Madeleine nodded. \u201cSo, what is this about\u2026?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter what, this whole thing started because of me. They\u00a0<\/p>\n
misunderstood the situation between you and Edward and\u00a0<\/p>\n
wanted to stand up for me, so\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just hearing Edward\u2019s name made the corners of Madeleine\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
mouth lift in a mocking smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine nodded. \u201cBut it\u2019s not respectful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She shrugged. \u201cThis kind of drama, ganging up on another\u00a0<\/p>\n
woman over a man, always seems to happen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fiona was silent for several seconds, not knowing what to say,\u00a0<\/p>\n
just feeling stiff and uncomfortable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After all, wasn\u2019t she here to see Madeleine for the same reason\u00a0<\/p>\n
-a man?\u00a0<\/p>\n
She gathered her thoughts and suddenly asked, \u201cThere\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
something I\u2019ve always been curious about. That day at the\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 168\u00a0<\/p>\n
restaurant, you denied ever liking Edward\u2026 but you and I both\u00a0<\/p>\n
know that some things are facts.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With no one else around, Madeleine didn\u2019t bother to hide it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s been blind at some point.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why did you change?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy eyes got better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fiona was at a loss for words again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t help but feel that Madeleine was calling her blind\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you tell me what happened between you two?\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s like you saw right through Edward and were desperate to\u00a0<\/p>\n
pull yourself out of that relationship, to cut all ties.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was obvious this was the question Fiona had come to ask\u00a0<\/p>\n
today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was already trying hard to choose her words carefully, to\u00a0<\/p>\n
soften her tone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine stared at her for a moment, unconsciously rubbing\u00a0<\/p>\n
the ring on her ring finger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 168\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Bell, you\u2019re mistaken. I\u2019m not trying to pull away from that\u00a0<\/p>\n
relationship. I\u2019m just getting back on the right track. My life, my\u00a0<\/p>\n
feelings\u2013they were always supposed to be for my family and\u00a0<\/p>\n
the one I love, weren\u2019t they?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine felt helpless too. What could she do? She couldn\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
just tell Fiona that she was actually being controlled by the\u00a0<\/p>\n
narrative control, could she?\u00a0<\/p>\n
What if something happened to her after she broke free from\u00a0<\/p>\n
the narrative control and she blamed it on me?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone has their own fate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fiona\u2019s situation was already much better than hers had been\u00a0<\/p>\n
back then.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were so in love with him back then, willing to give him\u00a0<\/p>\n
everything. Why did you change?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine spread her hands with a helpless look on her face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRespect personal choice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as she finished speaking, a message came from security,\u00a0<\/p>\n
saying Edward was at the gate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 168\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine subconsciously glanced at Fiona, her expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
darkening slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fiona quickly said, \u201cI don\u2019t know why he\u2019s here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The security guard sounded troubled. \u201cChase, \u2018should we let him\u00a0<\/p>\n
in?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine glanced at Fiona again, her eyes perfectly calm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet him in.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was also quite curious why Edward would come here, how\u00a0<\/p>\n
he even had the nerve to show up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A moment later, Edward strode in, his suit jacket draped over\u00a0<\/p>\n
his arm, his tie slightly loosened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment his eyes landed on Fiona, a shadow of gloom\u00a0<\/p>\n
passed through them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He shifted his gaze to Madeleine, a mocking smile flashing\u00a0<\/p>\n
across his lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMadeleine, I\u2019m finding it harder and harder to figure you out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine couldn\u2019t help but roll her eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 168\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have nothing better to do, go be a delivery driver, okay?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why are you standing here touching me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had just finished speaking when Kevin\u2019s horrified voice\u00a0<\/p>\n
rang out from the side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMommy, why is he touching you!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The little guy had been practicing the piano, but stopped when\u00a0<\/p>\n
he heard a guest arrive and was about to go read a book.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But then he realized it was that bad man who had come.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And he was touching Mommy\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKev, what are you doing here?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine walked over and crouched in front of Kevin, her\u00a0<\/p>\n
gentle smile returning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nothing, Kev. You must have misheard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kevin frowned tightly, not saying a word.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hadn\u2019t misheard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mommy just said it, that this bad uncle touched her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 168\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thinking this, Kevin looked up. Though his body was small, he\u00a0<\/p>\n
was giving off a chilling aura.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stared right at Edward, making his face darken for a\u00a0<\/p>\n
moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had seen this child before, but he hadn\u2019t noticed how much\u00a0<\/p>\n
he looked like Roderick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And wasn\u2019t Madeleine\u2019s relationship with her son supposed to\u00a0<\/p>\n
be bad?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everything had changed\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
What on earth happened during this time!\u00a0<\/p>\n
At that moment, Roderick\u2019s car drove through the villa\u2019s gate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A bouquet of pink lilies sat on the passenger seat, vibrant and\u00a0<\/p>\n
in full bloom, wrapped in the Parisian paper that Madeleine\u00a0<\/p>\n
loved most.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Today wasn\u2019t any special occasion; he just missed her on his\u00a0<\/p>\n
way home from work, so he took a detour to buy some flowers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But his good mood vanished the moment he pulled up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There were two cars parked outside the villa. One of them was\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 168\u00a0<\/p>\n
Edward\u2019s.\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 168 Madeleine nodded. \u201cSo, what is this about\u2026?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cNo matter what, this […]<\/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-29465","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\/29465","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=29465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29465\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}