Chapter 65\u00a0<\/p>\n
DYLAN\u00a0<\/p>\n
The dinner was exhausting but surprisingly comforting. I know I shouldn\u2019t be, but there\u2019s something about that man that gives me warmth, which I don\u2019t understand. How can a stranger who emits a dangerous aura send comfort into my soul? That makes me wonder if there\u2019s probably a chance that he\u2019s telling the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, part of me doesn\u2019t want to admit it. Accepting whatever it is that I was feeling towards him only means that everything that Beckett told me about my life was all a lie.\u00a0<\/p>\n
$12 for lying to me?\u00a0<\/p>\n
But why would he do that? What could be his\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blew a loud sigh once I finally found myself in the\u00a0<\/p>\n
That man, who until now hasn\u2019t mentioned his name, group of armed men. That alone tells me this man is going to do anything that I didn\u2019t want him to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n
of my own room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
cd himself even before I finished eating. He was followed by a\u00a0<\/p>\n
dangerou\u00a0<\/p>\n
yet somehow, I believe his words when he said he\u2019s not\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why do I trust him more than I trust Beckett, who provides me\u00a0<\/p>\n
enough evidence\u00a0<\/p>\n
to prove his claim?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are insane, Dylan,\u201d I murmured to myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes drifted toward the bathroom door, and only then did I really notice it\u2013wide, elegant, almost too grand for someone like me. Earlier, I\u2019d been too distracted, too unsettled, to take any of it in while I was rushing to get ready for dinner. Now, with the house quiet and my thoughts spiraling, the space called to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bathtub was enormous, smooth marble edges catching the soft light. It looked inviting in a way that made my shoulders loosen just a little. A long, warm bath might be exactly what I needed\u2013to calm my nerves, to quiet the questions pounding inside my head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked in and turned the faucet, watching steam slowly rise as the tub began to fill. The sound of running water wrapped around me, dulling everything else. On the countertop beside the sink, I spotted a bottle of body wash\u2013simple and expensive\u2013looking. I picked it up and inhaled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The scent was unmistakably masculine. Clean. Deep. Familiar in a way I couldn\u2019t quite place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a second, I hesitated. Then I shook my head at myself and poured some into the tub anyway. The water clouded as bubbles bloomed across the surface, thick and white. I swirled my hand through them, watching them dance, trying to focus on something\u2013anything\u2013that wasn\u2019t him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Slowly, I began to undress, fabric sliding from my skin piece by piece. Each movement felt deliberate, like I was shedding more than just clothes\u2013tension, fear, and the strange pull that man had over me. By the time I stepped closer to the tub, steam curling around my legs, my heart was still restless, but at least, for this moment, I was alone with my thoughts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The warmth of the water wrapped around me like a cocoon, loosening muscles I hadn\u2019t realized were clenched so tight. The steam blurred my vision, the bubbles brushing against my skin as the quiet settled in. For the first time since everything began to unravel, my thoughts slowed. The fear dulled. The questions softened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I rested my head against the edge of the tub and let my eyes close.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just for a moment, I told myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
394\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sound of water became distant, fading into something gentle and far away. My breathing evened out, my body sinking deeper into the comfort of the bath until sleep claimed me without warning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t know how long I\u2019d been out when something warm brushed against my cheek.\u00a0<\/p>\n
09:53 Mon, Jan 12 0 G\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 65\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stirred, frowning hightly, half\u2013lost betwear dreams and reality. The touch came again slow, careful, almost reverent Nor rough. Not drinansing. Just there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My lashes Buttered open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a second, all I could see was a blur of shadow and light. Then the shape of him sharpened above me, crouched beside the tub, his expression unreadable but intent. One hand cradled my face as if he was afraid I might disappear if he let go\u00a0<\/p>\n
My throat tightened. I pushed myself upright, water sloshing softly as I stared at him, my heart suddenly racing. \u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d I asked, worried that he might see me naked underneath the water. I quickly gathered all the bubbles around me in my attempt to cover my nakedness. \u201cHow long have you been here?\u201d I shot at him\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLong enough,\u201d he replied, his thumb brushing away a stray drop of water from my cheek.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t your school teach you that it\u2019s rude to enter someone else\u2019s room without permission?\u201d I accused him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He smirked. \u201cWhy do I need permission to enter my room and my bathroom?\u201d he replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
T\u2013This is your room?\u201d I asked with my eyes wide open a\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is indeed,\u201d he responded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
my jaw dropped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I clenched my jaw and blew a loud breath, trying to calm myself down from this awkward situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I cleared my throat and raised my head, hiding the embarrassment cree into my system. \u201cApologies. Can you please\u00a0<\/p>\n
leave so I can fix myself?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s the point? I have already seen everything,\u201d he answered with a devilish smirk playing on his lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShut up! Leave now!\u201d I yelled at him, but he didn\u2019t budge. I was so pissed that I didn\u2019t think about it much when I decided to splash water on his face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHey! Stop it!\u201d he complained as he was trying to dodge it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Alchemist of Broken Dreams by Sienna Rose Blackwell 65 Chapter 65\u00a0 DYLAN\u00a0 The dinner was exhausting but surprisingly comforting. […]<\/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-24416","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\/24416","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=24416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24416\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}