Chapter 109\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 109\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bella\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment I stepped into Scott\u2019s office, my attention went to Maya. She was sitting across from his desk with her shoulders hunched. Her hands were clenched so tightly in her lap that her knuckles looked pale. She was crying hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sight of her should not have shaken me, because I had fought her more times than I could count, but the way she looked now made my stomach twist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shifted my gaze to Scott. What I found made my breath hitch. He was not relaxed in his chair. Instead, his posture was rigid, the muscles in his jaw tight, and there was sharp anger in his eyes. It rolled through the bond like heat. I wished it was wild and messy, but it was this contained anger that was wound so tightly that it felt worse. I carefully approached him, because I could feel that whatever had happened here was enough to set him to edge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d I asked as dread crept up my spine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s sobbing grew louder. She lifted her face toward me, and the look she gave me was not of jealousy or hatred the way it used to be; it was of disdain and pity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ruined my life completely,\u201d she choked, dragging her sleeve across her cheek to wipe her tears. \u201cWere you not happy with everything you already did to our family? Did you really need to go one step further and destroy what was left of me too?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at her, genuinely confused, because I had no idea what she was accusing me of. \u201cMaya, I don\u2019t even know what you\u2019re talking about,\u201d I managed to say. My eyes flicked to Scott again, because the bond was still thrumming with anger and his silence felt choking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s voice rose, laced with emotion. \u201cYou ruined my relationship with Craig,\u201d she cried, and her eyes narrowed as if she expected me to pretend innocence. \u201cYou had rejected him, you had walked away, you acted like you were done with him. Then why did you go back to him? You did that, Bella, and now you\u2019re standing here like you don\u2019t understand? Just wow!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My skin went cold as confusion overcame me. I took a step closer to Scott. \u201cWhat the hell is she saying?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scott took out a rough exhale. He slid his phone across the desk toward me. \u201cSee,\u201d he said,\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fingers trembled as I picked it up. The moment the screen lit up, my throat tightened. It was a video. My heart began to pound violently. My palms went slick, and a nauseating heat rushed through my chest as my eyes locked onto what was playing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a video of me having sex with Craig. He was nude, over my nude body, moving inside as I groaned asking him, begging him for more. \u201cOh baby!\u201d he breathed. \u201cYou\u2019re so good!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI love you, Craig,\u201d I said to him. \u201cCome back to me. I don\u2019t want Scott. I want you!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gasped because my mind refused to accept it. It couldn\u2019t be real. My vision blurred at the edges, and my stomach lurched so hard that I had to brace my hand on the desk to keep myself steady. Bile rose in my\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
throat. I looked at Scott, going pale as a sheet. \u201cTh\u2013this is wrong.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
10 vouchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maya watched fiercely through her tears. \u201cHow could you do that?\u201d she demanded in a shaky voice. \u201cHow could you sleep with him and then come back to Scott and act like you\u2019re this loyal woman, like you\u2019re some kind of perfect woman, while you were cheating on him?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My head snapped up. My pulse roared in my ears. \u201cNo,\u201d I rasped, because I could not find any other word fast enough. \u201cThat\u2019s not-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou disappeared for a month to be with him,\u201d Maya pushed on, her voice turning sharp again as she gestured toward Scott. \u201cAnd that video was taken right before you left. You cheated on him, Bella. You cheated on Scott with Craig. You destroyed two lives\u2013mine, because Craig won\u2019t marry me now, and Scott\u2019s, because he trusted you. How could you be so vile? Poor Scott\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My throat tightened painfully as I turned toward Scott. \u201cScott, listen to me,\u201d I pleaded, because my body was trembling now and I hated how small my voice sounded in this room. \u201cThis is not what it looks like. That\u2019s not\u2013this isn\u2019t-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He did not look at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was the part that hurt the most, because even when we fought, even when he was angry, he always looked at me like I mattered. Now his gaze was fixed on Maya. Something hard and dangerous was carved on his face. His fury pulsed so strongly through the bond that it made my skin prickle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maya\u2019s sobs returned, but her tone softened. She looked at me. \u201cI\u2013I didn\u2019t want this to become public,\u201d she insisted, \u201cWhich Craig is threatening to do. I came here directly because you\u2019re\u2026 family. I didn\u2019t want your reputation destroyed, and I didn\u2019t want his destroyed either.\u201d She glanced at Scott, looking helpful and loyal. \u201cI saw the wedding invitation, and I thought Scott deserved to know before you broke him in front of the world. I know he loves you a lot. But this truth,\u201d she said in a rough voice, \u201cneeded to come out. I\u2019m- I\u2019m so done with you Bella!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked down at the phone again, my hands shaking so badly that the screen wobbled. The video looped. My stomach flipped violently. The image was convincing enough to make anyone doubt and that terrified me more than anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A memory surfaced like a cruel joke. Of how I had once used a private video to force my way out of a trap, how desperate I had been. Now Maya was using the same trick on me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is fake,\u201d I whispered. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to breathe properly. \u201cIt has to be fake. This is not me. I never met Craig.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maya leaned forward, eyes shining with tears. \u201cCraig is threatening to release it,\u201d she continued. \u201cHe knows you\u2019re marrying Scott and he is furious, jealous. He wants you back, and he won\u2019t stop at anything. I went to meet him to stop him, but he\u2019s out of control. He says he\u2019ll make it viral if you don\u2019t return, and he thinks he can ruin you both.\u201d Then she paused for a while to let the whole situation sink. Finally, when she spoke, it was worse than poison. \u201cBut I know how to stop him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
When Midnight Winds Carry Secrets Toward Worlds Yet Unknown 109 Chapter 109\u00a0 Chapter 109\u00a0 Bella\u00a0 The moment I stepped into […]<\/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":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-new-world-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23074","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=23074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23074\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}