Chapter 17\u00a0<\/p>\n
Edward would teach her a lesson today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When she learned he was going on a business trip to Phelrania,\u00a0<\/p>\n
she had wanted to tag along.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d show her that he was never lacking in women.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thing was, Madeleine did follow him to Phelrania. But she\u00a0<\/p>\n
wasn\u2019t alone. She\u2019d brought her husband with her. Edward didn\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
see this coming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He smacked his tongue in annoyance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, Eddie?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The short\u2013haired woman with him dropped the menu and\u00a0<\/p>\n
looked at him. He was clearly upset about something.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing.\u201d Edward pulled twice at his tie and quickly returned to his usual arrogant and distant self.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw a repulsive woman. That\u2019s all.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since Madeleine liked his food, Roderick swapped his plate with\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 17\u00a0<\/p>\n
hers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as in childhood, although they bickered all the time,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine would put the food she didn\u2019t like on his plate, and\u00a0<\/p>\n
he\u2019d eat it without complaint.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She remembered none of this, now. The only picture vivid in her\u00a0<\/p>\n
memory was when he pulled off her hairpin and tripped her\u00a0<\/p>\n
over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Edward must be the only thing she thought of now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Driven by jealousy, Roderick complained, \u201cYou picked this\u00a0<\/p>\n
restaurant to create an encounter with him?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The minute he finished speaking, Roderick sensed that\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine and Kevin had stopped eating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He raised his head, only to find that the mother and son were\u00a0<\/p>\n
looking at him as if he were an idiot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDaddy, did you forget? Gerry made the reservation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think I\u2019m capable enough to buy off your PA and obtain Edward\u2019s itinerary?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick was dumbstruck. His face was flushed, and his ears\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 17\u00a0<\/p>\n
seemed to burn with embarrassment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked down to conceal the awkwardness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How could he ask something so stupid?\u00a0<\/p>\n
When it came to Madeleine, he tended to lose his rationality easily, seized by jealousy and unease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine stared at him for two seconds and suddenly burst\u00a0<\/p>\n
out laughing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRicki, are you jealous?\u201d Her eyes widened as something.\u00a0<\/p>\n
occurred to her. \u201cIn sophomore year in high school, you had this\u00a0<\/p>\n
same expression when you threw away the love letter the\u00a0<\/p>\n
straight\u2013A student from the next class wrote to me. Were you jealous then?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick cut his steak with a stony face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You\u2019re full of yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYo, you\u2019re blushing. Let me caress your flushed cheek.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chuckling, Madeleine extended her hand like a lecher.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She interacted with Roderick as she had before. His cold stares\u00a0<\/p>\n
had made her uncomfortable these days.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 17\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he said she was full of herself, everything felt normal\u00a0<\/p>\n
again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was the tone she was familiar with. This was the Roderick\u00a0<\/p>\n
she knew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine had reached out too fast. She accidentally knocked\u00a0<\/p>\n
over the juice on the table. It stained her clothes. She hastened\u00a0<\/p>\n
to clean the mess in a fluster.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAh, my dress.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing the stains on the sleeve, Madeleine frowned ruefully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She liked this dress at first glance. She couldn\u2019t bear to see it\u00a0<\/p>\n
dirty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou two eat. I\u2019ll clean it in the bathroom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine stood up and walked toward the bathroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDaddy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kevin looked up. \u201cSomething is different about you today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a much better mood, Roderick raised his brows when he\u00a0<\/p>\n
heard his son\u2019s words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 17\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDifferent how?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tilting his head, Kevin thought about it and shook his head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was too young with a small vocabulary. There were thoughts\u00a0<\/p>\n
he didn\u2019t know how to express.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Roderick knew how he\u2019d changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine had hurt him deeply these years. Busy between\u00a0<\/p>\n
working and taking care of his son and the elders day after day, the confident and vigorous young man could no longer be seen\u00a0<\/p>\n
in him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, tonight, during this meal with Madeleine, the old feelings came back, and he seemed to have found himself\u00a0<\/p>\n
again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Roderick who was fond of a good laugh and jokes, who\u00a0<\/p>\n
wore his heart on his sleeve, who was never afraid of\u00a0<\/p>\n
expressing himself, returned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKev, do you like the new me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I like this side of you, Daddy. And I like tonight\u2019s Mommy,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 17\u00a0<\/p>\n
too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick smiled and rubbed Kevin\u2019s head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They talked a bit more. When Roderick turned his head, what he\u00a0<\/p>\n
saw made his smile subside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Edward, who had sat at a table nearby, was gone, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fear rose inside Roderick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Did Madeleine leave with Edward?\u00a0<\/p>\n
A quick rinse with water was all it took to wash away the juice\u00a0<\/p>\n
stain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine, seeing her dress restored to its pristine state, felt a\u00a0<\/p>\n
wave of relief wash over her, her mood lifting like a cloud\u00a0<\/p>\n
breaking to reveal the sun.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Humming a cheerful tune, she stepped out of the bathroom,\u00a0<\/p>\n
nearly colliding with a man in her path.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She opened her mouth to apologize, but the words froze when she realized it was Edward standing there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUh\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 17\u00a0<\/p>\n
The apology stuck in her throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella\u2019s storytelling style is immersive and addictive\u2014perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.<\/p>\n
Night Carved Paths Into Silence by Zyrel Ash 17 Chapter 17\u00a0 Edward would teach her a lesson today.\u00a0 When she […]<\/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":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-heart-surgeons-last-patient-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29235","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=29235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29235\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}