Chapter 265\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leona cut in sharply, taking a few steps forward and poking\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s lower back without hesitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere\u2019s your core?\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s loose and weak. Are you trying to generate power from\u00a0<\/p>\n
here?\u00a0<\/p>\n
You\u2019re using your thighs. It\u2019s clumsy!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She moved to the side, pointing at Madeleine\u2019s leg. \u201cStraighten\u00a0<\/p>\n
it! Where\u2019s the extension?\u00a0<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve completely lost awareness in your toes. You look like a\u00a0<\/p>\n
beginner!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She even used her hands, forcefully correcting Madeleine\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
arm. \u201cYour center of gravity is off. You\u2019re wobbly. Your stability\u00a0<\/p>\n
is a complete mess!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExpression!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Is your face made of wood?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 265\u00a0<\/p>\n
Where\u2019s Giselle\u2019s joy and innocence?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Are you just going through the motions mechanically?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leona\u2019s criticisms were rapid and harsh, every word like a cold needle, precisely piercing the spots where Madeleine was rusty and had regressed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her brow was tightly furrowed, her face showing undisguised\u00a0<\/p>\n
disappointment and a frustration that bordered on anger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t stand seeing someone who was once her equal\u00a0<\/p>\n
fall so low.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Under her barrage of accusations, Madeleine\u2019s breathing grew\u00a0<\/p>\n
unsteady. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and\u00a0<\/p>\n
her cheeks flushed from exertion and embarrassment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She bit her lip, saying nothing, just trying to regulate her\u00a0<\/p>\n
breathing and follow Leona\u2019s instructions to correct herself, to\u00a0<\/p>\n
find that long\u2013lost precision.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stumbled through the variation, barely finishing it amidst\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leona\u2019s constant interruptions and corrections.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The music stopped, and the only sound in the dance studio was\u00a0<\/p>\n
their slightly ragged breathing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 265\u00a0<\/p>\n
The mirror reflected Madeleine\u2019s panting, flushed face, and\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leona\u2019s icy, dissatisfied expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leona stared at Madeleine, her chest heaving, that strange\u00a0<\/p>\n
anger still seeming to burn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But looking at Madeleine\u2019s sweaty temples and her still\u2013defiant\u00a0<\/p>\n
eyes, she finally just scoffed, her tone thick with mockery and\u00a0<\/p>\n
disappointment:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSee that?\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is your level now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStiff, clumsy, completely devoid of beauty\u2026 Madeleine, you\u2019ve\u00a0<\/p>\n
lost more than just technique. You\u2019ve lost your reverence and\u00a0<\/p>\n
feeling for the dance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way you are now, it\u2019s just\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She seemed to be searching for a word hurtful enough, but in\u00a0<\/p>\n
the end, she didn\u2019t say it. She just let out a heavy breath and\u00a0<\/p>\n
turned away, her shoulders looking a little stiff,\u00a0<\/p>\n
The air seemed to freeze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine stood where she was, sweat trickling down from her\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 265\u00a0<\/p>\n
temples.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked at Leona\u2019s back, then at her own reflection in the\u00a0<\/p>\n
mirror, which was indeed no longer perfect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She raised a hand to wipe the sweat from her face. Instead of\u00a0<\/p>\n
the shame or dejection Leona expected, she let out a very soft\u00a0<\/p>\n
laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The laugh was quiet, but it was enough to make Leona turn her\u00a0<\/p>\n
head in surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine met her questioning gaze, her eyes clear, and even\u00a0<\/p>\n
holding a hint of\u2026 relief?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, that was awful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine spoke, calmly admitting it, even with a hint of self-\u00a0<\/p>\n
mockery, \u201cIt was full of problems, almost painful to watch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leona frowned, not understanding why she was reacting this\u00a0<\/p>\n
way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI accept all of this, Leona. If you knew the kind of pain I went\u00a0<\/p>\n
through in the past, you wouldn\u2019t be saying this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s voice was soft, as if she were lost in thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 265\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ballet had been her passion for over a decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If it weren\u2019t for the damned narrative control, why would she\u00a0<\/p>\n
have given it up?\u00a0<\/p>\n
During those days of being consciously controlled, Madeleine\u00a0<\/p>\n
watched helplessly as she hurt her family and saw herself give\u00a0<\/p>\n
up on her dream.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The pain was so great that even now, she could barely breathe\u00a0<\/p>\n
thinking about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just living an easy life like this was her greatest wish now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care about that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leona frowned. She knew she had no right to judge her choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stepped forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just know you shouldn\u2019t be stuck in the past.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She took a deep breath and turned her head away. \u201cWe still\u00a0<\/p>\n
haven\u2019t had a proper competition. Are you going to make me\u00a0<\/p>\n
take the fall for that forever?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTake the fall for what?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 265\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine looked up in confusion, clearly not getting what she\u00a0<\/p>\n
meant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leona sneered, \u201cStop playing dumb. Didn\u2019t Roderick tell you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, what does Roderick have to do with this? What\u2019s going\u00a0<\/p>\n
on?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seeing that Madeleine was genuinely clueless, Leona gritted\u00a0<\/p>\n
her teeth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat competition during our sophomore year of high school,\u00a0<\/p>\n
the rumors that were spread about you, remember?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leona crossed her arms and turned her face away. \u201cRoderick\u00a0<\/p>\n
came to see me back then.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Memories of the past rushed into her mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s mouth fell open. Back when she was heartbroken\u00a0<\/p>\n
and angry, she had indeed seen Roderick comforting a crying\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leona.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was because of that very scene that Madeleine had angrily\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 265\u00a0<\/p>\n
thrown away her trophy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2026 what did you two talk about?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to know?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leona raised an eyebrow, her expression suddenly serious as\u00a0<\/p>\n
she looked at Madeleine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 266\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 ` 265 Chapter 265\u00a0 Leona cut in sharply, taking a few steps […]<\/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-29562","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\/29562","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=29562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29562\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}