Chapter 298\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2019s this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine looked completely lost.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mom!\u00a0<\/p>\n
?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s jaw almost hit the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine snatched the phone, her eyes wide, almost burning a\u00a0<\/p>\n
hole through the screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The woman in the photo was wearing a sharp riding outfit,\u00a0<\/p>\n
sitting straight and tall on a large, handsome horse, with a vast\u00a0<\/p>\n
pasture and blue sky in the background.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had deep\u2013set eyes, a high\u2013bridged nose, and thin, sexy lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her thick, dark brown curly hair was casually tied back, with a\u00a0<\/p>\n
few loose strands falling by her cheeks. She radiated a wild,\u00a0<\/p>\n
untamed, and vibrant beauty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 298\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was the complete opposite of Mrs. Miller\u2019s gentle, classic\u00a0<\/p>\n
Southern grace\u2013they had nothing in common!\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is your mother?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s voice changed pitch, filled with disbelief. \u201cBut\u2026 but\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mrs. Miller, she\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her mind was a complete mess.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why had she always thought Mrs. Miller and Roderick\u2019s mother\u00a0<\/p>\n
looked so much alike in her memory?\u00a0<\/p>\n
And why had she felt an inexplicable closeness and trust\u00a0<\/p>\n
towards Mrs. Miller because of it?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick looked at his wife\u2019s shocked, almost stunned\u00a0<\/p>\n
expression. He frowned, sensing something was wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He took Madeleine\u2019s hand, his tone becoming serious and\u00a0<\/p>\n
concerned. \u201cMadeleine, why would you think Mrs. Miller and my\u00a0<\/p>\n
mom look alike?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI, I don\u2019t know\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine shook her head blankly. The fragmented memories\u00a0<\/p>\n
of Roderick\u2019s mother and Mrs. Miller\u2019s faces overlapping in her\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 298\u00a0<\/p>\n
mind began to blur, even contradict each other, making her feel\u00a0<\/p>\n
dizzy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just, I think I\u2019ve always had this impression\u2026 that they looked\u00a0<\/p>\n
alike, so\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why she had so naturally accepted Mrs. Miller\u2019s presence, even becoming especially dependent on her because\u00a0<\/p>\n
of that strange sense of \u201cfamiliarity.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s head suddenly started to hurt. Her childhood\u00a0<\/p>\n
memories were changing, bit by bit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No, to be precise, the image of Roderick\u2019s mother in her memory was changing, bit by bit!\u00a0<\/p>\n
A chill crept silently up Madeleine\u2019s spine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was it the influence of the narrative control?\u00a0<\/p>\n
During all those years she was being controlled, had even such\u00a0<\/p>\n
a subtle perception been altered?\u00a0<\/p>\n
To make her accept Mrs. Miller without question?\u00a0<\/p>\n
To accept this person the narrative control had placed by her\u00a0<\/p>\n
side?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 298\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRoderick\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s voice held a faint tremor. She instinctively\u00a0<\/p>\n
squeezed his hand back tightly, as if it were her only lifeline. \u201cI\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think I\u2019ve gotten some things wrong again\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her face was pale, and her eyes were filled with confusion and\u00a0<\/p>\n
lingering fear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick\u2019s heart sank.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He pulled Madeleine tightly into his arms, his large hand patting\u00a0<\/p>\n
her back soothingly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this about\u2026 that thing you never want to talk about?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s body stiffened almost imperceptibly in Roderick\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
embrace.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those terrifying memories she had forcibly suppressed\u2013about\u00a0<\/p>\n
the \u201cnarrative control,\u201d the \u201cawakening,\u201d and the \u201caftereffects\u201c\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n
gripped her in an instant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zoe\u2019s crazed face, her incoherent screams, her struggles as she\u00a0<\/p>\n
was forced onto a stretcher\u2026 it all flooded her mind like an icy\u00a0<\/p>\n
tide, making her shudder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 298\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had \u201camnesia,\u201d Zoe had \u201cgone mad\u201c\u2026 so what about\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick?\u00a0<\/p>\n
If she told him this bizarre, unbelievable truth, what would\u00a0<\/p>\n
happen to him?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Could a man like him\u2013so calm, rational, and used to being in\u00a0<\/p>\n
control of everything\u2013accept that his world might just be a\u00a0<\/p>\n
written story?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wouldn\u2019t it be a huge shock, or even\u2026 a curse, triggering some\u00a0<\/p>\n
unknown, terrible aftereffects?\u00a0<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t risk it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She would rather he knew nothing, rather she carried this fear\u00a0<\/p>\n
and secret alone, than let him fall into any possible danger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The immense fear crushed any desire to confide in him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She even held her breath subconsciously, as if speaking a\u00a0<\/p>\n
single word would bring an unseen doom upon Roderick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t tell you, Roderick.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick could feel she was still tense in his arms; that subtle\u00a0<\/p>\n
trembling didn\u2019t lie.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 298\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was silent for a moment, his deep eyes flickering with\u00a0<\/p>\n
countless thoughts in the darkness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He knew asking directly wouldn\u2019t work; she was determined to\u00a0<\/p>\n
hide it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But he couldn\u2019t just stand by and watch her be tormented by\u00a0<\/p>\n
some unknown fear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An idea began to form.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He sighed very softly, his arms still around her. His voice was\u00a0<\/p>\n
low and slow, with a guiding tone that wasn\u2019t pressuring:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t ask anymore. Don\u2019t be afraid.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hearing this, Madeleine relaxed a little, but her guard wasn\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
completely down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, Roderick\u2019s next words made her hold her breath\u00a0<\/p>\n
again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I can\u2019t let you carry this all by yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His fingertips gently caressed her arm. \u201cHow about this? I\u2019ll\u00a0<\/p>\n
guess. If I\u2019m right, or close, you nod. If not, you shake your\u00a0<\/p>\n
head. You don\u2019t have to say a thing. I\u2019ll figure it out. Okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 298\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s heart leaped into her throat!\u00a0<\/p>\n
This\u2026 how could that work?\u00a0<\/p>\n
She instinctively wanted to refuse, but Roderick didn\u2019t give her a chance to speak, immediately throwing out his first guess in a\u00a0<\/p>\n
tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\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 ` 298 Chapter 298\u00a0 \u201cWho\u2019s this?\u201d\u00a0 Madeleine looked completely lost.\u00a0 \u201cMy mom.\u201d\u00a0 […]<\/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-29595","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\/29595","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=29595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29595\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}