\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the other end of the line, Evelynn continued whining, urging Bainbridge to come back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bainbridge took a deep breath and glanced at Rayan. \u201cGo back to the Wilde\u2019s mansion.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Rayan opened his mouth to protest, Bainbridge\u2019s voice rose sharply. \u201cI said go back!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rayan flinched and hit the gas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
F\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood at the window, hoping the quiet night would help me sort out what came next.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then I saw Bainbridge\u2019s car pull up again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart gave a traitorous little flutter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know whether he\u2019d come back to continue punishing me-to warn me never to touch Evelynn again-or whether, miraculously, his conscience finally kicked in, dragging him here to apologize.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But moments later, the car turned and vanished into the night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My guesses would never be confirmed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A soft, resigned smile touched my lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that point, nothing seemed to matter anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stayed awake all night, methodically deleting every note about\u00a0<\/p>\n
0.00%\u00a0<\/p>\n
18.53\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 6\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bainbridge from my phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then I opened my photo gallery and erased every picture and every video of him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When it was done, as the first pale light of dawn crept in, I walked out of the hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The roads to the airport were empty at that hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leaving him was far easier than getting close to him ever had been.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A quote I\u2019d seen online recently floated back to me: \u201cFate will keep handing you the same lessons until you finally give a different answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet go of the wrong people and things, and life will smooth out in ways you never expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even the universe seemed to be nudging me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
believed cutting losses now would open unexpected doors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Soon, my plane touched down smoothly at New York\u2019s airport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, I saw Aelfric, leaning casually against a pillar in sunglasses, waving lazily from afar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFinally decided to come home, huh?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing family again, feeling the familiar pulse of this city-it hit me all\u00a0<\/p>\n
at once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shoved the emotions down and arched a brow at him. \u201cYeah. Mostly to check if you\u2019ve been managing my fortune properly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aelfric snorted. \u201cThere\u2019s the old fire. Never lets herself lose.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
25.74%\u00a0<\/p>\n
18.53\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, without warning, he pulled me into a fierce hug.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFine, I\u2019ll take the loss,\u201d he murmured into my hair. \u201cNothing matters more than having you back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The tears I\u2019d been holding back surged forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lifted a hand to wipe them discreetly against his shoulder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on,\u201d he said, releasing me with a gentle pat on the back. \u201cGot a surprise for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aelfric\u2019s mouth curved into a mischievous grin as he tilted his head toward the arrivals hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A bad feeling prickled at the back of my neck.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Standing there was a man who commanded the attention of the entire room just by existing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aelfric\u2019s voice turned lazy, almost amused. \u201cGo on. Time to say hello to your future husband.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart stuttered to a halt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aelfric\u2019s efficiency was terrifying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d only agreed to the arranged engagement two days ago, and he\u2019d already lined someone up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But then, panic set in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
56.73%\u00a0<\/p>\n
18:53\u00a0<\/p>\n
aps.\u00a0<\/p>\n
spital had done wonders, and the damage wasn\u2019t as shocking\u00a0<\/p>\n
anymore; it was still obvious at a glance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t wanted Aelfric to worry, and I wanted revenge on my own terms, so I\u2019d planned to keep it quiet until I could handle the things myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From the moment I got off the plane, I\u2019d been wearing a mask to hide it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But now he was marching me straight toward my prospective fianc\u00e9.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My feet were rooted to the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aelfric noticed my panic and chuckled. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong? You used to be fearless. Five years in Houston and you\u2019ve gone soft?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stayed silent, my mind racing desperately for a way out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
.\u00a0<\/p>\n
81.60%\u00a0<\/p>\n
4\u00a0<\/p>\n
18:53\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Royal Furline Betrayed BY Mark Twain 6 \u00a0 Chapter 6\u00a0 On the other end of the line, Evelynn continued whining, […]<\/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":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-let-the-game-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22958","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=22958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22958\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}