Chapter 18
\nIn the middle of the night, urgent ringing woke me.
\nIt was James\u2019s mother, Mrs. Miller, sobbing.
\nDisturbed from sleep, I had no patience for her tears. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d
\nUnusually, her attitude toward me softened.<\/p>\n
Before, she\u2019d always been condescending, commanding, accusing, as if I\u2019d seduced her son.
\nShe\u2019d even make things difficult for me for Emily\u2019s sake.
\nBut this time, she hemmed and hawed. \u201cLuna\u2026 are you free now?\u201d<\/p>\n
I reminded her coldly, \u201cI\u2019m in London. It\u2019s 3 a.m. here.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2026 Oh\u2026 This is our family\u2019s fault. But could you\u2026 help clear James\u2019s name?\u201d
\n\u201cJust say\u2026 you\u2019re already divorced.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLuna, I know this wrongs you. But I\u2019m at my wit\u2019s end. Have pity on an old woman. James\u2019s father is gone. If something happens to James, I really can\u2019t go on.\u201d<\/p>\n
From her incoherent rambling, I pieced together the full story.
\nGrabbing my tablet, I checked.
\nSure enough, there was a follow-up to the earlier top search.
\nAn \u201cinsider\u201d had exposed James\u2019s married status.
\nEmily went from an enviable lifestyle blogger to a universally despised homewrecker.<\/p>\n
Every platform was cyberbullying them.
\nSome even photoshopped memorial pictures.
\nLittle Tommy was rumored to be James\u2019s illegitimate child.
\nI noticed Emily\u2019s contact profile picture had turned all black.
\nAll her posts were gone.
\nI was irritated. Why, even after fleeing abroad, wouldn\u2019t this mess leave me alone?<\/p>\n
Finally losing patience, I suppressed my anger and snapped, \u201cDon\u2019t guilt-trip me. The one refusing the divorce is your son, not me! If you\u2019re really afraid for James, make him sign the papers!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLuna, how can you talk like that? James is still your husband, you\u2026\u201d
\n\u201cNot after the divorce!\u201d<\/p>\n
I slammed the phone shut and threw it on the bed.
\nResentment flooded in. Why did I always have to be the one to retreat?
\nThey made their own mess. Let them clean it up.
\nNo one was dragging me back into that twisted triangle.
\nMaybe freed from the psychological burden, I slept deeply that night.
\nPrev<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
Time Paused Between Silent Moments by Aven Slate 18 Chapter 18 In the middle of the night, urgent ringing woke […]<\/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":[52],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-goodbye-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23175","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=23175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23175\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}