Chapter 182\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian had not expected Sydney to be so blunt. His brows lifted slightly, but before he could speak, her phone rang. It lay on the bed between them. Both glanced at the caller ID.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was Tiffany.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At such a late hour, she would not be calling without reason.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney snatched up the phone. \u201cHello? Tiff, did something happen?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just got back.\u201d Tiffany\u2019s voice came muffled, thick with helplessness. \u201cWhy aren\u2019t you at home?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney shot upright. \u201cI\u2019m at Julian\u2019s. I\u2019ll come right now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian\u2019s expression darkened. He pressed her shoulder firmly and held her in place. \u201cWho\u2019s more important, me or Tiffany?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It sounded like the question of a sulking schoolboy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney exhaled, exasperated. \u201cDo you want the truth?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His brow twitched. \u201cSay it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, it\u2019s Tiffany.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The instant she said it, his hand loosened. Sydney was fearful that Tiffany had run into trouble, so she hurried out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian watched her retreat, his shoulders tight, and his eyes betrayed a flicker of self-mockery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Right now, it\u2019s Tiffany\u2026 But before, it was me\u2026\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once, he had been the little girl\u2019s entire world, the one he had raised. Not anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Sydney arrived home, she slipped into her slippers and spotted Tiffany sitting gloomily on the carpet. She hugged her knees, back pressed against the sofa, a picture of vulnerability.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the sound of movement, she looked up. Her eyes were swollen and red, yet she still found room for gossip. \u201cIs there something going on between you and that brother of yours?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney froze, then seized the chance to admit it. \u201cI\u2019m with him now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She left out the part about being his mistress. If she said that, Tiffany would connect it to the last incident and might uncover the real reason she and Julian had become entangled. That would only burden her with guilt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tiffany\u2019s lethargy vanished, and she sat up straighter, swearing, \u201cFuck! Julian\u2019s an animal, isn\u2019t he? You\u2019re his sister! Don\u2019t tell me he\u2019s been scheming all this time?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStop, stop.\u201d Barefoot, Sydney crossed the carpet, ripped open a bag of snacks, and sat down beside her. \u201cWe didn\u2019t even speak for eight years. How could he have had bad intentions back then?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knows? Maybe eight years ago he already\u2026\u201d Tiffany trailed off, realizing her thoughts had run too far.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eight years ago, Sydney had been only 16. Julian hardly seemed the type who preyed on young girls. Her mind leapt again, shifting tracks. \u201cWait. Three years ago, when he tried to stop you from marrying Caleb, was it because he liked you? And when you insisted on marrying anyway, he cut off contact for three years out of spite?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t get carried away.\u201d Sydney stuffed a cookie into her mouth. \u201cWhat do you think this is, a romance novel? With melodramatic twists and turns?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
In real life, no one schemed and waited years for someone. Least of all Julian. He was arrogant, proud, and uncompromising. If he had truly loved her back then, his pride would have never let him take her back now. At most, what he felt was the fleeting\u00a0<\/p>\n
whim of a rich heir.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Munching on the cookie, Tiffany admitted she might have been overthinking. \u201cThen, just now at his place, you two were\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney felt her cheeks flush and quickly redirected the conversation. \u201cWhy did you suddenly come back? Did your parents or your brother do something again?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t even start.\u201d Tiffany\u2019s breathing turned sharp. \u201cThey set me up on a blind date. Said the guy could put up 150,000 dollars as dowry. With that, plus what they already have, and a bit from me, they think they can scrape together enough for a down payment on an apartment for my brother.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\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 182 Chapter 182\u00a0 Julian 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-22164","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\/22164","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=22164"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22300,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22164\/revisions\/22300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}