Chapter 115\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bella\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBella,\u201d Isla greeted warmly, and I could hear the smile in her tone. \u201cMy sweet girl. I\u2019m so happy for you. You\u2019re getting\u00a0<\/p>\n
married!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My throat tightened immediately. \u201cYes,\u201d I said in a shaky voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a pause on the other end, and then Isla\u2019s voice softened. \u201cAre you crying?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I lied, but my eyes were already wet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBella,\u201d she murmured gently, and in that one word I felt seen. \u201cTell me what\u2019s wrong.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pressed my fingers to my lips, trying not to sob out loud. \u201cIt\u2019s just\u2026 a lot,\u201d I whispered. \u201cEverything is happening fast.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Isla hummed like she understood more than I was saying. \u201cDo you know that I\u2019m still happy you ran away that night,\u201d she told me with a chuckle. \u201cI\u2019m happy you didn\u2019t marry Craig. I never liked him, and I don\u2019t care what anyone says about that. And after what Maya did to you, I don\u2019t like her either.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A tear slid down my cheek. Isla continued. \u201cLucy has had too much influence over Jared. He pressured me for years to release that inheritance. He tried to charm it out of me, bully it out of me, guilt it out of me. But your grandfather made sure the money would only go to his biological granddaughter, and that is you, Bella and no one else.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes. \u201cI don\u2019t even know if I want it anymore,\u201d I whispered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou will take it,\u201d Isla replied. \u201cNot because you need it, but because it is yours, and it was meant to protect you. I\u2019ll come for your wedding, and I will gift you the check myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Overwhelmed, I let out a small sob. Isla didn\u2019t press. She simply said, \u201cI love you, Bella. I am proud of you! You are marrying the most eligible and rich man in the country. Be happy! I know he loves you too.\u201c\/1 chuckled at her encouragement. She ended the call after promising she\u2019d see me soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the call ended, I sat with the phone in my hand for a long time, staring at nothing. In another life, I would have been excited. I would have been floating, choosing flowers and tasting cake, laughing with Millie, arguing with Scott about guest lists. Instead I felt like I was walking toward a cliff and smiling for photographs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The wedding day arrived too fast. I wore the same dress I had worn for my wedding in the pack\u2013lands. That day, I had been so happy I could barely breathe. Today, my hands shook as Millie adjusted my veil and pinned my hair into place, because I refused to go to a salon and sit under bright lights with strangers while my mind spiraled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look beautiful,\u201d Millie told me, stepping back to inspect her work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t feel beautiful. I felt like I was holding myself together with invisible tape.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When we left, Troy was waiting downstairs. The twins were already in their little outfits, buzzing with excitement. It was so good to be a child. Ryan bounced on his heels and looked up at me with wide eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMommy, am I going to throw flowers like a real prince?\u201d he asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not a prince,\u201d Emma corrected smartly, adjusting her little basket with serious importance. \u201cHe\u2019s a flower boy. And I\u2019m a flower girl. And Daddy is going to be so happy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ryan frowned. \u201cI am a prince.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Emma rolled her eyes. \u201cYou\u2019re a princeling.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
19:55 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 115\u00a0<\/p>\n
Troy chuckled and Millie laughed. I crouched, fixed Emma\u2019s veil and brushed Ryan\u2019s hair back, forcing my voice to stay light. \u201cYou both look perfect,\u201d I told them. \u201cNow remember, walk slowly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When we got to the venue, my anxiety returned. Was Craig going to be there? Father, Lucy, Maya?\u00a0<\/p>\n
(923\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the doors opened and the music drifted toward us, the twins went first. They threw flowers as instructed. The venue was grand, elegant, arranged with soft light and rows of seats that gleamed like wealth. People turned to watch them, smiling, whispering, charmed by how confident they looked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then it was my turn. I stepped forward, and as I walked, my eyes caught movement in the back row. My father sat there, and the sight hit me like a punch. In another life, he would have walked me down the aisle. But today he was here for himself, for appearances, for whatever he thought he could gain by being seen near Scott Moore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucy sat beside him with her eyes full of hatred.\u00a0<\/p>\n
People watched me with awe and tenderness as I walked down the aisle. And then I saw Scott. He looked beautiful but tired. When our eyes met, everything else blurred. He looked like I was his entire world, and through the bond I could feel how much he loved me. I walked toward him like he was gravity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just before I reached him, my eyes flicked to the side, and I saw Maya and Craig.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Craig\u2019s posture was rigid, his face was tight with anger, and Maya sat beside him, bristling. But why were they angry? A wave of nausea rolled through me so fast I thought I might actually collapse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Had Scott paid him? Would Craig ruin this in front of everyone?\u00a0<\/p>\n
My steps faltered, and the world tilted again. I felt like I couldn\u2019t breathe. Then strong, warm hands closed around mine and pulled me up onto the podium. Scott steadied me so smoothly that no one else could tell I had nearly fallen apart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lifted my face toward him beneath the veil, and whispered, \u201cI\u2019m scared.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scott\u2019s eyes softened only for me, and his thumb stroked the back of my hand like an anchor. \u201cDon\u2019t be,\u201d he promised calmly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you trust me, love?\u201d he asked. And for the first time in so many days, I felt like I could take on the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, swallowing hard. I said, \u201cHe will destroy us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, he won\u2019t be able to do a thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u00a0<\/p>\n
He leaned close enough that no one else could hear him and said, \u201cWatch me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
AD\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 115 Chapter 115\u00a0 Bella\u00a0 \u201cBella,\u201d Isla greeted warmly, and I could […]<\/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-23080","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\/23080","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=23080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23080\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}