Chapter 137\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bella\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood facing Jared and narrowed my eyes, trying to understand what I was seeing on his face. He looked tired, and he also looked like someone who had been crying for a long time. His shoulders were slightly slumped, and his gaze kept moving\u00a0<\/p>\n
toward the villa.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, a small part of my heart softened,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pain\u00a0<\/p>\n
the he\u00a0<\/p>\n
last. Anger rose quickly and covered it, because cause he looked nothing like the man he was. But that softness did not because he stood outside my home looking misc\u00a0<\/p>\n
ad caused me was not small, and it had not gone away just\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to leave,\u201d I said in a shaky voice. \u201cAnd don\u2019t come back here again. I don\u2019t want you standing outside my home like this, demanding to meet my kids. You\u2019ve lost that privilege\u00a0<\/p>\n
a long time ago!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jared\u2019s throat moved as he swallowed. He didn\u2019t argue with me, and that somehow made me more upset, because I had grown used to him ignoring my feelings. He nodded slowly and looked down for a second before lifting his eyes again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cI know I don\u2019t have the right to ask for anything from you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I kept my expression cold. \u201cYou also don\u2019t have the right to ask about my children,\u201d I added, because I needed him to hear it clearly. \u201cYou will never see my kids.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment those words left my mouth, his face tightened like I had hit him. His eyes turned glassy, and he blinked hard as if he was trying to hold himself together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t force you,\u201d he said in a low voice after a moment. \u201cI just\u2026 I just wanted to know if they are okay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t answer as my jaw stayed tight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jared took a breath, and then he spoke again. \u201cI haven\u2019t seen Lucy after the trial,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know where she is. And I don\u2019t have any intention of seeing her again. Just for you to know\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at him, because the words made me feel guilty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He continued quietly, \u201cI\u2019m staying at the country house with Isla. Your grandmother\u2026 She\u2019s\u2026 I didn\u2019t want to be alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pressed my lips together, and guilt rose higher. I knew exactly where Lucy was. I knew Nancy had taken her away, and I also knew that I couldn\u2019t speak freely about it. Even if I wanted to, there were rules in the supernatural world that didn\u2019t allow humans to expose things, and I didn\u2019t want to break those rules by discussing it carelessly. It made me feel trapped, like I was holding a truth that didn\u2019t belong to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But guilt didn\u2019t change my decision. I had built walls around my heart. \u201cI don\u2019t care,\u201d I said bluntly, and I turned away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked back toward the villa, keeping my shoulders straight, refusing to look back. However, as I stepped inside, I could feel his eyes on my back. I shut the door behind me, leaned against it for a second. When I reached my bedroom, I went straight to the window. I pulled the curtain back slightly and looked outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Father was still there. He stood in the same spot, staring toward the villa, and he wiped at his face with his sleeve. He looked like a man who didn\u2019t know what else to do with himself. After a few moments, he shook his head slowly, as if resigning to his fate, and then he finally turned and walked away down the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let the curtain fall back into place and exhaled shakily, feeling a confusing mix of anger and heaviness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBella?\u201d Scott\u2019s soft voice came from behind. Noticing my tension, He walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me back against his chest. The warmth of his body felt steady and safe, and for a moment I allowed myself to\u00a0<\/p>\n
lean into it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mon, Ja\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 137\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d he asked gently, pressing his check to my hair. \u201cWhy do you look like you\u2019re about to exploder\u00a0<\/p>\n
1 turned slightly in his arms and told him had asked if he could meet the kid\u00a0<\/p>\n
ut Jared, about how he had been standing outside again, and about the way he\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scott\u2019s expression shifted into confusion, and then into thoughtfulness. \u201cMaybe he\u2019s trying to make amends,\u201d he said carefully. \u201cMaybe he finally realizes what he lost. Bella, I\u2019m not telling you what to do, but\u2026 maybe you should give him a\u00a0<\/p>\n
chance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment he said it, my chest tightened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said stubbornly, shaking my head. \u201cI don\u2019t want to meet him. I don\u2019t want him near my children. He kept me at a distance my whole life, and now suddenly\u00a0<\/p>\n
come close? It doesn\u2019t work like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scott didn\u2019t interrupt, so my words kept coming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of him, my life was ruined,\u201d I said, my voice shaking. \u201cHe married Lucy. He allowed her into our home. He didn\u2019t protect me. He didn\u2019t listen to me. He looked away while everything fell apart. If he had made different choices, if he hadn\u2019t married her, my life would have been so much better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scott turned me gently so I was facing him. He held my shoulders and looked directly into my eyes. Then he hugged me again, tighter this time, not in a possessive way, but in a way that felt like he was trying to take the stress from my body.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t need to carry this alone,\u201d he said softly. \u201cAnd?\u00a0<\/p>\n
you\u00a0<\/p>\n
make sure Jared doesn\u2019t even come into this street again.\u201d \u201con\u2019t need t\u00a0<\/p>\n
to\u00a0<\/p>\n
If\u00a0<\/p>\n
f you want, I will ask my wolves to\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let out a long breath and leaned into him, the fight in my body slowly draining. My throat tightened, and I felt tears rise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI hate that I still feel something,\u201d I admitted quietly, my voice breaking. \u201cI hate that seeing him like that still affects me.\u201d Scott didn\u2019t say anything dramatic. He just held me, rubbing my back slowly, letting me breathe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I cried silently against his chest, the tears slipping out, soaking his shirt. I didn\u2019t know how long we stood there like that, but I felt my body calm little by little.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then my phone buzzed. An unknown number flashed on the\u00a0<\/p>\n
screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Olivia Harris is an emerging author celebrated for her captivating romantic and steamy novels. With a talent for crafting deep emotional connections and fiery chemistry between her characters, Olivia\u2019s stories offer readers an escape into worlds filled with passion, intrigue, and heart-stopping drama.<\/p>\n
When Midnight Winds Carry Secrets Toward Worlds Yet Unknown 137 Chapter 137\u00a0 Bella\u00a0 I stood facing Jared and narrowed my […]<\/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-23102","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\/23102","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=23102"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23121,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23102\/revisions\/23121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}