The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 102\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was all an act, but sometimes acting strong was the first step to actually being strong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1100\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I stepped out of my room, Tristan was standing near my door. He looked like he\u2019d been there for a while, maybe working up the\u00a0<\/p>\n
courage to knock.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His hair was messy, his clothes wrinkled, and there were dark circles under his eyes that made him look older than his years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood morning,\u201d I said with a smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The surprise on his face was almost comical. His eyes widened, and his mouth opened slightly like he was going to say something but forgot what it was. He\u2019d been expecting me to look broken, to come out of my room red\u2013eyed and defeated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I wasn\u2019t that girl anymore. The Athena who had curled up on her bedroom floor wasn\u2019t the same one who had gotten back up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAth,\u201d he called as I walked past him toward the stairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I paused and turned back, keeping that smile fixed on my face like shield. \u201cYes, Tristan?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry about last night. I didn\u2019t mean to yell and frighten you. I was just\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDrunk,\u201d I finished for him, my voice light and understanding. \u201cI know. It\u2019s okay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t okay. It was far from okay. But I wasn\u2019t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much his words had cut me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I started walking again, then stopped and turned back one more time. \u201cI\u2019ll take a cab to work today. We\u2019ll see each other at the\u00a0<\/p>\n
office.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t wait for his response. I walked downstairs, grabbed my purse and keys, and headed for the door. My hands only shook a little\u00a0<\/p>\n
as I turned the handle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The morning air was cool against my face as I walked to the end of the street. A cab was just turning the corner, and I flagged it down, feeling like the universe was finally giving me a small break.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the ride, I stared out the window and made myself a promise. I had let Tristan hurt me five years ago, I had let Daxon hurt me for three years. But I wasn\u2019t going to let anyone hurt me again. Not Tristan, not anyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was done being a victim.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The office building looked the same as always, but walking through those doors felt different today. Like I was walking into a new version of my life, one where I was in control.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
8:47 Wed, Jan 7\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 102\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0f0b (100\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orion was already at his desk when I arrived, and seeing his familiar face made some of the tension in my shoulders ease. He looked up when I knocked on his door frame, and his smile was warm and genuine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s my favorite sister,\u201d he said, standing up to hug me. \u201cHow are you holding up?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m your only sister\u201d I rolled my eyesz with a smile on my face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m good,\u201d For the first time all morning, it didn\u2019t feel like a complete lie. \u201cHow\u2019s Liam?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMuch better. Sarah sends her love, and Liam wants to know when Aunt Athena is coming to visit again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSoon,\u201d I promised. \u201cTell him I miss him, and Lily too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
We talked for a few more minutes about his family, carefully avoiding any mention of Tristan or the drama of the past few days.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orion could probably sense something was off, but he didn\u2019t push. He never did unless he thought I was in real danger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI should get to my office,\u201d I said finally. \u201cI\u2019m sure there\u2019s a mountain of work waiting for me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably. But don\u2019t work too hard, okay? You\u2019ve been through a lot lately.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded and headed to my own office, closing the door behind me with a sense of relief. Here, surrounded by my files and reports and the familiar hum of the computer, I could almost pretend everything was normal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I dove into work with an intensity that surprised me. Numbers and spreadsheets were safe, predictable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t have complicated emotions or hidden meanings. They just were what they were.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had given Leah few days for her wedding preparation, so I was alone. And it had never felt so peaceful, not that I don\u2019t like her company, but I enjoy my own company.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was so focused on a quarterly report that I didn\u2019t hear the knock on my door at first. When it came again, louder this time, I looked up to see Orion standing in the doorway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you always forget to eat?\u201d he asked, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I glanced at the clock and was shocked to see it was already 1:30. \u201cI was just trying to finish this report,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can wait. Come on, we\u2019re going to lunch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI really should\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAthena.\u201d His voice had that older brother tone that meant he wasn\u2019t taking no for an answer. \u201cThe report will still be there when we get back. But if you pass out from hunger, you won\u2019t be much good to anyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
8:47 Wed, Jan 7\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 102\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t argue with that logic. Besides, getting out of the office for a while might do me good, I waned my mog at g\u00f8ent ag\u00a0<\/p>\n
purse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Where are we going?\u201d I asked as we walked to the elevator.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat new place on Fifth Street, I hear they have great sandwiches,\u00a0<\/p>\n
The restaurant was busy with the lunch crowd, but we only had to wait a few minutes for a table, Orion was teled na mort yma funny thing Liam had done the day before when I looked up and felt my stomach drop\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan was already sitting at a table in the corner, nursing a cup of coffee and staring out the window. We looked as teat as he had\u00a0<\/p>\n
this morning, maybe worse,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know he was going to be here?\u201d I asked Orion quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orion followed my gaze and shrugged. I might have mentioned we were coming here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted to argue, wanted to make some excuse and leave, but that would only make Orion more suspicion. So I followed him to Tristan\u2019s table, pasting that smile back on my face,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you mind us joining you?\u201d Orion asked with a smirk, already pulling out a chair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan looked up, and our eyes met for just a moment before he looked away. \u201cWhat will you do if I mind?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe both know I and Athena are the air you breath.\u201d Tristan smiled without countering Orion\u2019s words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next few minutes was filled with Orion and Tristan bickering about their clubs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orion was a Barcelona fan, while Tristan was a Real Madrid fan. I rolled my eyes as they wouldn\u2019t stop comparing their chis, bet I was glad their focus wasn\u2019t on me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That didn\u2019t stop Tristan though, because I could feel him watching me when he thought I wasn\u2019t looking, but every time I glanced his way, he was focused on his discussion with Orion or anything else.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, when our food arrived and we\u2019d exhausted all the safe topics of conversation, I decided it was time to drop my bombshell.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to tell you guys something,\u201d I said, setting down my sandwich.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Both of them looked at me expectantly, eyebrows raised.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I think it\u2019s time I move out of Orion\u2019s place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\u00a0<\/p>\n
8:47 Wed, Jan 7\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
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 102 The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate\u00a0 Chapter 102\u00a0 […]<\/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":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-second-gear-of-love-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26259","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=26259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26259\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}