Chapter 132~\u00a0<\/p>\n
Athena\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
$71\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, that\u2019s too bad because I don\u2019t care what you think, Tristan. You don\u2019t get a choice in what I do with my life. Racing is what I love and it\u2019s what I\u2019ll\u00a0<\/p>\n
continue doing. No one, not even you, can make me stop.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I poured all the spite I could muster into those words, wanting them to sting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan looked genuinely shocked by the force of my speech, but his shock quickly transformed into anger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want to get yourself killed? What are you thinking?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAren\u2019t you doing the same thing? Are you dead?\u201d I shot back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He messed up his hair again, his frustration mounting. \u201cDo you know how many times I\u2019ve been hurt racing? Do you know how many times I\u2019ve nearly lost my life? I can\u2019t watch you try to kill yourself like this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thought of Tristan lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life made me feel sick to my stomach. It was something I never wanted to see happen. But\u00a0<\/p>\n
that wasn\u2019t what was important right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you didn\u2019t die. And I won\u2019t die either.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDamn it, Athena! Why can\u2019t you just listen to me for once?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd why should I listen to you, Tristan? What right do you have to control my life?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I love you!\u201d The words exploded out of him, making him sound like Orion. I hate the way they treat me like am something that needs to be protected, I\u2019m twenty\u2013eight for crying out loud.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at him, not caring about what he\u2019d just said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing I can do about that, Tristan. I know you love and care about me, and you don\u2019t want to see me get hurt. But this is my life. You and Orion need to understand that I\u2019m not a child anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I said I love you, Ath.\u201d His voice was quieter now, more intense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Yes, I know. But I\u2019ll try to be more careful. You can watch me train, teach me how to be really good. So I won\u2019t get hurt, and you and Orion don\u2019t have to worry about me like I\u2019m still a little girl.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I try to bargain, because a part of me knows how they feel. That\u2019s why am offering this even though it\u2019s the last thing I want, but that\u2019s how far I can go\u00a0<\/p>\n
for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still can\u2019t believe I\u2019ll have to go through this with Orion too, I wish he was here so we can get this done with.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018No, you\u2019re not understanding me, Ath.\u201d He took a step closer, his eyes burning with something I couldn\u2019t quite identify.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I paused and looked at him more carefully. I understood him perfectly. He said he loved me. I heard him clearly, and I knew what he meant. He loved me the same way he\u2019d always loved me, the way a big brother loves his little sister.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yes, I was angry with him because he couldn\u2019t love me the way I wanted him to. But I knew he loved me as family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/31\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:18 Sat, Jan 10 G MR\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 132\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I LOVE YOU!\u201d he repeated, emphasizing each word.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I stammered, confused by his intensity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
71\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI said I love\u2026\u201d He started to repeat himself again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I raised my hands to stop him. \u201cI heard you, Tristan, but I don\u2019t understand why you keep repeating it. I think you\u2019re confused. This is Athena\u2019s house.\u201d I reminded him pointedly, in case he was about to call me by someone else\u2019s name again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I know it\u2019s you, and that\u2019s exactly why I\u2019m saying\u2026 He tried to walk toward me, but I stopped him with raised hands, taking a step backward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018You don\u2019t love me, Tristan. You\u2019re saying this because you got scared seeing me race, and then you saw me kissing Derek. That\u2019s why you think you love\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I know what I feel, Athena. I love you, and I\u2019m sorry it took me this long to finally accept it. I\u2019ve been such an idiot, pushing you away all these years. I promise I\u2019ll make this right. I swear on my word that I\u2019ll never hurt you again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood there in complete shock as I watched Tristan say these words. He wasn\u2019t drunk this time, so what was he really saying?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if I told you I don\u2019t love you back?\u201d I asked, testing him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen that\u2019s not a problem, because I\u2019ll court you properly.\u201d Another surprise. Was I dreaming? Why was Tristan saying all of this?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I won\u2019t give up until you love me and accept me as more than just family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was still too stunned to fully process what was happening. I\u2019d never seen Tristan like this before, so open and vulnerable and determined. Except for\u00a0<\/p>\n
the night he was drunk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
call.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about Orion? What happened to me being like a sister to you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He ran his hands through his hair again, and for a moment I wanted to reach out and smooth it down for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe knows, Tristan said simply.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Knows what?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat I love you, and he doesn\u2019t mind, Ath. He said if I can make you happy, he doesn\u2019t have a problem with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018What about me? You talked to Orion before talking to me?\u201d There was hurt in my voice that I couldn\u2019t hide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I just wanted to make sure he was okay with it first.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018What if he wasn\u2019t okay? Would you still have told me?\u2018 I needed to know if his feelings were conditional on his best friend\u2019s approval.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded immediately and tried to come closer to me again, but I stepped back until my spine hit the wall behind me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe moment Sarah made me see my feelings clearly, I called Orion to let him know I loved you. I was already on my way to see you when I made that\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now he was standing close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his body. His hands found my face, cupping it gently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:18 Sat, Jan 10\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 132\u00a0<\/p>\n
371\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI love you, Ath. I always have, but I was too blind and too caught up fighting my feelings to let myself understand what I truly felt. But I\u2019ve always loved you, and I know you\u2019re angry with me. I deserve your anger. But I want you to forgive me and give me a chance to prove myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly feeling dry. His hands on my face were melting away whatever words I\u2019d been trying to form.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTristan,\u201d I managed to say, but I couldn\u2019t complete the thought. His touch was scrambling my brain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His hands shifted to my neck, and instinctively I tilted my head, giving him access. He took the invitation immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When his lips touched the sensitive skin of my neck, I let out an involuntary moan. The sound seemed to encourage him, and he began to suck gently\u00a0<\/p>\n
on my pulse point\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then I felt his teeth against my skin. What was he trying to do?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was he trying to mark me?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 132 Chapter 132~\u00a0 Athena\u2019s POV\u00a0 $71\u00a0 \u201cWell, that\u2019s too bad because I […]<\/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-26289","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\/26289","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=26289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26289\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}