Her body back then\u2026 it was so strange. It wasn\u2019t like someone\u00a0<\/p>\n
was possessing her body, but more like she herself was in\u00a0<\/p>\n
control, compelled to move closer to Edward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why?\u00a0<\/p>\n
On what grounds?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why on earth should she have to be a people\u2013pleaser for\u00a0<\/p>\n
Edward?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine tapped her head and shot up in bed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I can\u2019t put this off. I have to go talk to Roderick and make\u00a0<\/p>\n
things clear.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thought that she might turn into a people\u2013pleaser if her\u00a0<\/p>\n
memories came back made Madeleine\u2019s internal alarms go off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had to go give Roderick a heads\u2013up, so if that day ever\u00a0<\/p>\n
came, he would just kick her out of the house.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It would be best if he never let her come back to see Kevin, her\u00a0<\/p>\n
parents, or him for the rest of her life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 68\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had already hurt them deeply enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine got out of bed in such a hurry that she forgot to put\u00a0<\/p>\n
on her slippers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She jogged to the guest room next door, only to find the door\u00a0<\/p>\n
open and the room completely empty, with no one inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s he doing up this late at night instead of sleeping.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine scratched her head, and when she came out, she\u00a0<\/p>\n
noticed the study door across the hall was ajar, with a faint light\u00a0<\/p>\n
coming from inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No way\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
That workaholic, is he still working overtime after such a long\u00a0<\/p>\n
day?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine tiptoed over and raised her hand to knock, when she\u00a0<\/p>\n
heard the clear clinking of glass from inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hm?\u00a0<\/p>\n
She gently pushed the door open, and the strong smell of\u00a0<\/p>\n
alcohol immediately hit her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 68\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick stood in front of the floor\u2013to\u2013ceiling window with his\u00a0<\/p>\n
back to the door, his long fingers holding a glass of amber-\u00a0<\/p>\n
colored whiskey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moonlight outlined his tense shoulders, his shirt collar was\u00a0<\/p>\n
messily open, revealing his sexy collarbone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRicki?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine called out softly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man\u2019s back clearly stiffened for a moment, but he didn\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
turn around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine took a few steps closer and then noticed that a\u00a0<\/p>\n
bottle of liquor on the desk was already more than half empty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her heart clenched, and she couldn\u2019t help but frown and scold,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy are you drinking so much this late at night?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick\u2019s voice was incredibly hoarse as he finally turned\u00a0<\/p>\n
around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes were an unnatural red, as if he was suppressing too\u00a0<\/p>\n
many emotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 68\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before she could answer, Roderick\u2019s gaze fell on Madeleine\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
bare feet, and his brow immediately furrowed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy aren\u2019t you wearing shoes?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice was low and hoarse, tinged with a bit of drunkenness\u00a0<\/p>\n
and blame.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before Madeleine could answer, Roderick had already strode\u00a0<\/p>\n
over and swept her up in his arms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine let out a cry of surprise and instinctively wrapped her\u00a0<\/p>\n
arms around his neck, her whole body enveloped by the strong\u00a0<\/p>\n
scent of alcohol and cedar from him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPut me down, I can walk by myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She protested quietly, but didn\u2019t dare to struggle too much,\u00a0<\/p>\n
afraid that the drunk man would lose his balance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick paid her no mind, walked straight to the sofa, and\u00a0<\/p>\n
carefully set her down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His movements were gentle, as if he were afraid of breaking a precious treasure, but his gaze was frighteningly intense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe floor is cold.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 68\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said in a low voice, his words slurred from the alcohol, but\u00a0<\/p>\n
he still stubbornly knelt on one knee, cupping her cold feet in\u00a0<\/p>\n
his palms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s heart skipped a beat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His palms were scorching hot, the warmth spreading from the\u00a0<\/p>\n
soles of her feet all the way to her cheeks. She tried to pull her\u00a0<\/p>\n
foot back, but he held it even tighter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t move.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick looked up at her, his deep eyes swirling with emotions\u00a0<\/p>\n
she couldn\u2019t understand. \u201cYou\u2019ll catch a cold.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine had known Roderick for so many years and thought\u00a0<\/p>\n
she understood him well, but ever since turning twenty\u2013six, she.\u00a0<\/p>\n
had lost that confidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Roderick now was like a completely different person; she\u00a0<\/p>\n
couldn\u2019t see through him at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRoderick.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She called out softly, her voice trembling slightly, \u201cI have\u00a0<\/p>\n
something to tell you\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 68\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick\u2019s movements paused, his eyes suddenly darkening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He let go of her foot, and as he stood up, his body swayed\u00a0<\/p>\n
slightly. The alcohol was clearly hitting him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this is about Edward, I don\u2019t want to hear it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned to leave, his voice as cold as ice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine grew anxious and grabbed his wrist. \u201cIt\u2019s not!\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s about me\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c1\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick spun around abruptly, the force pulling her completely\u00a0<\/p>\n
off her feet. Madeleine crashed unexpectedly into his chest,\u00a0<\/p>\n
and he held her waist tightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMadeleine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked down at her, his breath carrying the rich scent of\u00a0<\/p>\n
whiskey. \u201cWhat do you really want?\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 68 Her body back then\u2026 it was so strange. It wasn\u2019t like […]<\/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-29331","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\/29331","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=29331"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29331\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29331"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29331"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29331"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}