Kirsten froze, her hands stilling on the flowers, her expression\u00a0<\/p>\n
one of stunned confusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Livingston, did you forget? Dr. Clark is Mr. Kevin\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
therapist.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s breath caught, her mind racing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her anxiety spiked, and she pressed for details.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kirsten, though puzzled by Madeleine\u2019s reaction, explained\u00a0<\/p>\n
everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the words sank in, Madeleine\u2019s face drained of color.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kevin\u2019s nightmare two nights ago wasn\u2019t just a bad dream\u2013it was tied to psychological issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beyond that, he struggled with deep insecurities, trust issues, and\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re saying Kev\u2026 hurt himself to get attention?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s voice trembled, barely above a whisper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 22\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kirsten sighed, her eyes soft with sympathy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. It broke Mr. Livingston\u2019s heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was overseas on business, but he chartered a plane to get\u00a0<\/p>\n
back that same night. Thankfully, Mr. Kevin was okay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s lips quivered, words failing her for a long moment\u00a0<\/p>\n
before she managed to choke out, \u201cAnd me? What was I\u00a0<\/p>\n
doing?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kirsten hesitated, her expression uneasy. She glanced at\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine, reluctant to answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay, just tell me,\u201d Madeleine urged, bracing herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kirsten sighed again, her voice low. \u201cYou said Mr. Carroll from\u00a0<\/p>\n
the Carroll Group had a cold. You went to deliver medicine, so\u00a0<\/p>\n
you weren\u2019t home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s heart plummeted, a wave of guilt crashing over her\u00a0<\/p>\n
like a cold tide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those choices weren\u2019t made by the eighteen\u2013year\u2013old her, but\u00a0<\/p>\n
the weight of them\u2013her role as Kevin\u2019s mother\u2013pressed heavily\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 22\u00a0<\/p>\n
on her now, filling her with aching regret.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She took a deep breath, steadying herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The past was done, unchangeable. All she could do now was\u00a0<\/p>\n
make up for the pain she\u2019d caused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks, Kirsten,\u201d she said softly. \u201cCould you whip up\u00a0<\/p>\n
something to eat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kirsten blinked, thrown by Madeleine\u2019s gratitude. \u201cOh! Sure, give\u00a0<\/p>\n
me a moment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She headed to the kitchen, still puzzled, while Madeleine\u2019s heart\u00a0<\/p>\n
churned with bittersweet emotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Food was the last thing on her mind, but she sat down to eat\u00a0<\/p>\n
anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kirsten was a wonderful cook. She prepared two delicious\u00a0<\/p>\n
dishes and even a small dessert.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine had been raised to believe that eating food prepared\u00a0<\/p>\n
by others with sincerity was a form of respect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she savored Kirsten\u2019s dishes, she showered her with praise,\u00a0<\/p>\n
leaving Kirsten flustered and blushing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 22\u00a0<\/p>\n
After lunch, Kirsten slipped away to chat with Meagan Velez,\u00a0<\/p>\n
who was in charge of cleaning. Their conversation turned to\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s odd behavior.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMeagan, do you think Mrs. Livingston\u2019s planning to fire me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kirsten fretted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meagan clicked her tongue. \u201cCould be. You know how she is-\u00a0<\/p>\n
unpredictable. If she\u2019s acting this weird, you probably ticked her\u00a0<\/p>\n
off somehow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kirsten\u2019s face drained of color. She regretted every word she\u00a0<\/p>\n
had said earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meagan patted her arm. \u201cDon\u2019t stress. Mr. Livingston\u2019s the one\u00a0<\/p>\n
who calls the shots. Just be extra careful for a bit; don\u2019t ruffle\u00a0<\/p>\n
her feathers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kirsten sighed. \u201cGuess that\u2019s all I can do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine, completely unaware that her staff was secretly\u00a0<\/p>\n
painting her as a tyrant, was debating whether to check in on\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kevin\u2019s session. Suddenly, her phone buzzed with a WhatsApp\u00a0<\/p>\n
message.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was from someone labeled \u201cMary.\u201d Madeleine drew a blank- she had no memory of this person. The message included a\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 22\u00a0<\/p>\n
photo and a note.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The note read, \u201cMaddie, got that perfume you asked me to\u00a0<\/p>\n
grab. Your hubby\u2019s gonna love this one. When are you swinging\u00a0<\/p>\n
by to pick it up?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The tone suggested a friend, but Madeleine couldn\u2019t remember\u00a0<\/p>\n
anything about her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She checked their chat history, only to find it wiped clean.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Curious, she tapped into Mary\u2019s Instagram.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHoly\u2026\u201d Madeleine yelped, nearly jumping out of her skin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This \u201cMary\u201d was none other than the flashy, nouveau\u2013riche girl\u00a0<\/p>\n
she\u2019d despised back in the day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t figure it out. How on earth had they become\u00a0<\/p>\n
friends?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back in her sophomore year of high school, a girl named Mary\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sampson transferred to Madeleine\u2019s school.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The details of Mary were fuzzy in Madeleine\u2019s mind, but one\u00a0<\/p>\n
memory stood out vividly: the day Mary strutted into class, she\u00a0<\/p>\n
was dripping in designer labels. Her neck, ears, and wrists sparkled with gaudy jewelry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapton D\u00a0<\/p>\n
She reeked of new money, the kind that screamed for attention and made people cringe. Worse, she was a bully, leading the charge against classmates with a cruel edge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When SATS loomed, Mary\u2019s grades were abysmal, so she pivoted to art. It didn\u2019t help\u2013she flunked her way out of art school and wasn\u2019t accepted to a single university.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine vaguely recalled hearing she\u2019d gone abroad to study.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Never in a million years did Madeleine expect to find herself, in\u00a0<\/p>\n
her twenties, calling this girl a friend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sitting there, arms crossed, curiosity gnawed at her. She had to\u00a0<\/p>\n
know more, so she decided to meet Mary in person.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She typed out a quick message, \u201cCan I swing by now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mary replied instantly, \u201cTotally! How about this place? I\u2019m\u00a0<\/p>\n
craving their food so bad.\u201d\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 22 Kirsten froze, her hands stilling on the flowers, her expression\u00a0 one […]<\/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-29270","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\/29270","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=29270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29270\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}