Chapter\u00a0503\u00a0<\/p>\n
Judy\u2019s\u00a0POV<\/p>\n
+15\u00a0Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u00a0watched\u00a0Gavin\u2019s\u00a0face\u00a0go\u00a0pale\u00a0as\u00a0he\u00a0clutched\u00a0the\u00a0phone\u00a0tightly.\u00a0His\u00a0eyes\u00a0met\u00a0mine,\u00a0and\u00a0I\u00a0could\u00a0see\u00a0the\u00a0turmoil,\u00a0confusion,\u00a0and<\/p>\n
something else\u00a0lingering\u00a0in\u00a0them.\u00a0My\u00a0heart\u00a0squeezed\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0sight\u00a0of\u00a0him\u00a0like\u00a0this.<\/p>\n
After a\u00a0long\u00a0beat\u00a0of silence,\u00a0he\u00a0finally\u00a0cleared\u00a0his\u00a0throat.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan\u00a0you\u00a0have\u00a0Gamma\u00a0Erik\u00a0come\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0Carter\u00a0Resort?\u201d He\u00a0asked\u00a0into\u00a0the\u00a0phone.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019ll\u00a0be\u00a0there\u00a0shortly.\u201d\u00a0T<\/p>\n
After\u00a0another\u00a0stretch\u00a0of\u00a0silence,\u00a0he\u00a0hung\u00a0up,\u00a0his\u00a0eyes\u00a0never\u00a0leaving\u00a0mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u00a0need\u00a0to\u00a0leave,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0announced,\u00a0his\u00a0tone\u00a0sounding\u00a0almost\u00a0distant\u00a0now\u00a0as\u00a0he\u00a0scooted\u00a0his\u00a0chair\u00a0away\u00a0from\u00a0the\u00a0table\u00a0and\u00a0stood.\u00a0I<\/p>\n
watched\u00a0him,\u00a0confused.\u00a0We\u00a0were\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0middle\u00a0of\u00a0a\u00a0date;\u00a0what\u00a0did\u00a0he\u00a0mean\u00a0that\u00a0he\u00a0had\u00a0to\u00a0leave?\u00a0\u201cPlease,\u00a0enjoy\u00a0he\u00a0rest of\u00a0dinner.<\/p>\n
Nan\u00a0will\u00a0put\u00a0the\u00a0bill\u00a0on\u00a0my\u00a0tab.\u00a0Erik\u00a0will\u00a0be\u00a0here shortly\u00a0to\u00a0pick\u00a0you up and\u00a0bring\u00a0you\u00a0home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIs\u00a0everything\u00a0okay?\u201d\u00a0I\u00a0asked\u00a0him,\u00a0but\u00a0I\u00a0could\u00a0barely\u00a0get\u00a0the\u00a0question\u00a0out\u00a0before\u00a0he\u00a0turned\u00a0and\u00a0walked through\u00a0the\u00a0restaurant.<\/p>\n
I\u00a0stared\u00a0at\u00a0his\u00a0retreating\u00a0back\u00a0until\u00a0he\u00a0was\u00a0completely\u00a0gone;\u00a0my\u00a0mind in\u00a0a\u00a0whirlwind\u00a0of\u00a0thoughts and\u00a0my\u00a0heart\u00a0pounding<\/p>\n
unsteadily\u00a0against\u00a0my\u00a0chest.<\/p>\n
He\u00a0just\u00a0ditched\u00a0me\u00a0on our date\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u00a0happened?\u201d\u00a0Nan asked,\u00a0stepping\u00a0beside\u00a0me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m\u00a0not\u00a0sure,\u201d\u00a0I\u00a0said\u00a0softly,\u00a0my\u00a0eyes\u00a0fixed\u00a0on\u00a0the\u00a0closed\u00a0door.\u00a0\u201cHe\u00a0left\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d She\u00a0asked,\u00a0her\u00a0eyes\u00a0wide\u00a0as\u00a0she stared at\u00a0his\u00a0hardly\u00a0touched\u00a0food.\u00a0\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u00a0got\u00a0a\u00a0phone\u00a0call\u00a0and\u00a0then\u00a0he\u00a0just\u2026\u00a0left,\u201d\u00a0I\u00a0told\u00a0her,\u00a0my\u00a0voice\u00a0sounding\u00a0unfamiliar\u00a0and\u00a0hollow\u00a0as\u00a0I\u00a0spoke.\u00a0I\u00a0was\u00a0so\u00a0unbelievably<\/p>\n
confused\u00a0by\u00a0what\u00a0just\u00a0happened.\u00a0I\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0believe\u00a0he\u00a0just\u00a0left\u00a0me\u00a0like\u00a0this.<\/p>\n
