She had also seen the hidden hope in his brief pause before he\u00a0<\/p>\n
turned away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hoping she would rush over and grab him, hoping she would\u00a0<\/p>\n
give a reasonable explanation, or even just an excuse that\u00a0<\/p>\n
could temporarily soothe him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But he had seen right through her bone\u2013deep retreat and\u00a0<\/p>\n
hesitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So he chose to leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the most decisive way possible, leaving her completely\u00a0<\/p>\n
stranded in this suffocating truth and guilt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The door closed softly behind him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was no heavy slam, but the soft \u201cclick\u201d of the lock was\u00a0<\/p>\n
like the gavel of a final judgment, making Charlotte\u2019s whole\u00a0<\/p>\n
body tremble.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The world instantly became terrifyingly quiet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All that was left was the dripping of the faucet and her own\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 291\u00a0<\/p>\n
wild, frantic heartbeat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was really gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte felt as if all her strength was drained; her body\u00a0<\/p>\n
swayed, and she instinctively chased after him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But as her fingers touched the cold doorknob, she stopped\u00a0<\/p>\n
abruptly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chase after him?\u00a0<\/p>\n
And say what?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Keep piling lies on top of lies?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Or look into his eyes, full of disappointment and pain, and admit\u00a0<\/p>\n
she was just a cowardly liar?\u00a0<\/p>\n
All her courage vanished in that instant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her outstretched hand fell limply.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She leaned against the cold door and slowly slid down to the\u00a0<\/p>\n
floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 291\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tears streamed out without warning, not sobs, but silent, hot\u00a0<\/p>\n
tears pouring down her face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She raised a hand to cover her mouth, trying to suppress the\u00a0<\/p>\n
sobs rising in her throat, but her shoulders began to shake\u00a0<\/p>\n
violently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sorry\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bradley, I\u2019m sorry\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
She repeated it over and over in her mind, but the words were\u00a0<\/p>\n
so hollow they couldn\u2019t even convince herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The kitchen still held the warmth of worldly life he had brought,\u00a0<\/p>\n
the clean dishes draining by the sink, as if the brief, warm\u00a0<\/p>\n
illusion from minutes ago had never existed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And now, she was all alone, trapped in the web of lies she had\u00a0<\/p>\n
woven, tasting the bitter fruit of her own making.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte sat on the cold floor, burying her face deep in her\u00a0<\/p>\n
knees, letting her tears soak her clothes without making a\u00a0<\/p>\n
sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t know how much time had passed when she shakily\u00a0<\/p>\n
picked up her phone from the counter. On it were countless\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 291\u00a0<\/p>\n
messages her mom had sent last night:\u00a0<\/p>\n
[Charlotte, where are you?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why aren\u2019t you answering your mom\u2019s messages?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Are you with him again?]\u00a0<\/p>\n
[Answer me!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte!]\u00a0<\/p>\n
You promised me!\u00a0<\/p>\n
You swore!]\u00a0<\/p>\n
[You can\u2019t do this to your mother\u2026 You can\u2019t follow my path\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
The men from the Kline family are all liars!\u00a0<\/p>\n
They\u2019re all heartless bastards!]\u00a0<\/p>\n
[He\u2019s just like his father!\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019s just playing with you!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Do you think he\u2019s serious about you?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t be a fool!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 291\u00a0<\/p>\n
One day he\u2019ll abandon you, just like his father abandoned me!\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then you\u2019ll be finished!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Completely finished, just like your mother!]\u00a0<\/p>\n
[Have you forgotten what your mother has been through all\u00a0<\/p>\n
these years?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Forgotten the pills, the tears, the sleepless nights?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Are you going to drive your mother to her death for a man?\u00a0<\/p>\n
!]\u00a0<\/p>\n
[Charlotte, you\u2019re all your mother has\u2026 Come back, come back\u00a0<\/p>\n
to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leave him, leave him for good!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Otherwise\u2026 otherwise your mother really can\u2019t go on\u2026]\u00a0<\/p>\n
[Answer the phone!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Answer the phone!]\u00a0<\/p>\n
A sharp pain pierced Charlotte\u2019s heart. After her mother took\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 291\u00a0<\/p>\n
her and left the Kline family, she was diagnosed with bipolar\u00a0<\/p>\n
disorder not long after, and was now showing signs of\u00a0<\/p>\n
schizophrenia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t provoke her mother any further\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was her mother on one side, and herself on the other; she\u00a0<\/p>\n
couldn\u2019t be so selfish as to choose love.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry, I\u2019m so sorry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Charlotte closed her eyes as hot tears streamed down her face\u00a0<\/p>\n
again. Her throat felt like it was blocked by something, unable\u00a0<\/p>\n
to make a sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With her own hands, she had pushed the boy named Bradley\u00a0<\/p>\n
back into the cold darkness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inside the dance studio.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During a break, Madeleine went to buy two bottles of water and\u00a0<\/p>\n
handed one to Leona.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She took it and mumbled a thank you.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lately, Leona had been even more punctual than Madeleine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She still didn\u2019t talk much, in fact, even less.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 291\u00a0<\/p>\n
Most of the time, she just leaned against the mirrored wall with\u00a0<\/p>\n
her arms crossed, her hawk\u2013like gaze sharply catching\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s every subtle move.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Occasionally, she would issue commands with words so\u00a0<\/p>\n
concise they were almost cold: \u201cTurn!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExtend!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBreathe!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCenter!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She never made small talk, never wasted words. The\u00a0<\/p>\n
atmosphere in the studio was as serious as a military drill.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Madeleine couldn\u2019t stand that kind of atmosphere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t sit still during breaks and always tried to talk to\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leona.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHey, Leona, how did you manage to practice every day without\u00a0<\/p>\n
getting tired of it?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 292\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 292\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 ` 291 She had also seen the hidden hope in his brief […]<\/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-29588","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\/29588","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=29588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29588\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}