\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 167\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 167\u00a0<\/p>\n
Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched quietly as Hades stepped around the car and helped my brother out of the passenger seat. Sebastian hesitated for just a second, his shoulders stiff, clearly nervous about being touched by someone like Hades, but he didn\u2019t protest. He simply let Hades support him, gripping the edge of the door as he carefully shifted his weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sight was almost surreal. Hades Sinclair, the man everyone feared, patiently helping my brother as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I felt a laugh bubble up in my chest, but I swallowed it down immediately. If Sebastian noticed even a hint of amusement, he would only grow more self-conscious, and I didn\u2019t want that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once Hades was done, I stepped forward with a smile and handed Sebastian his crutches.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHere you go,\u201d I said gently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sebastian\u2019s face flushed a deep red as he took them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cT-thank you, Violet,\u201d he murmured, then, after a brief pause, he glanced at Hades, swallowed hard, and added, \u201cYou too, Mr. Sinclair.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hades only nodded, his expression indifferent, as if helping him was nothing worth acknowledging. I looked between the two of them, smiling softly. They were both strange in their own ways, and no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn\u2019t fully understand either of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re almost there,\u201d I said, turning to Hades. \u201cLet\u2019s walk.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He glanced ahead at the path, then back at us, before replying simply, \u201cOkay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I moved closer to Sebastian, staying at his side in case he lost his balance. Lowering my voice, I leaned toward him and whispered, \u201cYou should really stop calling Hades, Mr. Sinclair, you know. You can call him by his name. He\u2019s your brother- in-law.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sebastian let out a small sigh as he carefully moved forward on his crutches. \u201cYou know I can\u2019t help it,\u201d he said. \u201cI really want to call him that, or even just say his name, but my brain freezes every time I look at him. It\u2019s like this instinctive fear kicks in, telling me if I mess up, he\u2019ll get rid of me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded slowly. I understood exactly what he meant. I\u2019d felt it too when I first met Hades, that sharp instinct whispering that he was dangerous, that I should stay away. I glanced over my shoulder at him then. He was walking a few steps behind us, silent as always, but when he caught my gaze, a lazy smirk curved his lips. Without thinking, I smiled back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right about one thing,\u201d I said to Sebastian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHuh?\u201d he asked, looking at me in confusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I met his eyes and spoke firmly. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to be scared of him, He\u2019s not a dangerous person.\u201d I hesitated for a second. then added, softer but certain, \u201cAnd most importantly, you don\u2019t need to be scared of him because your sister likes him. He\u2019s good to me. Really good, Sebastian.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sebastian looked at me for a moment, clearly taken aback by what I said, then his expression softened, and a small, genuine smile spread across his face. He nodded slowly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy, Violet,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cYou\u2019ve changed. You speak your mind now instead of hiding everything inside. And if he\u2019s the one who helped you become like this, then he can\u2019t be a bad person.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His words made me happy. I smiled back at him and reached out, rulling his hair the way I always used to. \u201cLook at you,\u201d I teased. \u201cActing all grown up now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
21:15 Tue, Jan 13\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 167\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sebastian immediately swatted my hand away, not too hard but firm enough to make his point. \u201cHands off, sis,\u201d he protested. \u201cI\u2019m not a child anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs if.\u201d I replied, snorting. \u201cYou\u2019re still a little kid.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
We continued walking side by side, our steps slow and careful. After a moment of silence, Sebastian spoke again, his voice quieter this time. \u201cDo you think they missed us?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t hesitate. \u201cOf course they did. They loved us so much. How could they not? You\u2019re asking a question you already know the answer to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sebastian nodded, a tired smile tugging at his lips. \u201cYou\u2019re right. It\u2019s such a foolish question.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When we finally reached our destination, I stopped and looked down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re here,\u201d I murmured. \u201cMom. Dad. Skylar.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three graves lay before us. I smiled, though it hurt, and for a moment it felt like my chest might cave in. Sebastian stood beside me, trying to smile too, but I could see the sadness in his eyes. I knelt slightly and placed the flowers gently on each grave. \u201cHow have you guys been? I\u2019m sorry it took us so long to visit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, no one answered. I hadn\u2019t expected them to, but the silence still made my heart ache. I missed their voices more than anything. I would give anything just to hear them again. Swallowing hard, I forced myself not to cry and glanced at Sebastian. He was staring down, his jaw tight, clearly fighting his own tears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I suddenly pointed at him and said loudly, \u201cSkylar, you owe me ten dollars. I told you Sebastian wouldn\u2019t grow up tall and attractive. He\u2019s seventeen and still doesn\u2019t even have a girlfriend.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sebastian gasped. \u201cViolet! That\u2019s not true!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I raised an eyebrow innocently. \u201cOh? Am I lying? Do you have a girlfriend?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hesitated. \u201cN-no, I mean-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shook my head dramatically and looked back at Skylar\u2019s grave. \u201cSee? I don\u2019t know where we went wrong with this one. You were so popular with women back then.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sebastian rolled his eyes, finally letting out a small huff of laughter. \u201cYou\u2019re so annoying, Violet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Nights Burn With Regret \u2014 by Nathan Perez 167 \u00a0 Chapter 167\u00a0 Chapter 167\u00a0 Violet\u00a0 I watched quietly as Hades […]<\/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-28083","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\/28083","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=28083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28083\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}