Chapter 155\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 155\u00a0<\/p>\n
Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I sent the emojis, I stared down at my phone for a long moment, my thumb hovering over the screen even though the message was already gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A simple thumbs-up sticker and a heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know what possessed me to send that, or why my heart was beating this fast in my chest, like it wanted to break free.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe it was the adrenaline still rushing through my veins after everything that happened in that conference room. Or maybe it was because I couldn\u2019t wait to see Hades again. That thought alone made heat crawl up my neck. I could already imagine his smug face when he saw what I sent, enjoying every second of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I still couldn\u2019t believe what I did earlier in the conference room. I hadn\u2019t expected it to be so easy to watch Nora fall apart, or how satisfying it felt to see her break, and watch her completely lose the control she thought she had over everything and\u00a0<\/p>\n
everyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t feel even a flicker of guilt. I knew it was terrible, cruel, and immoral. I knew I had crossed far past any line of normal revenge and stepped into something darker. And the most disturbing part was that I would do it again. If I were given another chance and time rewound to that moment, I would still watch her mouth tremble and her knees hit the ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I would watch her choose to destroy herself all over again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shook my head, trying to stop thinking about it. Breathing out slowly, I slipped my phone into my pocket and ran a hand through my hair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been such a long day\u2026\u201d I muttered under my breath. It felt like two days\u2019 worth of chaos had been crammed into just a few hours. My life had changed, and somehow, it felt good.\u00a0<\/p>\n
she\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked up and saw my two best friends leaning against the wall ahead of me. Penelope was holding a cake. The moment noticed me, she lifted it higher and waved so excitedly the frosting nearly slid off. Her lips shaped the words \u201cFor celebrating!\u201d as if this were some grand victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kai stood beside her, arms crossed, a proud smile tugging at his lips, like he already knew I had won.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A soft smile curved my lips. Even if I had changed, they were still here. Still waiting for me, still believing in me. They weren\u2019t afraid of this new version of me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They had never let me face anything alone before, and I knew they weren\u2019t about to start now. I was lucky to have them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was just about to step toward them, already picturing Penelope smashing cake in my face like she always did, when a strong hand wrapped firmly around my wrist, stopping me in place,\u00a0<\/p>\n
I froze. I didn\u2019t need to turn around to know who it was. There was only one person who would touch me after what had happened in the conference room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without turning back, I glanced ahead at Kai and Penelope.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They looked at him for a moment before looking at me again, clearly trying to read my expression and decide if I needed them, but I gave a small shake of my head, silently telling them that it was okay.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Penelope and Kai nodded, then finally turned and walked down the hallway. I watched their backs until they disappeared around the corner, leaving the corridor empty. Only then did I release the breath I had been holding and slowly turn to face the man standing far too close, that familiar look already in his eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roman stood there, his expression carefully blank at first. But the longer he stared at me, the more cracks appeared in the\u00a0<\/p>\n
21:13 Tue, Jan 13\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 155\u00a0<\/p>\n
mask he always tried so hard to maintain. Behind his cold gaze was something restrained and desperate, a flicker of pain or longing he didn\u2019t want me to see, but couldn\u2019t fully hide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked down at his hand before pulling mine away. His fingers lingered around my wrist, and he seemed almost reluctant as I gently slipped free of his grasp. His gaze dropped at once to where my hand now rested at my side, and for a moment, he couldn\u2019t look away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first thing that caught his attention was the ring on my finger. The diamond glinted under the hallway lights, and even though he didn\u2019t say a single word, I knew exactly what he was thinking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He knew what the ring meant. He knew I was married to his brother.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I cleared my throat and touched the back of my neck, pretending to fix my hair even though nothing was out of place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Awkward didn\u2019t even begin to describe how I felt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of all the people in this world, Roman Sinclair was the one I didn\u2019t know how to face. With anyone else, I could have cut ties or walked away without a second thought. But with him, it was different. He wasn\u2019t just my professor. He wasn\u2019t just Hades\u2019 brother. He was someone I respected. And because of that, I avoided him, hoping a time would come when we could talk without the weight between us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He finally tore his gaze away from my ring, his jaw tightening briefly, before his voice cut in, low and deep. \u201cI apologize,\u201d he said, his eyes still not meeting mine. \u201cFor what happened back in there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shook my head instantly. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to apologize, sir. It wasn\u2019t your fault. Thank you for helping me. I know that without your influence, none of them would have listened to a word I said.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t believe that,\u201d he said, taking a slow step forward. I instinctively took a step back, my spine touching the wall behind me. His voice continued, \u201cYou always find a way to make people take you seriously, Violet with or without my help.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did it before, and you can do it again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at him, brows lifting slightly, unsure of where he was going with this.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut just because you fix something on your own doesn\u2019t mean the way you fix it is always right. Sometimes, when you\u2019re desperate to survive, you end up becoming too much like the people who tried to bury you. You end up becoming a\u00a0<\/p>\n
monster.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u00a0<\/p>\n
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21:13 Tue, Jan 13<\/p>\n
Nights Burn With Regret \u2014 by Nathan Perez 155 Chapter 155\u00a0 Chapter 155\u00a0 Violet\u00a0 When I sent the emojis, I […]<\/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-28071","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\/28071","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=28071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28071\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}