Chapter 134\u00a0<\/p>\n
Athena\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
71\u00a0<\/p>\n
These questions swirled around in my head as I got ready for bed, but I still didn\u2019t have any answers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next morning, I woke up having almost forgotten about everything Tristan had said the night before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe it was because I\u2019d gotten so used to him changing his mind about things, saying one thing and doing another. My heart had learned to protect\u00a0<\/p>\n
itself by not getting too invested in his words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I went through my normal morning routine, making coffee, checking my phone, getting dressed for work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everything felt ordinary and familiar, which was somehow comforting after the emotional intensity of the previous evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\u00a0<\/p>\n
was just finishing my breakfast when I heard a knock at my door. It was still early in the morning, too early for most visitors. Who could that be?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Did Tristan tell Orion about my racing? Was he here to give me an ear full about how dangerous it was?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0f53\u0f0b\u00a0<\/p>\n
I slowly moved to the door, expecting to see him there with an angry face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But when I opened the door, I found a delivery man standing there with a beautiful bouquet of mixed flowers. The arrangement was stunning, full of colors that somehow managed to complement each other perfectly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAthena Slade?\u201d he asked, checking his clipboard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, still surprised by the unexpected delivery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I have a delivery for you. Can you sign here, please?\u201d He handed me his electronic signature pad.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I signed where indicated and took the flowers, breathing in their sweet fragrance. Attached was a small white card that I opened eagerly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope your day is as beautiful as your smile. I know you\u2019re smiling right now, and I\u2019m glad I get to be the first person to make you smile today. Have a\u00a0<\/p>\n
wonderful day, girlfriend.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t help but smile as I read the note. Derek was so thoughtful, so consistently kind and romantic. The gesture warmed my heart in a way I hadn\u2019t expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I arranged the flowers in a vase, I found myself thinking about what it would actually be like to date Derek seriously.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d treat me well, that much was certain. He was the kind of man who would proudly tell the whole world that he loved me, who would never be ashamed or confused about his feelings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan, on the other hand, was someone who might not always voice his feelings but would show them through his actions. He\u2019d been protective of me for years, even when he was trying to push me away emotionally,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek would shower me with affection and romance. Tristan would protect me with his life and challenge me to be stronger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek or Tristan? Let the best man win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/21\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 134\u00a0<\/p>\n
I finished getting ready for work and headed to the office, feeling lighter than I had in weeks. Maybe having options wasn\u2019t such a bad thing. Maybe it\u00a0<\/p>\n
was time to stop waiting for someone to choose me and start choosing for myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I arrived at the office, my phone rang. I glanced at the screen and saw Derek\u2019s name, which made me smile again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood morning, sunshine. How was your night?\u201d his cheerful voice came through the phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m good. How are you?\u201d I replied, settling into my desk chair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m fine. I\u2019m sorry about last night, sorry I didn\u2019t call to check on you after everything that happened.*\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shook my head even though he couldn\u2019t see me. \u201cIt\u2019s okay. You already made up for it. The flowers were beautiful. Thank you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a pause on the other end of the line. \u201cWhich flowers?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt confused. \u201cThe flowers you sent this morning. The delivery man just brought them to my apartment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 134 Chapter 134\u00a0 Athena\u2019s POV\u00a0 71\u00a0 These questions swirled around in my […]<\/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-26291","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\/26291","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=26291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26291\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}