Chapter 418 A Midnight Comforting Presence\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a long silence, Scarlett finally gathered her words. \u201cWhat happened is in the past. Debating who was right or wrong, or talking about regret, doesn\u2019t change anything. It\u2019s pointless.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0b2e\u0b42\u0b1b (55)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent seemed to be in a somber mood. The wind howled loudly on his end. Gazing at Scarlett\u2019s face on the screen, he said, \u201cIf I had known you were pregnant back then, I would have asked you to keep it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hearing that, Scarlett was momentarily stunned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She thought of the amniotic fluid embolism she\u2019d survived during Vanessa\u2019s birth. Even now, a cold thread of fear ran through her at the memory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet, whenever Vincent spoke of having another child, he never mentioned the life\u2013threatening ordeal she had endured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He tossed out the words \u201ckeep it\u201d so casually, while she would have been the one to bear all the physical risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thought filled her with a grim sense of relief. It was a good thing she hadn\u2019t continued that\u00a0<\/p>\n
pregnancy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If she had, and had faced another crisis like that\u2026 she wasn\u2019t sure her spirit or her body could have endured it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a moment, she said to Vincent, \u201cBut the world isn\u2019t built on \u2018what\u2013ifs\u201c.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent fell silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As his second cigarette burned down to the filter, he spoke again, his voice soft, \u201cThere\u2019s an event this weekend. Will you come with me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent never used to invite Scarlett to his social engagements.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But lately, she kept finding her way into his thoughts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett didn\u2019t refuse outright. She simply said, \u201cWe\u2019ll see when the weekend comes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent, however, left no room for refusal. \u201cThen I\u2019ll pick you up on Saturday.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett didn\u2019t acknowledge his statement. She rubbed her eyes, feigning tiredness. \u201cVincent, I need to sleep now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had already noticed her exhaustion. Though reluctant, he lowered his voice. \u201cAlright.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
21:06 Wed, Jan 14\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 418 A Midnight Comforting Presence\u00a0<\/p>\n
Goodnight.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only after he spoke did Scarlett reply, \u201cMhm.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as her finger moved to tap the end\u2013call button, Vincent spoke again, \u201cWait.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett paused. \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
55\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent stared at her image on the screen, an uncharacteristic hint of hesitation in his tone. \u201cA kiss goodnight?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, Scarlett wondered if she\u2019d misheard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Vincent didn\u2019t repeat himself, simply holding her gaze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Flustered, she stammered, \u201cI\u2019m hanging up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without giving him another chance to speak, she ended the call.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After the screen went dark, her heart began to beat an inexplicable, rapid rhythm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vincent\u2019s strange request felt completely out of character for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she was overwhelmingly tired. Succumbing to her exhaustion, she fell into a deep sleep.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, not long after drifting off, Scarlett began to dream. She dreamt of her\u00a0<\/p>\n
past\u00a0<\/p>\n
self\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meek, compliant, giving until there was nothing left\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
She jolted awake, sitting bolt upright in the pitch\u2013black room. She couldn\u2019t see her own hand in front of her face, surrounded by an oppressive, complete darkness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The blackout curtains were drawn, blocking any sliver of outside light, making it impossible to distinguish any shapes in the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The fragments of her dream left her feeling suffocated and hollow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sitting in the dark, a quiet sob escaped her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once the wave of sorrow passed, she offered a silent, desperate prayer for the divorce to proceed without complication.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only after it was finalized could she truly begin again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, a faint scraping sound came from the window. Immediately after, a figure slipped smoothly into the room from behind the curtains.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
21:06 Wed, Jan 14 d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 418 A Midnight Comforting Presence\u00a0<\/p>\n
55\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett couldn\u2019t see who it was. She fumbled blindly along the wall, seeking the light switch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But just as her hand stretched out, a pair of familiar, warm hands effortlessly caught hers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The touch was unmistakable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t pull away, instead whispering tentatively into the darkness, \u201cDamian?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Damian settled on the edge of the bed beside her. Wrapping a reassuring arm around her shoulders, he said softly, \u201cYeah. It\u2019s me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett stared in the direction of his voice, confused. \u201cWhy did you come through the window again?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the darkness, Damian scratched the back of his head, a little sheepish. \u201cOld habits die hard, I guess.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the profound dark, Scarlett could barely make out the faint gleam of Damian\u2019s eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice was husky from sleep and emotion. \u201cI thought you went home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Damian\u2019s gaze was fixed on her shadowy form. \u201cI did. But I was worried you might not come back here tonight, so I came to wait for you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He leaned in a little closer, his tone adopting a playfully fierce whisper. \u201cIf you hadn\u2019t shown up, I was ready to turn Vincent\u2019s whole world upside down.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett didn\u2019t pull back. She could feel the solid warmth of him beside her, even if she couldn\u2019t see the mock\u2013ferocious expression on his face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t see him clearly, and he couldn\u2019t fully see her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their eyes met only in the abstract, within the shared, intimate darkness,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Knowing how late it was, Scarlett brushed past his comment. \u201cYou should go\u00a0<\/p>\n
home now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hearing this, Damian instantly refused. \u201cNo chance. I just got here. I\u2019m not going anywhere.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.1K\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 418 Chapter 418 A Midnight Comforting Presence\u00a0 After a long silence, Scarlett […]<\/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-27782","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\/27782","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=27782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27782\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}