Chapter 525\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney hadn\u2019t expected Julian to reveal his connection or lack of one with Eloise so suddenly. For a moment, she was too stunned to react.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before she could speak, Julian slipped an arm around her waist and led her straight out of the Hampton estate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inside, the guests they left behind were still reeling, their thoughts spinning. It took several seconds before anyone found the courage to speak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWait! What does that even mean?\u201d one of the women blurted out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Julian\u2019s father was Madam Steerling\u2019s eldest son. If there\u2019s no blood relation to her, does that mean she was the mistress who took over the household?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The logic was simple, but the implications were explosive. Iris voiced what everyone was thinking, half in disbelief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If that were true, then the fact that Julian would still hold a funeral for her was already more kindness than she deserved.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adeline\u2019s head buzzed with humiliation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment she heard that comment, she snapped, \u201cWho knows if what he said is even true? That man\u2019s capable of saying anything!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the others weren\u2019t convinced.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on,\u201d one murmured. \u201cWho would lie about something like that? He\u2019s been in charge for years and never once caused a scene with her. Honestly, he doesn\u2019t seem nearly as cold or ruthless as people say.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly,\u201d Iris said eagerly, \u201cYou can tell from how fiercely he protects Sydney. A man like that can\u2019t be bad.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their tone had shifted completely. For all their years steeped in vanity and politics, they still recognized genuine loyalty when they saw it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A powerful man defending his woman so openly that was rare enough to admire.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Listening to them heap praise on him, Adeline was so angry she could barely breathe. Beneath the fury, though, panic took root.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Could Sydney really marry into the Sterling family now? If that happened, after everything she\u2019d done to offend her, how would Sydney treat her then?\u00a0<\/p>\n
And those same socialites who mocked her today would waste no time turning their smiles toward Sydney, leaving Adeline alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Upstairs, Caleb\u2019s panic ran deeper. His hand gripped the railing until it trembled. \u2018So that\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
why she said so calmly that she has a boyfriend.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had assumed that she was acting on impulse, but that was not the case. There had never been any real obstacle between her and Julian. The person who destroyed her parents\u2019 lives had nothing to do with him. It all made sense now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Downstairs, Adeline had been utterly humiliated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With gossip spreading like wildfire, she quickly claimed she wasn\u2019t feeling well and ended the flower-arranging gathering early.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once everyone had left, Timothy, standing near the stairs, spotted a figure in the shadows.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUncle Caleb!\u201d he called, eyes bright.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dorothy followed his gaze and saw Caleb standing partway down the staircase, frozen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She motioned him closer. When he approached, she glanced at the jewelry box in his hands and said quietly, \u201cYou heard everything just now, didn\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI did,\u201d Caleb admitted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dorothy sighed, afraid he still hadn\u2019t let go. \u201cThen listen to me, Caleb. It\u2019s time to end this properly. Let it go. Sydney\u2019s a good girl, and now that she\u2019s found someone who truly values her, we should be happy for her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Halfway up the stairs, Adeline stopped cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMother, that\u2019s not fair,\u201d she said sharply. \u201cCaleb can do much better than her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She still believed that. Once Caleb married Penelope and the Hampton and Hutton families were formally linked, all those women who\u2019d snubbed her today would come crawling back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dorothy\u2019s face hardened. \u201cBetter? You mean Penelope?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adeline was about to answer, but Dorothy thundered, \u201cThe Sterling boy was right! And you\u2014 what kind of woman were you when you married into this family?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her words cut deep.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFoolish and conniving! Do you even hear yourself? Two brothers marrying the same woman? I\u2019d be too ashamed to face my husband in the afterlife!\u201d Her voice shook with fury. \u201cThis matter is not to be mentioned again!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adeline bit her tongue, though her mind was already racing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t matter what her mother-in-law said. As long as the Huttons agreed to the match first, the Hamptons wouldn\u2019t dare refuse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adeline would find a way to bring it up herself at the upcoming charity gala.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After she left, Dorothy turned back to her grandson. \u201cYou heard what I said, didn\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Caleb\u2019s gaze dropped, his expression unreadable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard,\u201d he murmured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
D\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When The Ocean Learned My Name and Whispered It Back to You by Aurelia Novel 525 Chapter 525\u00a0 Sydney hadn\u2019t […]<\/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-22705","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\/22705","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=22705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22705\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}