\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 9\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 9\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ashton took the tickets, looked confused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are these\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTrain tickets from New Year\u2019s Eve. When I came to see you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
All the color drained from his face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came to see me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t answer directly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw everything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Understanding hit him all at once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned and left, practically ran away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later, when he reimbursed me for the tickets, he\u2019d added two extra zeros.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I accepted it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was mine by right-didn\u2019t even cover what I\u2019d given him when he was starting his business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everything went smoothly in New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In less than a week, I\u2019d landed a job I was truly happy with.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No longer trapped in family dramas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After work, I could grab dinner or hike with colleagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Six months in I closed a major deal. They made me team leader.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In my downtime, I\u2019d think about my old life sometimes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Looking back, it felt like another lifetime.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Occasionally, I\u2019d hear news from home through friends and family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
10.10\u00a0<\/p>\n
Surprise Visit Gone WRONG-Not Him Crying About Loneliness After Calling Me Dirty Sir???\u00a0<\/p>\n
88.9\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 9\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ashton tried starting another business after moving back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the hometown pace was nothing like the city. He lost a lot of money.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the end, he settled into a steady office job.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t help but shake my head at the irony.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In just six months, our lives had completely flipped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another New Year\u2019s Eve arrived, and I went home early.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The house was warm, the dinner delicious, my parents full of love.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Knock knock.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mom tapped on my bedroom door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSweetie, it\u2019s almost midnight. Time to set off fireworks.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, grabbed the rockets I\u2019d bought, and ran outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fireworks painted the dark sky like a masterpiece. Neighbors passing by shouted their New Year greetings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes and made a wish.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s to a thousand good years ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s gonna be a good one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2661 (0)\u00a0<\/p>\n
(0)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Princess Without Pack by Mark Twain 9 \u00a0 Chapter 9\u00a0 Chapter 9\u00a0 Ashton took the tickets, looked confused.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are […]<\/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":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-year-celebration-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22868","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=22868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22868\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}