He claimed you\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
He claimed you\u00a0<\/p>\n
Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re telling me you had a one\u2013night stand with a hot stranger who saved you from drowning,\u201d Penelope said slowly, like she needed to hear herself say it to believe it, \u201cand that same hot stranger sent you those flowers yesterday?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, taking a small sip of my water. Penelope\u2019s eyes widened so much I swore they nearly popped out of her skull. \u201cOh. My. Fucking. God!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I practically lunged over the table and slapped my hand over her mouth. \u201cWould you keep your voice down?! We\u2019re in public!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She licked my hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUgh, gross!\u201d I yanked my hand back and wiped it furiously on my pants. \u201cWhat the hell was that for?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Penelope leaned forward with a grin. \u201cWho cares about other people?! Girl, are you crazy?! You had sex with a stranger, who\u2019s fourteen years older than you, and you\u2019re telling me to be quiet?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I glanced around the little restaurant tucked beside the shopping mall, no one was paying attention. I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After everything that happened with Matthew yesterday, I went to work and came home late. Then I woke up early this morning to avoid my aunt and did it all over again. This was my third job. I didn\u2019t have any classes today, so I went straight to the caf\u00e9, spent three hours cleaning coffee machines and trying not to spill hot milk on rude customers. After that, I headed out to tutor a high school sophomore who hated math more than I hated my\u00a0<\/p>\n
schedule.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, I was using the last of my energy folding clothes as a sales associate, fixing piles no one bothered to return to the right shelves.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was my break, and as usual, Penelope showed up to have lunch with me. The drive from campus to this place was long, but that didn\u2019t stop her, she still came every day just to make sure I ate properly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I slumped back in my chair and sighed. \u201cYou\u2019re making it sound more dramatic than it is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Penelope raised an eyebrow. \u201cMore dramatic? Violet, it\u2019s not just the age. It\u2019s everything. Miss academic robot, goody\u2013two\u2013shoes perfectionist like you had a one\u2013night stand with an older, rich, brooding mystery man who, by the\u00a0<\/p>\n
way,\u00a0<\/p>\n
sends flowers like he\u2019s the main lead in a K\u2013drama. If this were a movie, we\u2019d be obsessed. We\u2019d binge it and rewatch it a hundred times.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just a one\u2013time thing, Pen,\u201d I said, rolling my eyes \u201cWho cares about his age? We\u2019re both adults, and I was emotional when it happened. If it were any other day, it wouldn\u2019t have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She scoffed. \u201cSee, that\u2019s the thing, I know you. You\u2019ve been my friend for a long time, Violet. And you don\u2019t take risks. You\u2019ve always acted like you had too much to protect like making one mistake could cost you everything. So even if you blame what happened on your emotional state the time, the Violet I know wouldn\u2019t just do something so out of character, like sleeping with a much older man. So something must\u2019ve happened. Something that made you lose control around him, and let him fuck you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed hard at her words. I hated how well Penelope knew me, I couldn\u2019t even argue, because she was right.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ever since my parents died, all I\u2019ve ever wanted was to live normal life, one without risk. To me, people who chased thrill and danger were the ones with nothing to lose. They treated life like a game, and personal playground, but I couldn\u2019t do that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why I always stayed in the background.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
He claimed you\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
If I didn\u2019t step out of place, if I kept things safe and clean, then Sebastian could live a comfortable life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He could grow up, go to college, get married one day, and ever have to carry the weight I did. And if I kept him safe, maybe I\u2019d be allowed to feel happy too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So yes, Penelope was right. Just because I was angry with Matthew, just because I was heartbroken and humiliated, didn\u2019t justify why I went so far with Hades.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could\u2019ve just gotten into his car and walked away. But I didn\u2019t. I allowed him to take me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is no longer a one\u2013time thing. That man sent you flowers in front of the entire school. He claimed you. That\u2019s literally his way of marking territory. Like a really hot, dangerous werewolf.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
(( ))\u00a0<\/p>\n
www\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe even helped you indirectly, because of him, those mother fuckers got humiliated today.\u201d She slammed her hand on the table, making my drink jump. \u201cFuck, I still get angry when I remember what they did to you. If I had known earlier, I would\u2019ve marched over there and rearranged Nora and Riley\u2019s face with my fist. And don\u2019t get me started on Matthew, I would\u2019ve punted that asshole\u2019s balls into a new tax bracket.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t help it, I smiled a little. \u201cViolence isn\u2019t always the answer, Pen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She scoffed. \u201cNo, but it sure feels like the correct emotional response.\u2018\u00a0<\/p>\n
>>\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shook my head, letting the smile fade. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t change anything. Even if he did all of that, I have no intention of seeing him again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cViolet. He found your school in a day. You think he doesn\u2019t know everything about you already. That man is committed. Whether you like it or not.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ran a hand through my hair, tugging slightly at the roots. Yeah\u2026 It\u2019s a little weird that he knew where I\u2019m studying\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWeird? Girl, I want a hot billionaire to get weird over me. You know how rare it is for someone hot to also be that unhinged? It\u2019s like the golden combo. Honestly, I\u2019d be down bad.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI doubt he\u2019s not a billionaire,\u201d I muttered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA van full of roses says otherwise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I groaned and slumped over the table. \u201cGod, you\u2019re making it harder to think. I have no idea what he wants. We had sex, that\u2019s supposed to be the end of it. What would someone like that want with me again?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you ever thought that maybe he\u2019s just interested in you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked at her. \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe he\u2019s just interested in you. I know you hate hearing that, but it\u2019s possible. People feel connections in weird ways. Sometimes it\u2019s instant. Sometimes it\u2019s physical, sometimes it\u2019s more. Why do you think I\u2019m dating Kai?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I raised an eyebrow. \u201cBecause you said he had a big dick.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She burst into laughter. \u201cThat is definitely one of his better qualities. But no. The reason I stayed with Kai is because we had sex when we were drunk, and then I realize\u2013holy shit, there\u2019s more there. We clicked. And yeah, it started in the messiest, most chaotic way possible, but it worked.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She leaned back in her seat, arms crossed, watching me carefully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can have a connection with someone in a million strange, unexpected ways. Don\u2019t shut it down just because\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
He claimed you\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
it doesn\u2019t make sense right now. Have fun, you never know that man might be the one who changes your life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nights Burn With Regret \u2014 by Nathan Perez 36 He claimed you\u00a0 +25 Bonus\u00a0 He claimed you\u00a0 Violet\u00a0 \u201cSo you\u2019re […]<\/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-27952","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\/27952","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=27952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27952\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}