Chapter 265\u00a0<\/p>\n
Athena\u00a0<\/p>\n
The house felt too quiet after they left. Even with Lily and Liam playing in the corner, even with Sarah moving around picking up\u00a0<\/p>\n
toys, the silence felt heavy and suffocating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood by the window, watching the empty driveway where Tristan\u2019s car had been just minutes ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAthena,\u201d Sarah said softly. \u201cCome sit down.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d I said, but I didn\u2019t move from the window.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not fine,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s okay. But standing there staring out the window isn\u2019t going to bring them back any faster.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew she was right, but I couldn\u2019t seem to make my feet move. All I could think about was Tristan running toward danger. Orion facing down rogues. Derek fighting alongside them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fifteen rogues. Maybe more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those weren\u2019t good odds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMama, I\u2019m thirsty,\u201d Lily said, tugging on Sarah\u2019s shirt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, baby,\u201d Sarah said. \u201cLet\u2019s get you some water.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She went to the kitchen and I finally forced myself to move away from the window. I went to lock the front door like Orion had told me to, then checked the back door too. All the windows. Everything was secure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I still didn\u2019t feel safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah came back with sippy cups for both kids and handed them out. Liam immediately took a drink and went back to his trucks. Lily drank hers while leaning against the couch, her eyes already looking tired.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat time is it?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah checked her phone. \u201cAlmost eight.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only thirty minutes had passed since they left. It felt like hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sat down on the couch and Sarah joined me, taking my hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve dealt with rogues before,\u201d she said. \u201cThey know what they\u2019re doing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
62\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:35 Mon, Jan 19 M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 265\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d I said. \u201cBut fifteen rogues, Sarah. That\u2019s different from the usual one or two that wander onto our territory.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d she admitted. \u201cBut they\u2019re not alone. The whole pack will be there. All the fighters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted to take comfort in that, but I couldn\u2019t. Not when I kept thinking about all the things that could go wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just found out about the baby,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cWe just told everyone. What if something happens and he never gets to meet our\u00a0<\/p>\n
child?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t think like that,\u201d Sarah said firmly. \u201cTristan is strong and smart and he has everything to fight for now. He\u2019ll come back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t promise that,\u201d I said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d she agreed. \u201cBut I can have faith. And so can you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned my head on her shoulder and tried to breathe through the anxiety clawing at my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lily came over and climbed onto the couch between us. \u201cWhy are you sad, Aunt Athena?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sad, sweetie,\u201d I said, trying to smile for her. \u201cJust a little worried.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout daddy and Uncle Tristan?\u201d she asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I said. There was no point in lying to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll be okay,\u201d she said with the confidence only a four\u2013year\u2013old could have. \u201cDaddy is really strong. He told me so.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Despite everything, I felt a small smile form. \u201cHe did?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYep,\u201d she said. \u201cHe said he\u2019s the strongest daddy in the whole world and nothing bad can happen to him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour daddy is pretty strong,\u201d I agreed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She nodded seriously, then climbed into my lap and hugged me. \u201cDon\u2019t be worried. It makes the baby sad.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at Sarah in surprise. Had she told Lily about the baby being able to feel things?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah shrugged with a small smile. \u201cShe\u2019s very intuitive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hugged Lily back, grateful for her innocent attempt at comfort. \u201cYou\u2019re right. I\u2019ll try not to worry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood,\u201d she said, settling more comfortably in my lap.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
12:35 Mon, Jan 19 M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 265\u00a0<\/p>\n
Within minutes, she was asleep, her little body heavy and warm against me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
862\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sarah got up and picked up Liam, who was also starting to nod off. \u201cLet me put them down somewhere. Do you have a guest room?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDown the hall, second door on the right,\u201d I said. \u201cThere\u2019s a bed in there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She carried Liam down the hall and I carefully stood up with Lily, following behind her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The guest room was simple but comfortable. Sarah laid Liam on one side of the bed and I laid Lily next to him. We put pillows on the open side so they wouldn\u2019t roll off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ll be okay here,\u201d Sarah said, pulling a blanket over them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 265 Chapter 265\u00a0 Athena\u00a0 The house felt too quiet after they left. […]<\/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-26422","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\/26422","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=26422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26422\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}