Chapter 141\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d Raymond pressed, curiosity edged in his tone..\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNext week,\u201d Julian answered instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He still owed Bruce a favor over the pen. He had to return it somehow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPretty sure Caleb will come too,\u201d Raymond reminded him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood,\u201d Julian replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His gaze drifted toward the front door, unfocused yet intense. The steady, delicate rhythm of h34 breathing through the earbuds filled the quiet. Just one door separated them now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Raymond caught the subtle undertone and chuckled. \u201cNot worried Caleb will catch on to your little crush?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then he realized he\u2019d asked a stupid question. Since when had Julian ever cared what anyone thought?\u00a0<\/p>\n
As expected, Julian didn\u2019t even reply. He checked his watch and shot a pointed look. \u201cYou done? You can leave now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Raymond clicked his tongue but didn\u2019t move. \u201cSeriously, what are you up to tonight?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The less Julian said, the more suspicious it seemed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian ignored him and strode into the bathroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Left with the dog, Raymond ruffled its head. \u201cC\u2019mon, Yoyo, tell me. What\u2019s your dad hiding?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since when did secrets exist between him and Julian?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yoyo ignored him, shaking off the hand and padding lazily to its bed by the window.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYoyo\u2026\u201d Raymond whined.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Julian emerged, showered and dressed, the pieces clicked for Raymond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou! How the hell did you get Sydney to agree to a date already?\u201d he asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian usually wore tailored three-piece suits, hair immaculate. Tonight, though, he was in casual clothes, his hair deliberately tousled, and he had swapped his watch for something subtler.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite being 30, he looked more like a grad student, deliberately narrowing the age gap with Sydney.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian gave Raymond a sideways glance, brow arched. \u201cWho said it was a date?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018So not a date, yet it clearly involves Sydney,\u2019 Raymond thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Raymond teased, \u201cThen what? A parent-child outing?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGet lost,\u201d Julian muttered, half amused. \u201cWe\u2019re going shopping.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShopping? For who?\u201d Raymond pressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s buying for me, of course.\u201d Julian smoothed his jacket smugly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Raymond clicked his tongue in disbelief. \u201cYou? Shopping off the rack? With your germaphobia? Since when do you let anyone drag you into a store?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 141\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 BONUS\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Sterling heir\u2019s closet was stocked with bespoke pieces for years. Even before trying anything on, the clothes required sanitizing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ask too many questions.\u201d Julian grabbed his coat. \u201cWalk Yoyo since you\u2019re so free. Half an hour, minimum.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before Raymond could protest, the door slammed in his face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course he was ditched-for a girl.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney remained dead to the world as the doorbell rang relentlessly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She groaned and pulled the blanket over her head, trying to block it out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPrecious, it\u2019s almost six.\u201d The familiar low voice at her bedside made her mumble, half-asleep, \u201cI don\u2019t care what time it is. I\u2019m not getting up\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halfway through, she jolted upright.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No. This wasn\u2019t eight years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back then, she had been impossible to wake. Alarms were useless. Only Julian could get her out of bed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d haul her upright, toothbrush and cup of water in hand. She\u2019d sulk, but beneath it all, she\u2019d always been a little afraid of him-just enough to brush her teeth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every time, he said the same thing. \u201cIf you don\u2019t want your teeth, I\u2019ll just have them all pulled. Then you can sleep two extra minutes every morning.\u201d\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 141 Chapter 141\u00a0 \u201cWhy not?\u201d […]<\/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-22123","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\/22123","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=22123"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22259,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22123\/revisions\/22259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}