Chapter 778<\/p>\n
\u201cYou scared me,\u201d he said, shaking his head. \u201cWhy are you here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry to scare you,\u201d I tell him, giving him a small smile. \u201cBut I\u2019m going to have you sleep in my suite tonight with your father. We are spending the night here. It\u2019s a girl\u2019s night. There\u2019s an extra bedroom in the suite with a TV, so you\u2019ll have space for your gaming.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to leave,\u201d he argued. \u201cBesides, Irene hasn\u2019t come out of her room all day.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Nan, who had a worried crease between her brows.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, the boys are heading to my suite as well for a boys\u2019 night. Chester and Erik, I think. Erik is off duty tonight and wanted to hang out, so they are heading there as we speak. I figured you\u2019d want to see them, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Matt\u2019s eyes grew wide; he loved Erik. He was the kind of gamma that Matt aspired to be, and it\u2019s funny because I believed Matt was a better fighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, I\u2019ll go,\u201d Matt said, standing to his feet. \u201cBut you owe me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t think otherwise,\u201d I tell him, running my fingers through his brown, shabby hair. \u201cEnjoy your night.\u201d<\/p>\n
He grabbed his gaming set and was out there within minutes<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, what do we do now?\u201d Nan asked, looking around the suite.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this suite is like mine, there should be snacks in the cabinet. See if there\u2019s popcorn and start popping some. I\u2019m going to drag Irene out of her room,\u201d I say as I head towards Irene\u2019s bedroom. I had a feeling I knew which one was Irene\u2019s because Matt left his door open.<\/p>\n
I pushed the door to Irene\u2019s room open and peered inside. She was lying in bed, beneath the covers, and only the top of her blonde hair could be seen. My heart squeezed for her; she was so heartbroken that the only thing she could do right now was<\/p>\n
sleep.<\/p>\n
I put my hand on her back and shook her gently.<\/p>\n
\u201cIrene, wake up,\u201d I say softly.<\/p>\n
She starts to stir, murmuring something sleepily that I didn\u2019t quite get. I smiled at her sleeping face as it appeared once the covers shifted. But then my heart stopped when I saw the old tears on her cheeks and how pale she was.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey,\u201d I say, shaking her again. \u201cWake up, Irene. Please.\u201d<\/p>\n
I spoke a little louder this time, and her eyes fluttered open; the pale blues focusing on me for a moment before confusion fell across her face. Her perfectly trimmed brows knitted together.<\/p>\n
\u201cJudy?\u201d She asked, her voice a croak and filled with exhaustion as she lifted her head, peeking around the dark room. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m dragging you out of bed,\u201d I tell her, folding my arms across my chest. \u201cIt\u2019s not healthy for you to stay in this room all night, wallowing in self-pity when you should be planning for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head, still confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat time is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c9.\u201d I replied, glancing at the clock on her bedside table. \u201cA little bit after nine, actually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI slept all day?\u201d She asked, sitting up further, her blonde hair falling across her shoulders. \u201cI didn\u2019t mean to sleep so long.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou haven\u2019t eaten or done anything to take care of yourself since we arrived this morning,\u201d I tell her, raising my brows. I glanced at her luggage that sat on the ground by her bed; Erik and the other gammas were kind enough to bring our things to our rooms, so they were waiting for us by the time we arrived. I spent time unpacking my things and putting them away, since we were going to be here until the end of the weekend. I wanted to be comfortable. \u201cYou hadn\u2019t unpacked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think to,\u201d she said softly. \u201cWe are only here for a short time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might make you feel better\u2026 maybe more organized, if you unpacked a bit,\u201d I tell her. \u201cCome hang out with us. Nan is getting snacks. We can order late-night room service and have a girls\u2019 night.\u201d<\/p>\n
She let out a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo offence, but I\u2019m not in the mood for a girl\u2019s night.\u201d<\/p>\n
I smiled at her, though I knew it didn\u2019t reach my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly why you need one,\u201d I tell her, reaching out and taking a hold of her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. \u201cI think we could all use one. We are in this gorgeous country, and we need to make the most out of it. Even if we don\u2019t leave this hotel room, it\u2019ll do you some good to get out of bed. Please, Irene. Hang out with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
She thought about it for a moment, her eyes shifting from me to the doorway. As I saw her resolve cracking, she let out a breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay,\u201d she finally relented as she got out of bed. \u201cBut I\u2019m not changing out of my pajamas.\u201d<\/p>\n
I giggled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think you would. I\u2019ll have room service bring us some more food and wine,\u201d I say as I loop my arm with hers and guide her towards the living space where Nan was setting up bowls of popcorn.<\/p>\n
A knock sounded on the door, and my grin only grew because I knew exactly who was at the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is here?\u201d Irene asked, her brows furrowed. \u201cYou didn\u2019t call room service yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNope,\u201d I tell her. \u201cBut if we are lucky, the person at the door will have the answers to some of your questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruby is a master of holiday romance and slow-burn love stories that warm the heart like a crackling fire. Her novels weave festive magic with lingering glances and tender moments, drawing readers into cozy worlds where love unfolds one snowflake at a time. Off the page, she\u2019s baking cookies and dreaming under twinkling lights.<\/p>\n
We Built a Kingdom From Ashes That Still Remembered Love by Aila Frost 778 Chapter 778 \u201cYou scared me,\u201d he […]<\/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-21847","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\/21847","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=21847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21847\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}