We heard footsteps, and Tristan appeared in the kitchen doorway. \u201cReady to go?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, following him back to the living room where Orion was waiting. My brother looked calmer than before, though still concerned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBe careful,\u201d he said, pulling me into one more hug. And remember what I said about calling me if anything happens.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I will. We see each other every day at work, remember?\u201d I reminded him with a small smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded. \u201cI know. I love you, little sister.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Love you too, bro.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
71\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ride home was quieter than the ride there, but it was a different kind of quiet. The tension was gone, replaced by something that felt almost peaceful. I\u00a0<\/p>\n
found myself relaxing against Tristan\u2019s back, letting myself enjoy the familiar comfort of riding with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah\u2019s words kept repeating in my mind: \u201cI don\u2019t think he\u2019s going to mess this up again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When we reached my apartment, Tristan walked me to the door like always.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d I said as I unlocked it. \u201cFor defending me in there. For taking my side.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t need to thank me for that. I meant what I said about training you properly. If you\u2019re going to do this, I want to make sure you\u2019re as safe as\u00a0<\/p>\n
possible. Keeping you safe is my priority.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My stomach did a little flip at his words, the sincerity in his voice making my heart race.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what about the other thing? About us?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stepped closer, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s up to you, Ath. I meant what I said yesterday. I\u2019m going to prove to you that this is real, that I\u2019m serious about us. But the choice is yours to make.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Good,\u2018 I said, surprising myself with how steady my voice sounded. \u201cBecause I need to know that you want me for me, not just because of some bond or\u00a0<\/p>\n
obligation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I want you for you,\u201d he said simply. \u201cThe bond is just a bonus.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could respond, he leaned down and kissed my forehead gently, lingering for a moment. I closed my eyes at the sensation, neither of us wanting to\u00a0<\/p>\n
step away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan was the one who pulled back first, because he was stronger than I was. When he did, I felt like something essential was missing from my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted to step forward and hug him one last time, but I held myself back, my teeth catching my lower lip as I stared at him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood night, Athena.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Good night, Tristan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sat,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 138\u00a0<\/p>\n
He gave me a nod toward my door, and I went inside and locked it behind me. As I switched on the lights, my eyes caught the flowers I\u2019d left before heading to work that morning. A smile appeared on my face as I walked over to inhale their sweet scent before heading to my room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next morning, I found myself subconsciously expecting another flower delivery, but nothing came. As I got ready for work, I couldn\u2019t help but feel\u00a0<\/p>\n
irritated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everything seemed to be going wrong, and I couldn\u2019t figure out why I was in such a bad mood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I checked the time and cursed under my breath. I had thirty minutes left, which meant I was running late by my standards. I liked getting to the office early.\u00a0<\/p>\n
and this delay was throwing off my entire routine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I grabbed my bag, muttering to myself as I headed for the door. When I opened it, I stopped dead in my tracks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan was standing in my hallway with a flower in his hand. This one was even bigger and prettier than yesterday\u2019s, with deep red petals that looked like\u00a0<\/p>\n
silk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A smile spread across my face, and all my irritation disappeared like smoke in the wind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Intao Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 138 We heard footsteps, and Tristan appeared in the kitchen doorway. \u201cReady […]<\/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-26295","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\/26295","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=26295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26295\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}