Chapter 287\u00a0<\/p>\n
1442\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course,\u201d he said without hesitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He helped me out of my shoes and I lay back against the pillows while he stretched out beside\u00a0<\/p>\n
me, his hand immediately finding its place on my stomach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re safe here,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cYou can actually rest without worrying.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d I said, letting my eyes close. \u201cIt feels good to be here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Within minutes I was asleep, exhausted from everything my body had been through in the past\u00a0<\/p>\n
twenty four hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I woke a few hours later to the sound of children laughing downstairs and the smell of\u00a0<\/p>\n
something delicious cooking, for a moment I was disoriented, forgetting where I was, but then I felt\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan\u2019s arm around me and remembered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orion\u2019s house, safe with family.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHey,\u201d Tristan said softly, clearly having felt me stir. \u201cHow do you feel now babe?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter,\u201d I said, and I meant it, the sleep had helped and while I was still sore, the sharp edge of\u00a0<\/p>\n
pain had dulled to a manageable ache.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSarah made dinner,\u201d he said. \u201cShe sent me to wake you about twenty minutes ago but you\u00a0<\/p>\n
looked so peaceful I didn\u2019t want to disturb you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m glad you let me sleep,\u201d I said, sitting up slowly. \u201cWhat time is it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlmost six,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We went downstairs together and found everyone gathered in the living room, Sarah was on the\u00a0<\/p>\n
couch with Liam curled up beside her watching a cartoon, Orion was on the floor with Lily building\u00a0<\/p>\n
something with blocks, and the whole scene was so domestic and normal that I felt something in my\u00a0<\/p>\n
chest loosen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was what life should be like, peaceful moments with family, not fighting for survival.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
20:00 Tue, Jan 20 WG\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 287\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere you are,\u201d Sarah said when she saw us. \u201cFeeling better?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
14%\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMuch better,\u201d I said, settling into one of the armchairs while Tristan sat on the arm beside me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDinner\u2019s ready whenever you are,\u201d Sarah said. \u201cmade lasagna, figured we could all use some\u00a0<\/p>\n
comfort food.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds amazing,\u201d I said, realizing I was actually hungry for the first time since the attack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We all moved to the dining room and Sarah and Orion brought out the food, it was a feast with\u00a0<\/p>\n
lasagna, garlic bread, salad, and Sarah had even made dessert.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t have to go to all this trouble,\u201d I said as we sat down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t trouble,\u201d Sarah said. \u201cI needed something to keep me busy today and cooking helped.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
We filled our plates and for a while we just ate, the kids chattered about their day and what\u00a0<\/p>\n
they\u2019d been playing, providing a welcome distraction from heavier topics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After dinner, Orion and Sarah got the kids settled in the living room with a movie and the four\u00a0<\/p>\n
of us adults gathered around the dining table with coffee for them and herbal tea for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We spoke about light topic with Orion and Tristan pulling my legs one at a time, it was peaceful\u00a0<\/p>\n
and I loved it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eventually Orion glanced at his watch and stood up. \u201cTristan, I need your help with something\u00a0<\/p>\n
real quick.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan looked surprised but stood as well. \u201cSure, what do you need?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJust come with me,\u201d Orion said, heading toward his office.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After they left, Sarah and I looked at each other and grinned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFinally,\u201d Sarah said. \u201cI thought they\u2019d never leave.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know right?\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019ve been dying to really talk to you about this Kiara and Derek thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me everything,\u201d Sarah said, settling back in her chair. \u201cWhat have you noticed?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
III\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\u00a0<\/p>\n
14%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 287\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell for starters, the way they look at each other,\u201d I said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just dislike, there\u2019s this intensity to it like they\u2019re seeing something in each other that nobody else sees,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve noticed that too,\u201d Sarah said. \u201cAnd the way Derek immediately distrusts her, it feels personal somehow like it\u2019s not just about being cautious, it\u2019s about her specifically.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly,\u201d I said, glad someone else was seeing what I was seeing. \u201cAnd Kiara gets so defensive around him, like she has something to prove.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think they have history?\u201d Sarah asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d I admitted. \u201cBut there\u2019s definitely something there, some kind of connection\u00a0<\/p>\n
they\u2019re both trying to deny.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 287 Chapter 287\u00a0 1442\u00a0 \u201cOf course,\u201d he said without hesitation.\u00a0 He helped […]<\/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-26444","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\/26444","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=26444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26444\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}