Fiona felt as if she\u2019d been hit over the head with a club.\u00a0<\/p>\n
See? That\u2019s what real friends are.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Friends are like Madeleine and Rebecca. What does that make\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mary?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, Mary walked over, the sound of her high heels clicking, wearing a designer dress that was clearly a bad fit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFiona, what do you think of this one?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think it\u2019s perfect for me!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fiona looked up, sizing up this so\u2013called \u201cfriend\u201d for the first\u00a0<\/p>\n
time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mary\u2019s face was plastered with a fawning smile, but her eyes\u00a0<\/p>\n
glinted with greed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She realized she had been letting someone like this lead her by\u00a0<\/p>\n
the nose all along.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t suit you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 212\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fiona\u2019s voice was surprisingly calm. \u201cI have something to do,\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m leaving. Don\u2019t contact me again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mary\u2019s smile froze on her face. \u201cWh\u2013what?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, that outfit doesn\u2019t suit you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After saying each word deliberately, Fiona didn\u2019t spare Mary\u00a0<\/p>\n
another glance, grabbing her bag and turning to leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut\u2026\u201d Mary grew anxious and grabbed Fiona\u2019s wrist. \u201cThis\u00a0<\/p>\n
dress really does suit me, and you promised\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fiona gently pulled her hand back. \u201cI have work to take care of.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you make me late, you can\u2019t afford it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She turned to a nearby sales associate. \u201cPlease help this lady\u00a0<\/p>\n
change back into her original clothes. The VIP service is\u00a0<\/p>\n
canceled.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The associate understood immediately and said to Mary politely\u00a0<\/p>\n
but firmly, \u201cMa\u2019am, please follow me to the regular fitting room\u00a0<\/p>\n
to change.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mary\u2019s face turned ugly in an instant. \u201cFiona!\u00a0<\/p>\n
What do you mean by this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 212\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice rose sharply, causing other customers to turn and\u00a0<\/p>\n
look.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fiona acted as if she couldn\u2019t hear and walked out quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mary tried to chase after her but was stopped\u2018 by the associate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMa\u2019am, you haven\u2019t paid yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPay for what?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Isn\u2019t she paying?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mary pointed furiously at Fiona\u2019s retreating back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The associate gave a professional smile. \u201cFiona didn\u2019t say she\u00a0<\/p>\n
would pay for you.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you like the dress, you can purchase it yourself at the\u00a0<\/p>\n
register.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mary\u2019s face flushed red then turned pale, and she finally\u00a0<\/p>\n
stomped her foot, seething, \u201cI\u2019ll change back!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine and Rebecca stood not far away, taking in the whole\u00a0<\/p>\n
scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine let out a long sigh of relief when she saw it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 212\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSatisfying.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca didn\u2019t say anything, just looked down at her for a\u00a0<\/p>\n
moment, her gaze deep.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As they walked out of the luxury boutique, the sunlight fell\u00a0<\/p>\n
perfectly on them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca stopped walking and grabbed Madeleine\u2019s wrist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMadeleine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice was unusually serious, \u201cI understood everything you\u00a0<\/p>\n
just said to Fiona.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s smile faltered for a moment, but she quickly\u00a0<\/p>\n
recovered. \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong?\u00a0<\/p>\n
What did you understand?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca narrowed her eyes, her gaze sharp enough to pierce\u00a0<\/p>\n
through someone\u2019s soul. \u201cMary, Zoe\u2026 they\u2019re too much like\u00a0<\/p>\n
NPCs in a murder mystery game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s heart skipped a beat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 212\u00a0<\/p>\n
She never expected that the first person to figure it out would\u00a0<\/p>\n
be Rebecca.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The smile on her face felt stiff. Madeleine tried to force it, but\u00a0<\/p>\n
she just couldn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s voice was barely a whisper. \u201cHave you ever had this\u00a0<\/p>\n
feeling?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Where your head tells you something is wrong, but you just\u00a0<\/p>\n
can\u2019t stop yourself from wanting to believe it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The look in Rebecca\u2019s eyes changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She pulled Madeleine over to a seating area in a corner of the\u00a0<\/p>\n
mall and pushed her down. \u201cExplain.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her\u00a0<\/p>\n
clothes, her eyes darting around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She opened her mouth, then closed it again, as if she had a\u00a0<\/p>\n
million things to say but didn\u2019t know where to start.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca watched her quietly, her sharp gaze slowly turning complex.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 212\u00a0<\/p>\n
The noisy chatter of the mall formed a natural barrier around\u00a0<\/p>\n
them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like\u2026\u201d Rebecca spoke up, her voice soft, \u201cyou know Edward\u00a0<\/p>\n
is a scumbag, but you can\u2019t help but like him?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine snapped her head up, meeting Rebecca\u2019s eyes, which seemed to see right through everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She saw a flash of understanding in her friend\u2019s eyes, quickly\u00a0<\/p>\n
replaced by heartache.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A strange silence fell between them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not because there was nothing to say, but because nothing\u00a0<\/p>\n
needed to be said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine finally just said her name softly, her voice filled with\u00a0<\/p>\n
an indescribable complexity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca sighed deeply, reached out, and ruffled her hair, so\u00a0<\/p>\n
forcefully it almost messed up her hairstyle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDummy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She scolded, but with an unspoken tenderness, \u201cTell me sooner\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 212\u00a0<\/p>\n
next time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s nose tingled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She knew Rebecca understood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not the surface\u2013level explanations, but the deeper feelings that\u00a0<\/p>\n
even she couldn\u2019t quite put into words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I said I\u2019d come out to cheer Rebecca up, but it turned out she\u00a0<\/p>\n
was the one comforting me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine felt a little bad about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca, what do you want to eat tonight? My treat.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s still so early, not even dinnertime yet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 213\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 ` 212 Fiona felt as if she\u2019d been hit over the head […]<\/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-29509","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\/29509","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=29509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29509\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}