The law firm had granted Tiffany a week of paid sick leave. For once, she wasn\u2019t working overtime.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Curled on the sofa, she focused on her game when the sound of the door closing pulled her gaze up. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney shook her head. \u201cNothing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tiffany\u2019s eyes flicked to the trash bags in Sydney\u2019s hands. Without looking away from the screen, And the garbage? Aren\u2019t you taking it out?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI suddenly feel too tired. I don\u2019t feel like going downstairs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
she asked, \u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney set the bags by the shoe cabinet, shrugged off her down coat, and flopped onto the couch. She didn\u2019t want to run into Charlotte again, especially not like that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian might have said there was nothing special between him and Charlotte, but the latter seemed to be special in every situation she entered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney hugged her tablet, scrolling through variety shows to chase away the sour feeling in her chest. Casually, she asked, \u201cWhat are you doing for New Year\u2019s?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll go home for a couple of days tomorrow.\u201d Tiffany\u2019s expression darkened. She shut down her game and flopped onto Sydney\u2019s arm. \u201cIf only your birthday were during New Year\u2019s. Then I\u2019d have the perfect excuse not to go back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her birthday was a month away, on February 9.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney patted her head. \u201cIt\u2019s fine. If it\u2019s bad back home, just come back quickly. Keep me company instead.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Across the hall, in 2202, Julian heard movement from his study. He stepped into the living room, and his darkened at the sight of an unexpected figure in the dining area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve completely lost your sense of boundaries, haven\u2019t you?\u201d he jibed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte shot him a playful look. \u201cBlame yourself for setting such an easy password.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
gaze\u00a0<\/p>\n
His codes always included 0209. She had never understood what it meant\u2013not his birthday, not any date she recognized.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian\u2019s expression remained unreadable as he strode to the entryway, opened the door, and reset his lock.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte blinked. \u201cYou\u2019re really going to guard against me now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t answer. \u201cTalk business.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026\u201d She forced down her temper and set a food bag on the table. \u201cFrom your favorite place. I drove all the way to the south side to get it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She opened the containers one by one as she spoke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian had been about to dismiss her, but when his eyes landed on the pork ribs and the crisp roast pork, his\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
brows lifted slightly. \u201cFine. It\u2019s late. Time for you to go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
An eviction in record time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her smile faltered. \u201cI came all this way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His tone was ice. \u201cThat\u2019s the only reason I\u2019m letting you walk out on your own.\u2018\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJulian.\u201d Her brow furrowed, baffled. \u201cOur families arranged a marriage, remember? Do you have to treat me this coldly?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Years ago, Eloise had sealed their engagement. Charlotte had been overjoyed, but Julian had not cared. The most he had ever conceded was allowing her to join Sterling Corp. Even the secretary\u2019s desk had been hers only because she had cried to Eloise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At first, Julian had resisted. She didn\u2019t know whatever bargain he might have struck with Eloise, but he had always been disciplined, clean, and free of scandal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The only woman around him had been Charlotte. Yet after three years at his side, he remained so cold that she sometimes wondered whether he had no interest in women at all\u2013or perhaps no interest in anyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian pulled out his phone, dialed someone, and said flatly, \u201cYou sure you want to keep wasting words?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she had headed upstairs, she had spotted a bodyguard waiting below. If Julian made that call, her exit would be humiliating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She drew a deep breath. \u201cFine. I\u2019ll leave.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili 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
When The Ocean Learned My Name and Whispered It Back to You by Aurelia Novel 170 The law firm had […]<\/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-22152","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\/22152","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=22152"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22288,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22152\/revisions\/22288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}