Who\u00a0was\u00a0on\u00a0the\u00a0other\u00a0end\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0phone?\u00a0Was\u00a0it\u00a0Beta\u00a0Taylor?\u00a0Would\u00a0he\u00a0tell\u00a0me\u00a0what\u00a0was\u00a0going\u00a0on?<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u00a0barely\u00a0ate,\u201d\u00a0Nan frowned.\u00a0\u201cShould\u00a0I\u00a0box\u00a0it\u00a0up?\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u00a0shook\u00a0my\u00a0head.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u00a0never\u00a0takes\u00a0leftovers,\u201d\u00a0I\u00a0whisper,\u00a0feeling\u00a0tears\u00a0prick\u00a0the\u00a0corner\u00a0of\u00a0my\u00a0eyes.<\/p>\n
She\u00a0shrugged\u00a0and\u00a0sat\u00a0down\u00a0in\u00a0his\u00a0place.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuess\u00a0now\u00a0is\u00a0a\u00a0good\u00a0time\u00a0to\u00a0take\u00a0my\u00a0break\u00a0then,\u201d\u00a0she\u00a0teased\u00a0as\u00a0she\u00a0started\u00a0to\u00a0nibble\u00a0on\u00a0his\u00a0food.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m\u00a0sure it\u2019s\u00a0nothing.\u00a0Don\u2019t<\/p>\n
worry too\u00a0much\u00a0about\u00a0it,\u00a0Judy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u00a0has\u00a0never\u00a0left\u00a0me\u00a0like\u00a0this\u00a0before,\u201d\u00a0I\u00a0whisper.\u00a0\u201cWhat\u00a0if\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0something\u00a0important\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0his\u00a0problem\u00a0and\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0sure\u00a0he\u2019ll\u00a0explain\u00a0himself\u00a0later,\u201d\u00a0she\u00a0told\u00a0me,\u00a0giving me\u00a0a\u00a0small\u00a0smile.\u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t\u00a0worry\u00a0too\u00a0much<\/p>\n
Mon:\u00a01\/3<\/p>\n
Chapter\u00a0503<\/p>\n
about\u00a0it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite\u00a0her\u00a0words,\u00a0I\u00a0still\u00a0worried\u00a0deeply\u00a0about\u00a0it.<\/p>\n
+15\u00a0Bonus<\/p>\n
As\u00a0promised,\u00a0Erik\u00a0came\u00a0and\u00a0picked\u00a0me\u00a0up.\u00a0He\u00a0brought\u00a0me\u00a0back\u00a0home\u00a0to\u00a0my\u00a0parents\u2018\u00a0house.\u00a0My\u00a0mom\u00a0hugged\u00a0me\u00a0when\u00a0she\u00a0saw\u00a0me, and\u00a0my father apologized\u00a0for\u00a0his\u00a0behavior\u00a0over\u00a0the last\u00a0day\u00a0or\u00a0so.\u00a0We\u00a0hadn\u2019t\u00a0spoken\u00a0since\u00a0I\u00a0yelled\u00a0at\u00a0them\u00a0and\u00a0stormed\u00a0out,\u00a0but\u00a0it\u00a0seemed\u00a0we\u00a0all\u00a0reflected\u00a0on\u00a0it\u00a0and\u00a0felt equally\u00a0guilty.\u00a0I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0want\u00a0to\u00a0remain\u00a0mad\u00a0at\u00a0them,\u00a0and\u00a0they\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0want\u00a0to be\u00a0those<\/p>\n
overbearing\u00a0and\u00a0controlling\u00a0parents,\u00a0especially\u00a0because\u00a0I\u00a0am\u00a0an\u00a0adult.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0next several\u00a0days\u00a0mixed\u00a0together in a\u00a0blur;\u00a0the\u00a0weekend came\u00a0and\u00a0went,\u00a0and\u00a0I\u00a0still\u00a0hadn\u2019t\u00a0heard\u00a0a word from\u00a0Gavin.\u00a0Now\u00a0it\u00a0was\u00a0Monday\u00a0and\u00a0Erik\u00a0came\u00a0to\u00a0pick\u00a0me\u00a0up\u00a0for\u00a0school,\u00a0Nan\u00a0was\u00a0with\u00a0him because\u00a0she\u00a0spent\u00a0the\u00a0night\u00a0with\u00a0Cheser\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0mansion\u00a0and hitched\u00a0a\u00a0ride.<\/p>\n
