Chapter 521\u00a0<\/p>\n
Caught off guard, Sydney instinctively raised both hands to push Julian away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you so shy about?\u201d he teased, noticing the tips of her ears turning red. \u201cShe\u2019s just happy to see me with my girlfriend instead of always being alone. Right, Grandma?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He even turned to Agatha for confirmation, perfectly at ease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Sydney knew her own skin wasn\u2019t nearly as thick as his. Julian\u2019s was practically bulletproof.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Agatha pointed a teasing finger at her grandson, and her smile widened. \u201cYes, yes. It\u2019s good that you two young ones are sweet on each other. Makes me happy for you both.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
And she meant it. All she wanted was for these two children to stop being pushed around by the universe and live peacefully, side by side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney pressed her lips together, smiling with mild embarrassment, but warmth spread through her chest. It wasn\u2019t the comfort of familiar surroundings-it was something softer, deeper. The feeling of family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She could tell that Agatha genuinely saw her as a granddaughter-in-law. The thought left her both touched and faintly uneasy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next day\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
After finishing her shift at the clinic, Sydney checked the time. It was already past 2:00 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She packed up quickly, grabbed a simple meal nearby, and drove toward the Hampton estate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This hour was ideal. Dorothy would have just woken from her nap. Sydney could see her, run the checkup, and leave. Going later risked running into Adeline, and that was the last thing she\u00a0<\/p>\n
wanted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As soon as Dorothy saw her, she warmly took Sydney\u2019s hand and led her inside. \u201cHow long has it been since you last came by? You divorced Caleb and now you don\u2019t recognize this grandma anymore? You know, some people divorce and remarry!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Clearly, she hadn\u2019t given up the idea of making Sydney the Hampton family\u2019s daughter-in- law again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney didn\u2019t want to upset the old woman, but she also didn\u2019t want to give the family false hope.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She smiled gently. \u201cGrandma\u2026 that won\u2019t happen. Caleb and I won\u2019t be remarrying.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d Dorothy looked genuinely puzzled. She knew her grandson still cared for Sydney and had long hoped for reconciliation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a boyfriend now.\u201d The words came out soft but steady.\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as she stepped into the sitting room, Sydney looked up. Caleb was there. He looked thinner, his eyes sunken, the once-gentle lines of his face sharpened into something tired and shadowed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At her words, the hand holding his cup trembled, and a few drops spilled over the rim.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dorothy blinked in surprise. She could see her grandson\u2019s dazed expression but didn\u2019t want to embarrass Sydney.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Patting her hand, she said kindly, \u201cThat\u2019s wonderful. If you\u2019ve found someone you can truly trust, I\u2019m happy for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After all, it wouldn\u2019t be right to expect Sydney to stay tied to the Hampton family forever. A few years ago, it had been her grandson who failed to cherish her. Now, he could only face the\u00a0<\/p>\n
consequences.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It took Caleb a while to swallow the dryness in his throat. Finally, he rose and spoke as calmly as he could manage. \u201cThank you for coming all this way and for taking care of Grandma.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has always been very kind to me,\u201d Sydney replied with a polite smile. \u201cIt\u2019s only right that I check on her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her meaning was clear: she was here for Dorothy, not for the Hampton family, and certainly not for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s hand tightened at his side, but he forced a faint smile and murmured something he\u00a0<\/p>\n
couldn\u2019t even recall later.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All that echoed in his mind was: \u2018She has a boyfriend.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had said it so naturally, as if whatever existed between her and Julian-something he once thought would never last-had already become real.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When The Ocean Learned My Name and Whispered It Back to You by Aurelia Novel 521 Chapter 521\u00a0 Caught off […]<\/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-22701","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\/22701","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=22701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22701\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}