The instant Penelope spoke, Sydney\u2019s spine went rigid. If she and Julian had a proper, open, clean relationship, she could have admitted it without fear. Even if someone guessed, there would be no shame.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, they did not. They were lovers, in the rawest, filthiest sense. If anyone discovered it, the scorn would fall solely on her. Julian would escape unscathed, and the contempt would be hers alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They would say she had clung to him ten years ago under the excuse of being his \u201clittle sister,\u201d and now, desperate to attach herself to the Sterling family, she had degraded herself into his mistress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPenelope!\u201d Caleb\u2019s face turned cold, and he said sharply, \u201cWhat the hell are you thinking? Syd and Jules are brother and sister.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back then, Sydney had been willing to burn every bridge with Julian just to marry Caleb. To him, her loyalties had always been crystal clear. Naturally, he had never suspected anything between her and Julian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bruce and the others frowned. \u201cCal, maybe you should send her home? She\u2019s killing the mood.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone knew what Sydney was to Julian. As for Penelope, what was she? An outsider, a mistress, daring to wag her tongue here?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Caleb glanced at the time, noted it was still early, and gave a terse nod toward Penelope. \u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney blinked, startled. He was not defending Penelope the way he used to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without waiting for her to protest, Caleb gripped her arm and marched her toward the elevator.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Humiliation flared in Penelope. \u201cWhat did I say that was wrong? Look at the lipstick Sydney\u2019s wearing. It\u2019s the exact same shade Julian had on his lips!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was not just the lipstick. Everything about Julian and Sydney was off. Brother and sister? Only thick\u2013headed men could believe it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What kind of \u201csister\u201d came out of her \u201cbrother\u2019s\u201d apartment with ears burning red?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough!\u201d Caleb\u2019s patience snapped. He shoved her hard against the side of the car, his voice a furious grind of teeth. \u201cYou insisted on tagging along, so I let you. Now get lost.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCal, do you really find me so unbearable now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just yesterday, he had flung divorce papers in her face and told her he and Sydney were done. But she did not believe him. She had followed today just to see for herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Caleb did not just feel disgust but also loathing. He yanked open the car door and shoved her inside, his tone steely. \u201cJack, drive her home. Now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Penelope fumbled for the handle. The door was locked tight. In a panic, she rolled down the window and seized his sleeve. \u201cThen when will you take me to get our marriage certificate?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Caleb shook her hand off like filth, dusting his sleeve clean. \u201cI\u2019ve already sent someone to handle it. Tomorrow, the certificate will be delivered.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCaleb\u2026\u201d Her eyes narrowed, and her voice carried her suspicion. \u201cYou\u2019re lying to me, aren\u2019t you? The divorce certificate was fake, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He could throw divorce papers at her, fine. But if he were truly marrying her, why would he not take her to the courthouse himself? Why send someone else? Unless it had all been a lie.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was not like Sydney. She was not so easy to fool.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A chill like a blade slid into Caleb\u2019s gaze. His rage flared. He wrenched the car door open again, grabbed her by the throat, and squeezed until her breath broke into gasps.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPenelope, don\u2019t you dare push me. You should thank God I even bother lying to you. But if you force me\u2026\u201d he snarled sharply.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The last of his patience burned away. His eyes narrowed to a deadly sliver. Ignoring her frantic struggles, he lifted his gaze to the rearview mirror. \u201cJack. Lock her in the suburban villa. Cut off water and food.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Penelope\u2019s eyes bulged wide. Terror shot down her spine. \u201cWhat are you doing\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re smart. Figure it out.\u201d He released her and patted her cheek in a parody of gentleness. His voice was low, deadly, like a whisper from hell. \u201cI don\u2019t have the energy to coddle you anymore. Sit in that basement and think. Decide if you want to tell me where Precious is. No food, no water. Human body lasts what? Seven days?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His tone softened almost to a caress. \u201cSeven days. If you don\u2019t figure it out, then die.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The last word was barely breathed, but it coated her skin in ice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For the first time, real fear clawed at Penelope. Her whole body trembled. She realized, with dawning horror, that this man might be colder, crueler, and more terrifying than the infamous Julian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll kill me?\u201d she choked. \u201cAnd if I die, aren\u2019t you afraid you\u2019ll never find her?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His gaze turned hard and merciless. \u201cPenelope, that\u2019s the second time you\u2019ve tried to threaten me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\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 176 The instant Penelope spoke, […]<\/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-22158","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\/22158","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=22158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22294,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22158\/revisions\/22294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}