Chapter 256\u00a0<\/p>\n
This barrage of questions made Simon\u2019s already foggy brain\u00a0<\/p>\n
turn to complete mush.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He struggled to open his eyes to see Bradley\u2019s expression, but\u00a0<\/p>\n
all he saw were blurry double images and swaying lights.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He instinctively felt something was off about the questioning,\u00a0<\/p>\n
but the alcohol had.dulled his wariness, leaving only an irritable\u00a0<\/p>\n
desire to get away from the pestering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJeez\u2026 are you giving me the third degree\u2026\u201d Simon mumbled,\u00a0<\/p>\n
trying to push the glass away but lacking the strength. \u201cIt\u2026 it\u00a0<\/p>\n
just happened\u2026 what else is there to say\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bradley stared at him, his heart pounding in his chest, half from\u00a0<\/p>\n
the alcohol, half from a desperate, all\u2013or\u2013nothing gamble.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He leaned forward, lowering his voice to a dangerous, leading\u00a0<\/p>\n
tone:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy sister, has she gotten over that bad habit from when she\u00a0<\/p>\n
was a kid?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWha\u2026 what bad habit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 256\u00a0<\/p>\n
He spoke slowly, each word as if soaked in alcohol, cold and\u00a0<\/p>\n
sharp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has to sleep hugging that doll I gave her. After so many\u00a0<\/p>\n
years, it\u2019s become a habit. She can\u2019t fall asleep\u2026 without\u00a0<\/p>\n
holding it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bradley\u2019s voice dropped even lower, almost a whisper, \u201cThat doll\u00a0<\/p>\n
is still around, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The air froze for a moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Simon\u2019s muddled brain struggled to process this information,\u00a0<\/p>\n
his brow furrowed in pure, unadulterated confusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He smacked his lips, his tongue feeling thick:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, the doll\u2026 she can\u2019t sleep without it. She brought it with\u00a0<\/p>\n
her today, too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u104b\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes wandered as he tried to remember, finally confirming it\u00a0<\/p>\n
with a nod.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice grew fainter, turning into an incoherent mumble, before his head lolled to the side and he passed out completely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bradley\u2019s hand, holding the wine glass, froze in mid\u2013air.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 256\u00a0<\/p>\n
The wine swirled in the glass, reflecting his suddenly vacant\u00a0<\/p>\n
expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was no doll.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was never any doll.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d given it to her when they were kids, but she\u2019d lost it long\u00a0<\/p>\n
ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had just\u2026 made it up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Simon didn\u2019t even try to make the lie plausible; he just went\u00a0<\/p>\n
along with what Bradley said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The realization, cold and sharp, hit him like a basin of ice water\u00a0<\/p>\n
poured over his head in the bitter cold of deep winter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The only sound in the living room was Simon\u2019s heavy, ragged\u00a0<\/p>\n
breathing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bradley slowly, slowly put down his wine glass, the bottom\u00a0<\/p>\n
making a soft but clear \u2018clink\u2018 as it met the coffee table.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He leaned back against the sofa, tilting his head to stare at the\u00a0<\/p>\n
dazzling ceiling light. His mind went blank, and a ringing filled\u00a0<\/p>\n
his ears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 256\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It really was fake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next moment, a meaningful glint flashed in Bradley\u2019s eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He forced himself to his feet and staggered deeper into the\u00a0<\/p>\n
apartment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the middle of the night, a light rain started to fall outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine woke up once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She woke up to find Roderick holding her tightly, with half of her\u00a0<\/p>\n
body on top of his.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still groggy, Madeleine smiled. She felt incredibly happy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her son, Kevin, had originally come to sleep with them, but in\u00a0<\/p>\n
the middle of the night, Roderick got up and carried him to the\u00a0<\/p>\n
room next door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Time for just the two of them. Not even their own son could\u00a0<\/p>\n
interrupt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She went back to sleep, and when she woke up again, the sky\u00a0<\/p>\n
outside had cleared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe weather is so nice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 256\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine lay on the bed, watching Roderick open the curtains.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can do something outdoors today!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMhm.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick nodded and brought Madeleine the clothes she was\u00a0<\/p>\n
going to wear today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a mother, Madeleine felt a deep sense of guilt for sending\u00a0<\/p>\n
her son away in the middle of the night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After changing her clothes and washing up,\u00a0<\/p>\n
the first thing she did was go next door to see if the little guy\u00a0<\/p>\n
was awake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As soon as she came out, Madeleine noticed something was\u00a0<\/p>\n
off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHey\u2026 isn\u2019t that Charlotte\u2019s room?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine watched in confusion as Bradley, with a messy\u00a0<\/p>\n
bedhead, came out of Charlotte\u2019s room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked like he hadn\u2019t fully woken up yet, his eyes were\u00a0<\/p>\n
bloodshot, and his face was full of exhaustion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 256\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s eyes shot wide open.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHoly crap!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She hurried back to tell Roderick, but unfortunately, he was on\u00a0<\/p>\n
the phone, and it sounded like business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine was incredibly anxious, so she immediately went to\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s room next door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She knocked on the door, but there was no response from\u00a0<\/p>\n
inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRebecca?\u00a0<\/p>\n
You\u2019re not awake yet?!\u00a0<\/p>\n
?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That can\u2019t be right. Rebecca was the first one to go back to her\u00a0<\/p>\n
room to rest last night. There\u2019s no way she\u2019s not up by now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She called out again, worried that something might have happened to Rebecca inside, and tentatively tried the doorknob.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Click.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The door opened.\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 ` 256 Chapter 256\u00a0 This barrage of questions made Simon\u2019s already foggy […]<\/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-29553","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\/29553","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=29553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29553\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}