His palm was warm, its searing heat palpable even through the\u00a0<\/p>\n
fabric.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The music was melodious, and Roderick led her slowly into the\u00a0<\/p>\n
dance, their steps so in sync it was as if they had danced\u00a0<\/p>\n
together a thousand times before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you learn to dance?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine looked up at him, her eyes curving into crescents. \u201cI\u00a0<\/p>\n
remember you being so uncoordinated when you were a kid.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no choice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick looked helpless. \u201cI married a wife who can dance. I\u00a0<\/p>\n
can\u2019t just watch her find other partners all the time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s heart sped up again, and she could already picture\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick practicing the dance steps over and over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick chuckled, his voice low and alluring. \u201cHow am I doing?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cVery well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 114\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAm I your best dance partner?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The tips of Madeleine\u2019s ears turned a little red, and her eyes felt\u00a0<\/p>\n
warm. She fought to control herself as she gave a slight nod.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two of them swayed gently to the music, the light casting\u00a0<\/p>\n
their shadows on the floor, tangled and inseparable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were no longer paying attention to the moves or the steps.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine wrapped her arms around him, her upper body\u00a0<\/p>\n
practically leaning against Roderick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was losing control, and large tears began to well up as she\u00a0<\/p>\n
hid against his chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ever since leaving Zoe, Madeleine had been holding back,\u00a0<\/p>\n
restraining herself. She was so scared\u2013scared of getting\u00a0<\/p>\n
caught in the narrative control and becoming a means to an\u00a0<\/p>\n
end, scared of losing her family because of the narrative\u00a0<\/p>\n
control, just like Zoe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She thought she was strong enough. After all, she had survived the pain of the past few years, so what couldn\u2019t she handle\u00a0<\/p>\n
now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Until just now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 114\u00a0<\/p>\n
Held in Roderick\u2019s arms, listening to the steady beat of his\u00a0<\/p>\n
heart, Madeleine felt as if she had found a safe harbor. The\u00a0<\/p>\n
dam she had worked so hard to build could finally crumble,\u00a0<\/p>\n
letting her emotions pour out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She could cry without restraint, sobbing her heart out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her tears soaked his shirt, and when Roderick felt the\u00a0<\/p>\n
dampness, he paused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked down and saw her tear\u2013streaked face. His heart felt\u00a0<\/p>\n
like it had been sliced open, the pain making it hard to breathe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong? What\u2019s wrong?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He asked twice, his voice laced with panic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick stopped, his voice low, hoarse, and gentle. \u201cI\u2019m here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those two simple words made Madeleine\u2019s tears flow even\u00a0<\/p>\n
harder. The fear that had coiled around her heart, the anxiety\u00a0<\/p>\n
that followed her like a shadow, all seemed to melt away\u00a0<\/p>\n
because of his \u201cI\u2019m here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At a loss, Roderick used his thumb to wipe her tears, but they\u00a0<\/p>\n
kept falling like pearls from a broken string; he couldn\u2019t wipe\u00a0<\/p>\n
them all away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 114\u00a0<\/p>\n
His Adam\u2019s apple bobbed, and Roderick lowered his head,\u00a0<\/p>\n
kissing the corner of Madeleine\u2019s eye.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He kissed away the salty tears one by one, his movements as\u00a0<\/p>\n
gentle as if he were handling a fragile treasure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine didn\u2019t move, her tear\u2013laden lashes trembling as she\u00a0<\/p>\n
felt his warm breath on her cheek.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick\u2019s kisses slowly trailed down, gently touching the tip of\u00a0<\/p>\n
her nose, as if to soothe her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, he paused at her lips, brushing against them almost\u00a0<\/p>\n
imperceptibly, but not kissing her directly, as if waiting for her\u00a0<\/p>\n
permission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as her heart was about to pound out of her chest,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine held her breath. She tilted her head up, her nose\u00a0<\/p>\n
brushing against his, their breaths intertwining.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The kiss was gentle and restrained, mixed with the taste of Madeleine\u2019s tears. Overwhelmed, she could only let Roderick\u00a0<\/p>\n
take the lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her mind went blank. Madeleine was glad Roderick was holding her so tightly; her legs felt so weak she was sure she would\u00a0<\/p>\n
have collapsed otherwise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 114\u00a0<\/p>\n
In a daze, Madeleine felt something on her hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She gently pushed him away, breathless, and raised her hand to\u00a0<\/p>\n
look.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On her ring finger, a ring glittered in the light. \u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA wedding ring.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick, not having had his fill, leaned in again, the dazed look\u00a0<\/p>\n
still in his eyes, and pressed his lips against her slightly swollen\u00a0<\/p>\n
ones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s mind was completely on the ring, and she held up\u00a0<\/p>\n
her hand to look at it in the light for a long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then she grabbed the one in Roderick\u2019s hand and glanced at it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It seemed a bit newer than the one she had seen last time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t you say I threw it away?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a new one made, identical to the original.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hearing this, Madeleine looked at the ring, her heart feeling a\u00a0<\/p>\n
little sour one moment and sweet the next.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 114\u00a0<\/p>\n
With tear stains still on her face, she broke into a wide grin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick sighed helplessly to himself and went to get a tissue\u00a0<\/p>\n
to gently wipe her face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 115\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 114 His palm was warm, its searing heat palpable even through the\u00a0 […]<\/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-29411","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\/29411","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=29411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29411\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}