Chapter 105\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re Julian\u2019s girlfriend. If you want to know something, ask him directly. No need to go through me. I\u2019m only his so-called sister in name.\u201d Sydney kept her tone calm. She only wanted to draw a line so that Charlotte would not waste her energy on her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What she did not expect was the spark in Charlotte\u2019s eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte leaned in with a playful wink. \u201cI\u2019m his girlfriend? Did Mr. Sterling tell you that himself?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney froze. The thought hit her that she might have completely misread Charlotte and Julian\u2019s relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I just made an assumption.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte winked again, smiling broadly. \u201cWell, that must mean you approve of me then. As your potential sister-in-law.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney suddenly understood what it meant to talk too much and dig yourself deeper. Whether she approved or not did not matter, just as Julian had told her 8 years ago that she was not truly his sister.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the end of lunch, she had not cleared up a thing. Worse, Charlotte seemed even more enthusiastic. \u201cSyd, did you drive here? If not, I can drop you back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney shook her head. \u201cNo need. The clinic\u2019s right across the street. Two minutes on foot.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright then. Next time, let\u2019s plan another meal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back at the clinic\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney picked up her car and drove to a senior schoolmate\u2019s jewelry studio. She asked her to recreate the pendant as a one-to- one replica. No two gemstones could ever be truly identical, but they could at least make it close.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s easy,\u201d Harold Edwards said at once. \u201cI\u2019ll need a few days to source a similar stone. Come by in a week, or I can deliver it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Relieved, Sydney smiled. \u201cI\u2019ll pick it up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Afterward, she stopped by the lab to finish some work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later that evening\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney\u2019s phone buzzed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSyd,\u201d Caleb\u2019s voice came warm, polished, practiced. \u201cYou\u2019re still staying at the Haven Building, right? I\u2019ll come pick you up tonight.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney blinked. \u201cPick me up?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight\u2019s the charity auction. You forgot?\u201d Caleb chuckled. \u201cI promised I\u2019d buy you something you like. As an apology.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had, in fact, forgotten. Thinking back, she vaguely recalled him mentioning it, but her mind had been entirely on the pendant. She had not agreed one way or another.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t really have time tonight,\u201d she said flatly, her hands still moving over her work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStill mad at me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her brows pinched. \u201cI\u2019m just not interested in auctions. And yes, I really don\u2019t have the time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But to Caleb, her calm tone sounded like sulking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Remembering the cold, distant look in her eyes a few days ago, he grew restless, desperate for reassurance. \u201cNo matter how busy, you still have to get off work. If you don\u2019t want the auction, I\u2019ll wait at Sterling Corp.\u2019s office for you. When you\u2019re done,\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
we\u2019ll grab dinner.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He could not accept this distance. He needed to prove to himself she was still his wife and the docile girl she used to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Dinner alone. Or the auction\u2026\u2019 she thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a moment\u2019s hesitation, Sydney chose the lesser evil. \u201cFine. Which hotel is hosting the auction? I\u2019ll finish up, change at home, and head there directly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll pick you up from Haven.\u201d Caleb\u2019s voice lightened with relief. She was still willing to appear with him in public and acknowledge herself as Mrs. Hampton. That meant she had not given up on their marriage completely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright.\u201d As long as it was not dinner alone, she could endure it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the call ended, Sydney quickly wrapped up her work and drove home.\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 105 Chapter 105\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re Julian\u2019s […]<\/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-22088","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\/22088","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=22088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22088\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}