Chapter 26\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 26\u00a0<\/p>\n
DYLAN\u00a0<\/p>\n
I quickly stepped out of the guest room and practically ran downstairs to check what\u2019s going on. I\u2019m worried that something bad will happen if I don\u2019t interfere. Clearly, Hunter didn\u2019t come here to talk calmly, judging by the battalion of armed men he brought with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As soon as I reached the last flight of the stairs, I immediately saw the door wide open, and Hunter was standing right across the doorstep. His men were standing behind him, holding their guns, waiting for his order.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, what\u2019s going on here?\u201d I shouted. I was about to walk towards them when two of Beckett\u2019s men blocked\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDylan, go back upstairs. Let me handle this,\u201d Beckett ordered without looking back at me. \u201cAnd you,\u201d he said towards Hunter, \u201cWhat are you doing here? You\u2019re on my property. You\u2019re not welcome here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I saw Hunter smirk. And it wasn\u2019t like the one he used to give me whenever he was teasing me. It\u2019s that kind of smirk that was telling you not to mess with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got something that belongs to me. I came here to get it. Let me have her, and we won\u2019t have any problems,\u201d Hunter said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beckett scoffs and puts his hands inside his pockets. \u201cNothing here belongs to you. Now, leave before I call the police and sue you for trespassing. I suggest you leave now while I\u2019m still being nice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hunter chuckled, \u201cThat\u2019s cute. You and your little threats.\u201d He then looked behind Beckett, and our eyes immediately met. His gray eyes darkened. I couldn\u2019t read what\u2019s going on inside his head. He looks mad, but at the same time, he seems to be worried about me. \u201cLet\u2019s go home, little dove,\u201d he said, and those endearments cause my heart to beat erratically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beckett\u2019s hand shot out and shoved Hunter in the chest, the move fueled more by rage than strength\u2013but Hunter barely budged. It was like trying to move a mountain with your bare hands. He took the push like it was nothing, his broad shoulders tensing, but his face remained eerily calm. That was somehow more terrifying than if he\u2019d lost his temper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife isn\u2019t going anywhere,\u201d Beckett growled, his voice laced with desperation. \u201cThis is her house. She belongs here. She\u2019s mine!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the word mine, something flickered in Hunter\u2019s eyes\u2013dark, dangerous, and cold as steel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not yours,\u201d Hunter said, voice low and laced with warning. \u201cYou don\u2019t get to claim what you\u2019ve already destroyed. Now, if you\u2019ll excuse me, I\u2019d like to bring my fianc\u00e9e home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll have to go through me before you can take her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He took one slow step forward, towering over Beckett like a silent storm ready to strike.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s see about that,\u201d Hunter said, his voice like thunder just before the lightning hits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:31 Thu, Dec 25 M\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 26\u00a0<\/p>\n
94\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, with a flick of his fingers, the atmosphere shifted. The men behind him\u2013every one of them dressed in black and looking like they\u2019d walked straight out of a high\u2013stakes heist movie\u2013raised their weapons in perfect unison. Cold, metallic clicks echoed in the air as safeties were removed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beckett stiffened. His eyes darted toward the armed men, clearly doing the math in his head\u2013and realizing just how outnumbered he was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s enough, you two!\u201d I shouted, shoving the two men blocking my way. I walked towards them and pushed them away to finally put some distance between them. I stand in between them, trying to calm the situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I know Beckett; he\u2019ll never back down in a pissing contest. And Hunter, I don\u2019t know anything about him, but something tells me he\u2019s not the one you should mess with.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hunter\u2019s head snapped toward me the second I stepped right in the middle of them. I was facing him, so it probably looks like I was taking Beckett\u2019s side, but that\u2019s not it. I was only trying to calm him down so it wouldn\u2019t result in any violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCut it, okay?\u201d I snapped, stepping between the two of them. My chest was heaving, my heart racing from the chaos unraveling right before me. I turned sharply toward Hunter, eyes narrowed. \u201cLet\u2019s get one thing clear\u2014 nobody owns me. Not you. Not him. I make my own choices.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hunter\u2019s jaw flexed, but he didn\u2019t argue. His gaze, intense as ever, remained locked on mine. There was a storm behind those eyes, but he kept it leashed\u2014for now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could say more, Beckett stepped in again, grabbing my arm with just enough force to make me flinch. \u201cDylan, go back upstairs,\u201d he said through gritted teeth. \u201cLet me deal with this bastard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But before I could even react, Hunter moved. His hand shot out and grasped my other arm, gentle but firm. \u201cLet go of her,\u201d he growled, low and dangerous.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And just like that, I was caught between the two of them\u2013pulled in opposite directions like I was the rope in their twisted game of tug\u2013of\u2013war.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u00a0<\/p>\n
go of me\u2013both of you!\u201d I shouted, yanking my arms free from their grips and stepping back with fury blazing in\u00a0<\/p>\n
my chest. \u201cWhat the hell is wrong with you two? This isn\u2019t some fight over a trophy. I\u2019m a person, damn it!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both men froze. For a moment, the silence that followed was louder than any shouting could\u2019ve been.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beckett looked stunned, his hand still half\u2013raised in the air. Hunter\u2019s expression had hardened again, but there was something else behind it\u2013something I couldn\u2019t quite name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t belong to anyone,\u201d I repeated, \u201cI\u2019ve spent too long letting other people decide my worth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, okay. If that\u2019s what you want, I\u2019ll let you have it. Go on, decide now whether you\u2019re going to stay with your husband or with this stranger,\u201d Beckett said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I roll my eyes in annoyance. \u201cEx\u2013husband,\u201d I corrected. \u201cYou know we\u2019re already divorced, right? So, please, quit calling yourself my husband. You\u2019ve lost that spot the moment you chose her over me,\u201d I said as I turned my eyes to Sarah, who was silently watching everything unfold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
10:31 Thu, Dec 25 M\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 26\u00a0<\/p>\n
94\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beckett looked stunned as if I pulled a rug under his feet. I\u2019m amazed how he can still be surprised whenever I remind him that we\u2019re over. Does he really think that I will never be able to let go of my feelings for me? Was he expecting me to run after him and beg for his attention?\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I looked at Hunter, his expression stayed unreadable, but the slight curve at the corner of his lips. betrayed him\u2013he was clearly satisfied with what I\u2019d said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beckett\u2019s jaw clenched. He opened his mouth, but I didn\u2019t give him the chance. I pulled my arm free from his grasp, my touch lingering for only a heartbeat before stepping beside Hunter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m leaving,\u201d I said, looking at Sarah <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Alchemist of Broken Dreams by Sienna Rose Blackwell 26 Chapter 26\u00a0 Chapter 26\u00a0 DYLAN\u00a0 I quickly stepped out of […]<\/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":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-alphas-golden-cage-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24377","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=24377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24377\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}