\u201cI\u2019ve been patient, I\u2019ve waited, I even made excuses for you\u00a0<\/p>\n
after you ran away\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His thumb gently caressed her lower lip, his gaze so deep it\u00a0<\/p>\n
could suck a person in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca, you\u2019re so smart. Tell me, what is this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca was cornered by him, surrounded by his hot breath\u00a0<\/p>\n
and blunt words, her body stiff, but her blood felt like it was\u00a0<\/p>\n
boiling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stared at his lips, just inches away, her mind a blank, with\u00a0<\/p>\n
only his words echoing inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What was this?\u00a0<\/p>\n
She knew perfectly well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She just never dared to admit it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The mountain wind seemed to fall still, the air thick with a\u00a0<\/p>\n
charged tension, both intimate and dangerous.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 247\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their lips touched, beyond their control.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as Adrian was about to deepen the kiss, Rebecca shoved him away and shot to her feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice trembled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian, I don\u2019t know if I like you, and I have no idea if you\u2019re just\u00a0<\/p>\n
playing me or if you actually have feelings for me. It\u2019s too fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You have to let me think.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He forced his desire down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian pushed himself to his feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFine. I\u2019ll give you time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs an afternoon enough time?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca almost choked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAn afternoon.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 247\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian said, glancing at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be precise, from now until eight o\u2019clock tonight, you have\u00a0<\/p>\n
seven and a half hours. That\u2019s plenty of time to think.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s mouth twitched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was like a game of tag, he was chasing her so hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, an afternoon is too short.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian nodded, looking very agreeable, \u201cThen I\u2019ll add one night. I\u00a0<\/p>\n
need to hear your answer before midnight.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This seemed to be his final bit of leniency.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After saying that, he immediately dropped the topic. \u201cLet\u2019s go,\u00a0<\/p>\n
we\u2019re heading back.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After personally sending off the gossip she was so eager for,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine returned to the yard and sat down, feeling bummed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick brought over the freshly grilled BBQ skewers and sat\u00a0<\/p>\n
down beside her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 247\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich one do you want?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGossip.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWatermelon?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cucumber?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Or cantaloupe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine clicked her tongue. Seeing Roderick trying to hold\u00a0<\/p>\n
back a laugh, she knew he was teasing her on purpose.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re so annoying.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick put down the plate and, smiling, pinched Madeleine\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
puffy cheeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t you know how annoying I was when you were a kid?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine couldn\u2019t help but laugh when she heard that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
True.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one hated Roderick more than she did back then.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Taking a skewer of grilled meat from the plate, Madeleine\u00a0<\/p>\n
sighed as she ate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 247\u00a0<\/p>\n
it meant to like someone early on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll take that as a compliment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine raised an eyebrow, pestering him for an analysis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick thought for a moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I were Adrian, I wouldn\u2019t try to be the \u2018perfect\u2018 professor, or\u00a0<\/p>\n
an all\u2013powerful savior.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He narrowed his eyes. \u201cQuite the opposite. I\u2019d tear away some\u00a0<\/p>\n
of my own disguise and let her see my insecurities, my\u00a0<\/p>\n
possessiveness, even the darker parts of my personality.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick paused after speaking, a knowing look in his eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason Rebecca is so resistant, aside from being confused\u00a0<\/p>\n
about her feelings, is a deeper issue: she feels \u2018unworthy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUnworthy?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s heart sank. She looked up at Kevin, who wasn\u2019t far\u00a0<\/p>\n
off.\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 ` 247 \u201cI\u2019ve been patient, I\u2019ve waited, I even made excuses for […]<\/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-29544","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\/29544","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=29544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29544\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}