School was\u00a0busy\u00a0with\u00a0students\u00a0cramming\u00a0for\u00a0the\u00a0upcoming\u00a0exams.\u00a0Everybody\u00a0was\u00a0worried\u00a0about\u00a0their\u00a0final\u00a0grades;\u00a0this\u00a0would\u00a0make\u00a0or\u00a0break\u00a0my\u00a0future.\u00a0We\u00a0were\u00a0preparing\u00a0for\u00a0graduation\u00a0and\u00a0these\u00a0final\u00a0exams\u00a0determined\u00a0whether\u00a0or not\u00a0we\u00a0get\u00a0a\u00a0degree\u00a0or\u00a0not.\u00a0I\u00a0was beyond\u00a0nervous\u00a0and\u00a0stressing\u2026\u00a0I\u00a0wished\u00a0I\u00a0could\u00a0talk\u00a0to\u00a0Gavin,\u00a0but\u00a0he\u00a0hadn\u2019t\u00a0returned\u00a0any\u00a0of\u00a0my\u00a0texts.<\/p>\n
I\u00a0did\u00a0try\u00a0calling him\u00a0last night\u00a0after\u00a0not\u00a0hearing\u00a0from\u00a0him\u00a0for\u00a0a\u00a0couple\u00a0of\u00a0days,\u00a0but\u00a0his\u00a0phone\u00a0appeared\u00a0to\u00a0be\u00a0off,\u00a0which\u00a0was strange\u00a0because\u00a0he\u00a0never\u00a0turned\u00a0that thing\u00a0off.\u00a0His\u00a0phone\u00a0was\u00a0a\u00a0part\u00a0of\u00a0who\u00a0he\u00a0was,\u00a0and\u00a0when\u00a0it\u00a0was\u00a0off,\u00a0it\u00a0meant something\u00a0serious\u00a0was happening.<\/p>\n
I\u00a0sat\u00a0in the\u00a0student\u00a0lounge\u00a0with\u00a0a\u00a0mound\u00a0of\u00a0books,\u00a0trying\u00a0to\u00a0cram\u00a0as\u00a0much\u00a0as\u00a0I\u00a0could.\u00a0Nan\u00a0sat\u00a0beside\u00a0me,\u00a0also\u00a0cramming\u00a0for\u00a0her\u00a0upcoming\u00a0exams.<\/p>\n
Lukas walks\u00a0by\u00a0and\u00a0when\u00a0his\u00a0eyes find\u00a0mine,\u00a0he\u00a0quickly\u00a0averts\u00a0his attention\u00a0and\u00a0starts\u00a0towards\u00a0the\u00a0exit.\u00a0I\u00a0pressed\u00a0my\u00a0lips\u00a0together\u00a0and\u00a0stood\u00a0up,\u00a0chasing\u00a0after\u00a0him.<\/p>\n
\u201cLukas,\u00a0hold\u00a0on\u00a0a\u00a0second,\u201d\u00a0I\u00a0said,\u00a0grabbing\u00a0his arm to\u00a0stop\u00a0him.\u00a0\u201cCan\u00a0you\u00a0at\u00a0least\u00a0talk\u00a0to\u00a0me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u00a0can\u2019t,\u00a0Judy\u2026\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0sorry,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0said,\u00a0still\u00a0keeping\u00a0his\u00a0eyes\u00a0averted.\u00a0\u201cMy\u00a0parents\u00a0should\u00a0have\u00a0sent\u00a0you\u00a0the last\u00a0of\u00a0the\u00a0payment\u00a0already for\u00a0your\u00a0services.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0not\u00a0about\u00a0the\u00a0money<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u00a0were\u2026\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0admitted.\u00a0\u201cUntil\u00a0Gavin Landry\u00a0got\u00a0to\u00a0me.\u00a0We\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0be\u00a0friends,\u00a0Judy.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0sorry,\u00a0but\u00a0I\u00a0have\u00a0a\u00a0scholarship\u00a0to\u00a0maintain.\u00a0I\u00a0still\u00a0have\u00a0another\u00a0year\u00a0of\u00a0school\u00a0before\u00a0I\u00a0can\u00a0officially\u00a0graduate,\u00a0and\u00a0I\u00a0can\u2019t fuck\u00a0it\u00a0up\u00a0now.\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 503 Chapter\u00a0503\u00a0 Judy\u2019s\u00a0POV +15\u00a0Bonus\u00a0 I\u00a0watched\u00a0Gavin\u2019s\u00a0face\u00a0go\u00a0pale\u00a0as\u00a0he\u00a0clutched\u00a0the\u00a0phone\u00a0tightly.\u00a0His\u00a0eyes\u00a0met\u00a0mine,\u00a0and\u00a0I\u00a0could\u00a0see\u00a0the\u00a0turmoil,\u00a0confusion,\u00a0and something else\u00a0lingering\u00a0in\u00a0them.\u00a0My\u00a0heart\u00a0squeezed\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0sight\u00a0of\u00a0him\u00a0like\u00a0this. […]<\/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-21571","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\/21571","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=21571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21571\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}