\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 115\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 115\u00a0<\/p>\n
Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sebastian rubbed his hand over his head, fingers dragging through his messy hair as he let out a low groan. The stress was written all over his face, his brows furrowed, lips pressed tight, eyes darting everywhere but at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sighed softly and picked up a slice of apple with the fork, poking it lightly before holding it out in front of him. \u201cHere.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked at me blankly for a moment before opening his mouth like a sulky child. I placed the apple in, and he chewed slowly, still frowning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another sigh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I rolled my eyes a little and poked another apple slice, this time nudging it closer until he opened his mouth again without a word. He chewed slower this time, and I just watched him, wondering if I should\u2019ve kept my mouth shut about Hades.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked like he was trying to solve a thousand-piece puzzle while his brain melted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe telling him had been a bad idea.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, the door opened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned around and saw Penelope and Kai stepping inside. The moment they saw me, Penelope\u2019s face brightened with that easy smile of hers. \u201cDid you just get here?\u201d she asked cheerfully. \u201cKai and I went to change and cook him something real quick.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled at sight of my friends. \u201cI came a while ago.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kai\u2019s eyes went to Sebastian, one brow lifting when he noticed my brother staring into space like his soul had left his body. \u201cWhat\u2019s up with him?\u201d Kai asked, nodding toward him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hesitated for a second, then shrugged. \u201cOh\u2026 I told him about Hades.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Penelope froze mid-step, her eyes widening. \u201cYou what?\u201d Then she glanced at Sebastian and gasped softly, pressing her lips together to hide a laugh. \u201cI think you broke him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sebastian finally looked up, his eyes darting between them in disbelief. \u201cWhy are you guys so calm about this?\u201d he demanded. \u201cDo you realize the man she\u2019s planning to marry is that scumbag\u2019s father?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice rose slightly, his hand gesturing wildly. \u201cI can\u2019t believe this. I have so many questions right now, but asking would only make it worse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re acting like Hades is anything like Matthew. He\u2019s not,\u201d I tried to say, but Sebastian cut me off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not the point,\u201d he snapped. \u201cDon\u2019t you think it\u2019s strange that both father and son are after you? Maybe we should keep our distance from that family. That man, he\u2019s the richest in the country, and I\u2019ve heard things about him. I just don\u2019t think he\u2019s the kind of person you should be involved with.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Penelope sighed dramatically, setting down the food container she was holding on the table. \u201cHonestly, I\u2019m still shocked too,\u201d she said with a shrug. \u201cBut Violet\u2019s smart. She knows what she\u2019s doing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled faintly, but before I could say anything, Penelope continued with that mischievous glint in her eyes. \u201cAnd seeing how overprotective he was yesterday, it\u2019s obvious he\u2019s obsessed with her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My cheeks flamed instantly. \u201cPenelope-\u201cI began, but she just waved me off like I was being dramatic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was exaggerating. Right?\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:02 Tue, Jan 6 M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 115\u00a0<\/p>\n
Us Muchers\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sebastian turned his head toward me, eyes softening as the tension slowly drained from his face. \u201cYou\u2019re right,\u201d he said finally, his tone calmer. \u201cMy sister is smart.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Penelope grinned, clapping her hands together. \u201cExactly! And, honestly? Am I the only one loving this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kai gave her a deadpan look, but she ignored him completely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Penelope leaned forward eagerly, eyes sparkling with mischief. \u201cCome on, this is juicy. It\u2019s not every day someone ends up with their ex\u2019s father. I love it! I can\u2019t wait to see that bastard\u2019s face when he finds out Violet\u2019s going to be his stepmom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Penelope\u2019s words echoed in my head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Step mom?\u00a0<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t just Matthew who would be shocked when the truth came out, everyone would. The university, the press, even the people who once looked down on me. But the thought didn\u2019t scare me anymore. If anything, it almost felt liberating. Let them know. I didn\u2019t care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What stopped me, though, was one particular name that drifted into my mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roman.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I bit my lip hard, a dull ache pulsing through it. How exactly was I supposed to tell him? How did you even begin to explain something like this?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, I\u2019m marrying your older brother, the one you probably hate, and I\u2019m also carrying his child.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sighed, pressing a hand over my face. God, that sounds insane. I couldn\u2019t say that I\u2019d sound like I\u2019d completely lost my mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roman was probably looking for me already. He had every right to be mad. I\u2019d left the hospital even after he told me not to, and I hadn\u2019t picked up any of his calls. Maybe because I didn\u2019t know what to say to him, or maybe because guilt made my chest too tight to speak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d been good to me, and this was how I was going to repay him? By marrying his brother.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cViolet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked, turning my head toward Penelope, who was watching me closely. \u201cWhat are you thinking about? Don\u2019t tell me you\u2019re feeling sorry for that asshole.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My brow arched slightly. \u201cMatthew?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah.\u201d Penelope folded her arms, her lips curling. \u201cDo you feel sorry for him?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That almost made me laugh. Sorry for him? Not even close.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t even thought about Matthew. The man could rage, throw a tantrum, set the world on fire for all I cared, it wouldn\u2019t matter. He was like a dull echo from a past life, a shadow that used to seem important until you realized how small it really was. Like a spoiled child crying over a toy he broke himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He just didn\u2019t matter anymore,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could say any of that out loud, a sudden knock broke the moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We all turned toward the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It swung open, and I froze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
11:02 Tue, Jan 6 M.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 115\u00a0<\/p>\n
89\u00a0<\/p>\n
The familiar face I hadn\u2019t seen in weeks stood there, framed by the doorway. The air in the room shifted instantly, a heavy silence falling over us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeak of the devil,\u201d Penelope muttered under her breath, voice laced with dry amusement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMatthew?\u201d I whispered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u7530\u00a0<\/p>\n
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11:02 Tue, Jan 6 M.<\/p>\n
Nights Burn With Regret \u2014 by Nathan Perez 115 \u00a0 Chapter 115\u00a0 Chapter 115\u00a0 Violet\u00a0 Sebastian rubbed his hand over […]<\/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-28031","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\/28031","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=28031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28031\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}