Chapter 114\u00a0<\/p>\n
32%2\u00a0<\/p>\n
He opened the door cautiously, his body language tense and ready for trouble I could see his eyebrows raise in surprise, and he shifted slightly but didn\u2019t move away from the doorway, still blocking my view of whoever was outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Curiosity got the better of me, and I moved to get a better look around Derek\u2019s shoulder. When I saw who was standing in my hallway, my own eyebrows\u00a0<\/p>\n
shot up in surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rhys. My handsome neighbor, looking as perfectly put\u2013together as ever despite the late hour.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHi, Rhys said with that smooth smile of his. I was just coming back from work and decided to say hello.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, thank you. Welcome,\u201d I replied, though I was still puzzled by the timing of his visit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek hadn\u2019t moved an inch from his protective position in the doorway, and I could feel tension radiating from him like\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rhys\u2019s attention shifted to Derek, and his smile became more calculating. \u201cHi there,\u201d he said, like he was just noticing Dere\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek said nothing in response, just raised his eyebrow in a way that clearly communicated his skepticism about this unexpected visit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m Rhys, Athena\u2019s neighbor, Rhys introduced himself, extending a hand that Derek made no move to shake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m Derek,\u201d came the reply, accompanied by a pause that stretched just long enough to be pointed. \u201cAthena\u2019s boyfriend.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I raised my eyebrows at that announcement but decided not to correct him. Something about Rhys\u2019s late\u2013night appearance had me on edge too, and if Derek wanted to play the protective boyfriend role, I wasn\u2019t going to stop him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The effect on Rhys was immediate and interesting. His perfect smile faltered for just a moment, and something flickered across his expression that looked almost like annoyance before he recovered his composure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlright then, Rhys said, his tone still friendly but noticeably cooler. \u201cI\u2019ll leave you two to your evening,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks for stopping by,\u201d Derek said firmly, already moving to close the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As soon as the door clicked shut, I started laughing. \u201cBoyfriend, huh?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek shrugged, not looking the least bit apologetic. \u201cI don\u2019t like him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on what? A thirty\u2013second conversation?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Based on the fact that nobody just stops by at nine o\u2019clock at night to say hello to their neighbor. Especially not a neighbor they\u2019ve met, how many\u00a0<\/p>\n
times? Once? Twice?.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had to admit he had a point. The timing was odd, and there had been something in Rhys\u2019s expression when Derek claimed to be my boyfriend that felt off. Like Derek had interfered with some plan I wasn\u2019t aware of.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s time for you to leave too,\u201d I said with a small laugh, not wanting to get too deep into analyzing my neighbor\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
vations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, my heart, Derek said dramatically, pressing his hand to his chest. \u201cAre you chasing your boyfriend away already?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That sent both of us into another fit of laughter, releasing the tension in the air.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
2032 Thu band 10\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 114\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t want my fake boyfriend getting mugged or attacked on his way hat I said when I could speak again\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then why not let him spend the night for protection? Derek suggested with exaggerated hopefulness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I rolled my eyes. In your dreams, Derek. Now, out\u00a0<\/p>\n
32%\u00a0<\/p>\n
He raised his hands in surrender, still grinning. Alright, alright, Ill leave. You\u2019re a tough woman to please.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
We were both laughing again as he moved toward the door, and I found mys thinking that this was exactly what friendship should feel like. Easy. comfortable, with just enough teasing to keep things interesting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTake care of yourself, Derek said as he paused with his hand on the doorkno. And don\u2019t let anyone else in after I leave, okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1 rolled my eyes again at yet another protective male in my life. \u201cYes, sir.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned back to face me one more time, flashing that genuine smile that had made the whole evening possible. \u201cGood amazing evening.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
for an\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate\u00a0<\/p>\n
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 114 Chapter 114\u00a0 32%2\u00a0 He opened the door cautiously, his body language […]<\/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-26271","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\/26271","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=26271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26271\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}