Chapter 158\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
We followed the sound, both of us moving cautiously now, our senses on high alert. The ringing was coming from somewhere behind the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before we could reach it, we heard Derek\u2019s voice echoing through the apartment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHey guy, what\u2019s up?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orion and I exchanged confused glances when we realized we could both hear his voice clearly through the phone connection.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when we heard a knock on the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHello, Tristan, are you there? I\u2019m actually at Athena\u2019s place,\u201d Derek was still saying into his phone as I reached for the door handle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I yanked the door open, and Derek\u2019s eyes widened in shock when he realized I was the one standing there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
71\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you doing here?\u201d we both asked at exactly the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I raised an eyebrow, my suspicion flaring. Why was he asking me what I was doing at my mate\u2019s apartment?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek must have seen the dangerous look on my face because he quickly explained, \u2018I spoke to Athena like an hour ago. She said she was alone and that you went to handle something. That\u2019s why I asked \u2013 I wasn\u2019t expecting you to be here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at him with growing suspicion. The timeline wasn\u2019t matching up with what I remembered, and every instinct I had was screaming that something\u00a0<\/p>\n
was wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet him in,\u201d Orion said behind me, his voice carefully controlled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek raised his eyebrows, clearly picking up on the tension radiating from both of us. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on? Why is Orion here? Where\u2019s Athena?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I should be asking you that,\u201d I replied, my voice colder than I intended.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek looked genuinely confused now, his head tilting slightly as he studied my expression. \u201cWhy would you ask me where she is? I called because I wanted to talk to her, I needed her advice on something.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018One minute you\u2019re calling her at an indecent hour, the next she\u2019s missing,\u2018 I started, but Orion cut me off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet him in, Tristan. That way, we can get to the bottom of this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took a deep breath, trying to control the rage that was building in my chest. Orion was right, but every fiber of my being wanted to grab Derek by the\u00a0<\/p>\n
throat and demand answers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Please, what\u2019s going on? Athena is what?\u201d Derek asked I reluctantly stepped aside to let him enter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shut the door behind him with more force than necessary, the sound echoing through the apartment like a gunshot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAthena is missing, and we think you took her,\u201d Orion said, moving slowly toward Derek with predatory grace.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:21 Sat, Jan 10 G MR\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 158\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Derek didn\u2019t back away or show any signs of fear. Instead, he stood his ground and looked at Orion with genuine confusion and hurt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
71\u00a0<\/p>\n
Athena\u2019s missing and you think it was me?\u2018 He turned toward me with pain clear in his eyes. You actually think I would do something to hurt Athena? Why\u00a0<\/p>\n
would I do such a thing?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ran my hands through my hair in frustration because deep down, I knew Derek wasn\u2019t that kind of person. He\u2019d never hurt an innocent woman, especially not one he cared about. But my mind was clouded with panic and fear, and I couldn\u2019t think straight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you didn\u2019t take her? Orion pressed, watching Derek like a hawk waiting for any sign of deception.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course I didn\u2019t, Derek said, his voice rising with emotion. \u201cI would never do such a thing to Athena, and besides, you and Tristan are my friends.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned to me and stared at me with an expression I\u2019d never seen before \u2013 hurt, disappointment, and something that looked almost like betrayal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I know you wouldn\u2019t do such a thing. I know that. I\u2019m just confused and I don\u2019t know what to think,\u201d I said, my voice breaking slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I understand. I really do,\u201d Derek replied, and I could hear the sincerity in his voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If this had been any other time, I would have asked him about the look in his eyes, the one that suggested there was someone special in his life that he hadn\u2019t told me about. He could only understand if he had someone he was scared of losing. But this wasn\u2019t the time for friendly curiosity about his love life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned toward Orion, desperation creeping into my voice. \u201cIf Derek isn\u2019t responsible, then who is?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have any enemies? Someone who would harm someone you love just to hurt you?\u201d Orion asked his analytical mind already working through the\u00a0<\/p>\n
possibilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tried to think of anyone who might have a grudge against me, anyone who would go to such lengths for revenge. But I came up empty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one,\u201d I said, shaking my head. \u201cI can\u2019t think of anyone who would do this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orion shook his head as well. \u201cI don\u2019t have any enemies like that either.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen does she?\u2018 Derek asked quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho? Athena?\u201d I asked, though my heart was already starting to race as a terrible possibility began to form in my mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Does Athena have anyone who could go to any length just to hurt her?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I started to shake my head automatically, but then my eyes met Orion\u2019s across the room. The same horrible realization was dawning on both of us\u00a0<\/p>\n
simultaneously.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s not possible. It\u2019s not possible, Orion said, reading my expression and understanding immediately what I was thinking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018What\u2019s not possible? What\u2019s going on? Derek asked, looking between us with growing concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018He\u2019s dead. I saw him die, didn\u2019t you?\u201d Orion asked, his voice tight with barely controlled panic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt my stomach drop as I realized the truth. \u2018I didn\u2019t actually see him die. You did, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t?\u201d Orion\u2019s voice rose an octave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 158\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didnt,\u201d I admitted, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. We only saw the pictures Max sent. But Max saw him and disposed of the body. He told me Daxon died from the torture.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
71\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMax would never lie to me. He would never lie about something like this,\u201d I said, but even as the words left my mouth, doubt was creeping in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you saw him die, right?\u2018 I asked Orion desperately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I didn\u2019t, I was going to kill him. I actually did, but he didn\u2019t die before I left the place. Max called an hour later to tell me he had died.\u201d Orion said, and his\u00a0<\/p>\n
face had gone completely pale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The silence that followed was deafening. Derek looked between us, clearly trying to piece together what we were talking about, while Orion and I stared at\u00a0<\/p>\n
each other in horror.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Are you telling me, Derek said slowly, that Athena has someone who is after her life and you both caught him, tortured him and killed him. But he might\u00a0<\/p>\n
not have died and had resurrected?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Derek was smart, so it wasn\u2019t hard to pick the pieces together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t speak, I just nodded. The possibility that Daxon was still breathing, still capable of hurting Athena, made my vision go red around the edges.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2019s Max then?\u201d Derek asked the question I didn\u2019t even want to let my mind wonder to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy beta\u201d The word tasted bitter on my lips as I let them fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 158 Chapter 158\u00a0 Tristan POV\u00a0 We followed the sound, both of us […]<\/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-26315","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\/26315","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=26315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26315\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}