He was terrified of losing her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Experiencing that kind of fear just once was enough to brand it\u00a0<\/p>\n
into his very bones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So when their son innocently said he wanted a little sister, the\u00a0<\/p>\n
sealed\u2013up, terrifying memories burst forth, causing him to\u00a0<\/p>\n
nearly lose control.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s heart felt like it was soaking in warm acid, swelling\u00a0<\/p>\n
and aching.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She finally, completely understood his extreme reaction back\u00a0<\/p>\n
then.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t that he didn\u2019t love the child, but that he loved her too\u00a0<\/p>\n
much.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Loved her so much he couldn\u2019t bear even the slightest risk of\u00a0<\/p>\n
losing her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so sorry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her nose tingled, not because she\u2019d done anything wrong, but\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 302\u00a0<\/p>\n
because her heart ached for the psychological trauma he\u2019d\u00a0<\/p>\n
carried alone for so many years. \u201cI made you worry for so long.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSilly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick pulled her deeper into his embrace, resting his chin on\u00a0<\/p>\n
the top of her head, his voice muffled. \u201cI\u2019m the one who should\u00a0<\/p>\n
be sorry. I failed to protect you, I let you suffer so much.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine shook her head forcefully in his arms. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t your\u00a0<\/p>\n
fault.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a hurdle every mother might face; hers just happened to be\u00a0<\/p>\n
especially dangerous.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked up, saw his still\u2013tense jawline, and deliberately\u00a0<\/p>\n
spoke in a lighthearted tone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut look, I\u2019m perfectly fine now, aren\u2019t I?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alive and kicking, and I can still piss you off!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick looked down at her forced, cheerful smile, and the\u00a0<\/p>\n
gloom in his eyes finally lifted a little. He couldn\u2019t help but lean\u00a0<\/p>\n
down and kiss her forehead:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. It\u2019s best that you\u2019re okay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 302\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the following days, the atmosphere at the Livingston family villa became exceptionally\u2026 warm, even a little overly so.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was as if that dream had opened up Madeleine\u2019s energy\u00a0<\/p>\n
channels, and many forgotten details and emotions came\u00a0<\/p>\n
rushing back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A huge sense of guilt and the precious feeling of having them\u00a0<\/p>\n
back drove her to want to give Roderick and her son the best of\u00a0<\/p>\n
everything in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Towards Roderick, she was so considerate it was almost scary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Roderick came downstairs, breakfast wasn\u2019t just ready; it\u00a0<\/p>\n
was prepared precisely to his preferred level of soft\u2013boiled egg\u00a0<\/p>\n
and coffee temperature.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It also came with an energetic good\u2013morning kiss and some\u00a0<\/p>\n
over\u2013the\u2013top compliments like, \u201cHubby, you look so handsome\u00a0<\/p>\n
today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he went to the office, she would even call him during her\u00a0<\/p>\n
two\u2013minute dance breaks to check in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you tired?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRemember to drink water!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 302\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Gerry remind you to eat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sometimes the call would come right in the middle of a\u00a0<\/p>\n
meeting, and Roderick would never hesitate to answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s voice would echo in the quiet conference room,\u00a0<\/p>\n
and even Gerry couldn\u2019t help but feel embarrassed for his boss.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the boss himself was quite pleased and didn\u2019t feel\u00a0<\/p>\n
embarrassed at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As for her son, Kevin, Madeleine had switched to \u201cunlimited\u00a0<\/p>\n
spoiling\u201d mode.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The snacks that were once restricted were now allowed in a\u00a0<\/p>\n
small portion every day, and she would even eat with him,\u00a0<\/p>\n
calling it \u201cdoubling the joy of sharing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The educational cartoons he used to have to watch were now\u00a0<\/p>\n
replaced with his favorite dinosaur team show, and Madeleine\u00a0<\/p>\n
would even endure the boredom to discuss with him which\u00a0<\/p>\n
dinosaur was stronger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bedtime stories increased from one book to three, told with\u00a0<\/p>\n
lively expression and even role\u2013playing, and she often ended up falling asleep before her son did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What confused little Kevin the most was the way his mom\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 302\u00a0<\/p>\n
looked at him, always filled with a certain\u2026 um\u2026 something he\u00a0<\/p>\n
couldn\u2019t describe. It was as if he were a priceless, long\u2013lost\u00a0<\/p>\n
treasure, making her want to lean in for kisses and hugs while\u00a0<\/p>\n
looking at him, muttering, \u201cMommy\u2019s precious Kev.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At first, Kevin really enjoyed this treatment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Unlimited snacks, freedom to watch cartoons, and his mom\u00a0<\/p>\n
with him all the time\u2013it was paradise!\u00a0<\/p>\n
But after a few days, the little guy was a bit confused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Especially when, for the third time, Madeleine teared up,\u00a0<\/p>\n
clapped enthusiastically, and praised him for successfully\u00a0<\/p>\n
eating a meal with a fork on his own, \u201cYou\u2019re amazing,\u00a0<\/p>\n
sweetheart!\u00a0<\/p>\n
A true genius!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kevin held his fork, his little face covered with huge question\u00a0<\/p>\n
marks and a hint of unease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His dad had said that boys need to be independent and strong,\u00a0<\/p>\n
and they can\u2019t always be spoiled by their mothers, or they\u2019ll\u00a0<\/p>\n
become a mama\u2019s boy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But now\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 302\u00a0<\/p>\n
What was wrong with Mom?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, when Madeleine insisted on feeding him fruit, looking at him with that mushy \u201cMommy loves you so much\u201d gaze, Kevin couldn\u2019t take it anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He reached out his little hand, touched Madeleine\u2019s forehead,\u00a0<\/p>\n
then his own, and then tilted his head and asked in a cute,\u00a0<\/p>\n
childish voice, very seriously:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMommy, are you sick?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Do you have a fever?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Is your head dizzy?\u201d\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 ` 302 He was terrified of losing her.\u00a0 Experiencing that kind of […]<\/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-29599","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\/29599","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=29599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29599\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}