A playful smile touched Zachary\u2019s handsome face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
65\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beside him, Damian was slowly peeling an orange, his movements careful and deliberate, as if handling something fragile. Though his attention seemed fixed on the fruit, his gaze kept drifting toward Scarlett.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since the night before, he had sensed something was off with her. But she had always been reserved around him, making it hard to pinpoint exactly what had changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even with Zachary here and Scarlett smiling in response, Damian still felt an underlying distance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then again, he reasoned, she wasn\u2019t really familiar with Zachary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Responding to Zachary\u2019s light teasing, Scarlett said with a polite smile, \u201cYou\u2019re quite the charmer, Mr. Graham.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hearing the formal address, Zachary wrinkled his nose. He gave her a friendly wink. \u201cJust call me Zachary like Damian does.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett took another small bite of her cupcake with the spoon. \u201cAlright,\u201d she said pleasantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Damian heard that \u201calright,\u201d his fingers tightened slightly, piercing the orange peel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A little juice spurted out, landing on Scarlett\u2019s sleeve.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary quickly passed her a napkin, shooting Damian a look. \u201cWhat\u2019s with the assault on the orange, man? You got juice on her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Damian set the damp, partly peeled orange aside. He wiped his hands clean with a couple of tissues, then looked down at Scarlett. \u201cSorry. Are you okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett glanced up, shook her head, and offered a faint smile. \u201cIt\u2019s fine. I\u2019m not that fragile.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing her smile\u2013and remembering how readily she\u2019d agreed to use Zachary\u2019s first name\u2014 Damian wondered if she was just feeling under the weather. The thought eased his mind a little.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Noticing the quiet exchange between them, Zachary couldn\u2019t resist chiming in. \u201cScarlett, you\u2019re a lady\u2013you\u2019re supposed to be pampered. Damian messed up; don\u2019t let him off easy. In my book, men need consequences when they slip up. Otherwise, they\u2019ll keep pushing boundaries.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Damian shot him a warning look. \u201cYou could always choose not to talk.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
20:05 Wed, Jan 14\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 298 Game of Strategy\u00a0<\/p>\n
0:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Knowing better than to escalate, Zachary turned back to Scarlett. \u201cSee? That\u2019s exactly the attitude that needs correcting. You\u2019ll have to train him properly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
65\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett watched their back\u2013and\u2013forth with an amused smile, understanding more than she let\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she had no interest in calling anyone out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire would be here soon anyway, and then Damian wouldn\u2019t need to stay.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing Zachary so relentlessly chatty, Damian not only glared but gave him a light shove.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary exaggerated a wince and ducked behind Scarlett playfully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Worried he might jostle or bump her, Damian growled, \u201cGet over here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary stayed put behind Scarlett, sticking out his tongue. \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Damian rubbed his temples, a sign his patience was thinning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing this, Scarlett stepped in to diffuse the tension. \u201cZachary, how about a game of five\u2013in\u2013a- row later?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among the things Zachary had brought was a compact Go set she could use for the simpler\u00a0<\/p>\n
game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire had said she\u2019d arrive within the hour. A game would help pass the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary\u2019s eyes lit up. \u201cSure! I\u2019m practically unbeatable at that, though. Don\u2019t come crying if you lose too many rounds.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett smiled mildly. \u201cI won\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In truth, she was quite good at five\u2013in\u2013a\u2013row\u2013she just hadn\u2019t played in years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing Scarlett initiate the game, Damian let his irritation with Zachary fade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Soon, Zachary had the grid drawn and the pieces ready.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett took white; he took black.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She lost the first three games, though each match was closely fought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the fourth game, Damian had quietly risen from his chair and settled beside Scarlett on the bed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though it was a simple game, it required focus when played seriously.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
20:05 Wed, Jan 14\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 298 Game of Strategy\u00a0<\/p>\n
A\u00a0<\/p>\n
65\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
At first, Scarlett and Zachary were evenly matched. But as the board filled, a single move could decide the outcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as Zachary seemed poised to win again, Damian reached over, gently guiding Scarlett\u2019s hand to place her white stone on a specific intersection.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As he leaned in, his lips accidentally brushed the curve of her ear. His voice was soft, meant only for her. \u201cHere. That\u2019s the winning move.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His tone was warm, sending a faint shiver through her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, she lost her composure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she masked it well, simply replying in an even tone, \u201cThat is a clever move.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.1K\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Editorial Board: Our editorial team works behind the scenes to refine each chapter, maintain consistency, and deliver the best reading experience.<\/p>\n
Silent Dreams Never Die \u2014 Author: John Miller 298 A playful smile touched Zachary\u2019s handsome face.\u00a0 65\u00a0 Finished\u00a0 Beside him, […]<\/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":[81],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-impossible-condition-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27662","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=27662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27662\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}