\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
These past few weeks, Leah\u2019s condition kept getting worse, then better, then worse again. Stellan was exhausted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hadn\u2019t had a chance to go see Ella.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He knew she resented him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He knew getting her to forgive him wouldn\u2019t be easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But he figured it was just a matter of time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After all, Ella loved him. She wouldn\u2019t leave him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ten years together-Stellan was confident about that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But when Leah finally stabilized and he went to Ella\u2019s place, his hands shook as he reached for the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fingerprint lock didn\u2019t work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He froze. Then knocked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cElla, it\u2019s me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you\u2019re still mad. Just\u2026 give me a chance, okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The door opened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Relief flooded through him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A stranger-a young woman-poked her head out, eyeing him suspiciously.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stellan blinked. He stepped back and double-checked the apartinent number.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Panic clawed at his chest. He forced himself to stay calm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHi. Do you know where the person who used to live here went?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman relaxed slightly. \u201cOh, you mean the previous owner?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
09:57\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hot Shower. Cold Heart: How Water Temperature Exposed My Military Husband\u2019s Affair\u00a0<\/p>\n
20.5%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe sold us the place and left. No idea where she went.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSaid something about moving to a different city.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His worst fear confirmed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she say which city?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She shook her head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stellan stumbled back to his apartment in a daze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leah bounced over to him the second he walked in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStellan! You\u2019re finally back!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been waiting forever. Where were you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stellan looked at the bright, bubbly girl in front of him-and felt nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He used to think Ella was too independent, too serious, too quiet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That Leah\u2019s cheerfulness was what got him through the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, watching Leah smile at him, he felt\u2026 empty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All he could think about was Ella.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to see your sister.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leah\u2019s eyes flickered at the word *sister*.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She asked carefully, \u201cWhat did she say? Did she forgive me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes welled up. \u201cI\u2019m worried she\u2019s still upset about\u2026 what happened between us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs she mad at you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I\u2019ve been a lot to deal with lately. Knowing Ella, she\u2019s probably not over it yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShould I go apologize to her?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stellan waved her off weakly, his voice hollow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo\u2026 don\u2019t bother.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
How Water Temperature Exposed My Military Husband\u2019s Affair\u00a0<\/p>\n
20.7%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leah\u2019s heart skipped. She twisted the hem of her skirt nervously.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStellan, did I cause trouble for you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stellan took a deep breath. He felt like he didn\u2019t even have the energy to answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cElla\u2019s gone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leah\u2019s eyes widened. She fought to keep the joy off her face. \u201cGone? Where?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stellan\u2019s eyes turned red. Tears blurred his vision.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe left. Didn\u2019t leave me a word.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cElla\u2026 she\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice cracked. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t want me anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The emotions he\u2019d been holding back finally broke through. He covered his face and sobbed-loud, raw,\u00a0<\/p>\n
uncontrollable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was regret in those sobs. Grief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And desperation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He could search for her. Track her down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Ella\u2019s love? That was gone forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d always thought of Ella like water-plain, unremarkable, always just *there*.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only now, losing her, did he realize she\u2019d become part of him. Inseparable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leah watched the man in front of her fall apart-and felt a thrill she couldn\u2019t suppress. Her hands trembled with\u00a0<\/p>\n
excitement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
*Ella was finally gone.*\u00a0<\/p>\n
That woman who\u2019d always overshadowed her, who held the title of \u201csister\u201d but treated her like a burden-she was out of their lives for good.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From now on, Stellan would only have eyes for *her*.\u00a0<\/p>\n
20.9%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Hot Shower, Cold Heart by Mark Twain 25 \u00a0 Chapter 6\u00a0 Chapter 6\u00a0 These past few weeks, Leah\u2019s condition kept […]<\/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":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-giving-my-husband-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22893","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=22893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22893\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}