she gave me a satisfied smirk, having gotten through to me. I put the weight down and turned to look at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill you and Matt be okay here?\u201d I asked. \u201cI have somewhere to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Irene nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be fine,\u201d she assured me. \u201cWe will meet you in the arena later.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded and took off without another word.<\/p>\n
Judy\u2019s POV<\/p>\n
My first instinct was to go to the gym this morning, but I decided against it and started to just head towards the arena instead. Maybe I can catch wind on what this next part of the competition was.<\/p>\n
Tabby and a few others were also in the arena when I arrived and she smiled when she saw me, however her smile faltered when she saw the distant look on my face. I\u2019m sure my eyes were still red and puffy from spending the night crying as well.<\/p>\n
She excused herself from the others and met me the rest of the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, what\u2019s wrong?\u201d she asked, assessing my face carefully.<\/p>\n
I shook my head, not wanting to get into it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nothing,\u201d I murmur. \u201cAny word on what the last competition is?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChuck said it\u2019s going to be a fight match,\u201d she told me. \u201cAccept this time, nothing is off limits.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded, already guessing as much.<\/p>\n
\u201cSame rules? Fight to the death unless the other person surrenders?\u201d<\/p>\n
She nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you going to be okay to compete? You kind of look unwell,\u201d she pointed out, assessing my worn-out features, flushed cheeks, red nose, and puffy eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be fine,\u201d I assured her. \u201cI just didn\u2019t get that much sleep last night, but it\u2019s nothing to be concerned about. Maybe I\u2019ll grab an energy drink from the vending machine,\u201d I suggested.<\/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 380 \u201cTell me again why you dragged […]<\/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-21449","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\/21449","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=21449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21449\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}