\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 104\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks like you\u2019re eager to pick up the trash I threw away.\u201d Sydney\u2019s voice was light, almost lazy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She glanced at the pile of imported snacks Penelope had brought, then turned to the nurses. \u201cNot wasting food is one of our fine traditions. Go ahead-eat, drink, don\u2019t let it go to waste.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With that, she shoved her hands into her coat pockets and walked off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back in her office, she picked up her phone and saw a message Charlotte had sent two hours earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte: [Syd, do you have time to grab lunch?]\u00a0<\/p>\n
She checked the clock. It was already past one. She typed back honestly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney: [I just finished, only saw your message now.]\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before she could draft a second text to suggest postponing, Charlotte\u2019s reply came instantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte: [No worries, I\u2019m right near your clinic anyway. Let\u2019s eat together.]\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney could already guess Charlotte\u2019s intentions. Maybe it was better to lay things on the table. She grabbed her bag and headed to the cafe they had agreed on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At this hour, the place was quiet, with only a few scattered patrons.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte waved her over from a window booth, smiling warmly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Sydney sat down, Charlotte deftly took her bag and teased, \u201cDidn\u2019t know doctors had such irregular meals.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not that bad.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney wasn\u2019t used to such enthusiastic friendliness from someone she barely knew. But Charlotte had grown up dealing with people from every walk of life. Most treated her warmly, especially since she worked beside Julian. There was never any shortage of people eager to curry favor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Someone like Sydney, who met her enthusiasm with cool indifference repeatedly, was rare. It was practically unheard of. Still, Sydney was Julian\u2019s sister. That alone was reason enough for Charlotte not to mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She pushed the menu across the table. \u201cI don\u2019t know what you like, so I waited. Take a look, order what you want.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright.\u201d Sydney accepted the menu. She had eaten here often since it was close to the clinic. Picking two dishes at random, she\u00a0<\/p>\n
handed it back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte glanced at the order, then chuckled. \u201cYou really are Julian\u2019s sister. Same temperament, and now I see-even the same\u00a0<\/p>\n
taste in food.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney took a sip of lemon water. \u201cWhen you\u2019ve lived under the same roof, you can\u2019t help but pick up some similarities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was not entirely true. When she had started growing taller at 10, she had lost a great deal of weight. On top of that, her picky appetite had made her look even thinner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian hadn\u2019t liked how scrawny she was. He would order the kitchen to prepare everything according to her taste. She craved sweet, sour, and spicy flavors-anything but bitter. And Julian, who had always preferred bland, light food, had been gradually reshaped by her habits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The dishes arrived quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte placed the ones she thought Sydney liked in front of her, then, with a casual air, asked, \u201cSyd, has Julian\u2026 ever had a girlfriend before?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney froze for a beat, then shook her head. \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the past, he hadn\u2019t. But in the last 8 years, she had no idea. Nearly half her life had been spent without him in it. How could she possibly know who he had dated?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cReally? Not even you know, huh?\u201d Charlotte\u2019s expression darkened, but she quickly brightened again. \u201cThen do you know if he likes someone? He keeps a photo in his wallet, always so carefully\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the first time, Sydney found the lemon water here unbearably sour. The taste lingered, seeping from her throat into her chest, and left a dull ache around her heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Lindstrom.\u201d She drew in a breath, tamping down the discomfort. \u201cHonestly, I haven\u2019t been in touch with Julian for many years. If it weren\u2019t for this project, I wouldn\u2019t even be speaking to him now. As for whether he likes someone, or who that might be, I really don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
When The Ocean Learned My Name and Whispered It Back to You by Aurelia Novel 104 \u00a0 Chapter 104\u00a0 \u201cIt […]<\/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":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-when-love-is-gone-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22087","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=22087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22087\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}