She had to tilt her chin up just to meet my eyes. Nora was shorter tan most women, maybe 4\u20195, at best. Every time she spoke to me, she craned her neck like it made her more intimidating. But it ever did. It just made her look like she was trying too hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ignored her, and stepped into the room I once shared with Matthew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t feel like a bedroom anymore. Well, not mine, anyway. I spotted my old suitcase by the wall and brought it down. The zipper creaked as I opened it. Then I walked to the closet, and start packing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One by one, I folded my clothes. Only the ones I bought. Anything Matthew ever gave me, I left behind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could feel Nora behind me before I even heard her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is this?\u201d she scoffed. \u201cAnother pathetic attempt to get Matthew to notice you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I didn\u2019t answer, she kept going. \u201cDo you really think he cares if you leave? I don\u2019t know why you keep humiliating yourself for someone who\u2019s not even interested. Why can\u2019t you jus, leave him alone?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I kept folding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One breath at a time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ignore her. Don\u2019t feed the fire. That\u2019s what she wants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could feel her frustration growing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The silence was more infuriating than any shouting match could\u2019ve been.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must be so angry that you allowed another man to take you away last night. But I know the kind of girl you are. You probably chickened out. You are too obsessed with Matthew to actually let anyone else touch you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I froze for half a second. But it was enough for her to smirk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat shirt you\u2019re wearing, you probably bought it, so you could pretend it was another man\u2019s. You are trying to make Matthew jealous. You\u2019re so easy to read.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fingers tightened around the fabric in my hands, but I took a breath, zipped up the suitcase, and stood up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked past her, and made it to the stairs, ready to leave it all behind. I wanted to just get through the next few hours, go to my uncle\u2019s, and deal with whatever mess came next.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her fingers clamped around my wrist. I stopped, and slowly turned\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you think you\u2019re doing?\u201d I asked, voice low.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She smirked. \u201cYou didn\u2019t notice what I\u2019m wearing, did you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked her over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you can see,\u201d she purred, \u201cI slept in Matthew\u2019s room last night. I was so heartbroken over what happened that he let me stay to comfort me. One thing led to another, and well\u2026\u201d She leaned in, her voice dropping. \u201cWe didn\u2019t sleep at all. He was so good, Violet. So big, and perfect. You\u2019ve been enjoying it all these years, haven\u2019t you? Now it\u2019s my turn.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes sparkled, and I looked at her and smiled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oh, of course I knew how big and good he was, he used to be the only man I ever let inside me. But after Hades showed me what heaven really felt like, I seriously doubted anyone could compare.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations to you, Nora,\u201d I said gently. That wiped the smirk off her face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd oh,\u201d I said softly, pausing halfway down the stairs. \u201cBefore Iorget\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned and shoved her. Nora\u2019s eyes went wide, genuinely shocked as her balance faltered. She hadn\u2019t expected it from me. And just before she could fall, I caught her wrist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She gasped, staring at me like I was a stranger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pulled her up toward me, our faces inches apart. She was breathing hard, her body tense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sungrot kabinet to you Nove\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow does it teel to finally be on the other side?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She hissed. \u201cHow dare you\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let her stumble back a step.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She yelped, arms flailing, but I didn\u2019t let go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I were you,\u201d I said sweetly, smiling, \u201cI\u2019d keep my mouth shut.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She clenched her jaw, biting her lip. Her hands trembled in mine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was scared. And I couldn\u2019t help it. It thrilled me to see her like this for once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned closer, voice like a whisper against her ear. \u201cAnd who says I\u2019m not wearing another man\u2019s shirt, Nora?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her body went stiff, and her eyes flew wide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Footsteps echoed from below.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Violet?\u201d Sofia called.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked down to see her staring up at us from the base of the staircase.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without blinking, I tugged Nora forward and shoved her down beside me. She landed hard on her knees with a small cry, catching herself on her hands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just having a conversation with her,\u201d I said, walking down the stairs, ignoring the pathetic look on Nora\u2019s face behind\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sofia looked at me quietly. She glanced at the suitcase in my hand, then at Nora curled on the floor above.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t say anything, but I could\u2019ve sworn there was a faint smile on her lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI brought Tiger,\u201d she said softly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the sound of his name, my heart tugged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tiger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My boy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The one gift Matthew gave me that had never disappointed me. A Newfoundland massive dog. The only creature who ever loved me without conditions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment he saw me, Tiger barked joyfully and bounded forward, his huge, fluffy body practically knocking me over as he jumped up and licked my face with enthusiasm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I laughed as I fell to the ground, his tongue all over my cheek. \u201cGood boy, Tiger, I\u2019m excited to see you too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He barked again, his tail wagging like he understood everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sat up slowly, petting his big head. \u201cDogs are really better than humans.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood up and grabbed his leash.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want to go with Mommy, Tiger?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He barked louder, it was his way of saying yes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d I told him, gripping the handle of my suitcase. \u201cLet\u2019s have this place. We don\u2019t belong here anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I turned toward the door, I glanced up one last time. Nora still s on the floor, pale and shaken. When our eyes met, she flinched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked away with my dog, and my suitcase.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
This wasn\u2019t just me leaving a house. This was me closing the door on an ill-fated relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nights Burn With Regret \u2014 by Nathan Perez 21 She had to tilt her chin up just to meet my […]<\/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":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-craving-the-guardian-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27937","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=27937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27937\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}