\u201cIt\u2019s nothing, Dad. How\u2019s Mrs. Miller?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou two should go in. Mrs. Miller said she wants to talk to\u00a0<\/p>\n
you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s heart sank. She knew Mrs. Miller was definitely\u00a0<\/p>\n
going to talk to her about Edward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She quickly changed into sterile scrubs with Roderick and went\u00a0<\/p>\n
inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the hospital bed, Mrs. Miller still looked pale, but she managed to force a smile when she saw Roderick and\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine walk in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Miller.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine hurried over, crouching by the hospital bed and\u00a0<\/p>\n
gently taking Mrs. Miller\u2019s hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Miller, how are you feeling?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s voice was thick with a worry and a sob she couldn\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
hide.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 317\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mrs. Miller gave a weak smile and gently patted the back of her\u00a0<\/p>\n
hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMuch better, don\u2019t worry. The doctor said I\u2019ll be fine after some\u00a0<\/p>\n
observation. I just\u2026 I must have scared you, didn\u2019t I?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her gaze swept lovingly over Roderick and Madeleine, full of\u00a0<\/p>\n
reassurance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick shook his head, his voice low, \u201cAs long as you\u2019re okay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mrs. Miller sighed, a flicker of lingering fear and confusion in\u00a0<\/p>\n
her eyes. She looked at Madeleine, hesitating to speak.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine understood immediately. She squeezed Mrs. Miller\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
hand and glanced at Roderick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay, Mrs. Miller. You can tell us what you saw, or what\u00a0<\/p>\n
happened. Roderick\u2026 he knows everything. About Edward,\u00a0<\/p>\n
about\u2026 some of my things.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mrs. Miller looked at Madeleine in surprise, then turned to\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only after Roderick gave a solemn nod did she seem to breathe\u00a0<\/p>\n
a sigh of relief, but then her face turned even paler, as if\u00a0<\/p>\n
recalling something terrifying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 317\u00a0<\/p>\n
She took a deep breath, trying to find the right words, her eyes\u00a0<\/p>\n
filled with confusion and fear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cActually\u2026 I don\u2019t really know what happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the time, Owen had gone to buy me some water, and I was\u00a0<\/p>\n
just standing there waiting for him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen it was like\u2026 I saw a figure, very familiar\u2026 It was Edward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the mention of the name, Mrs. Miller\u2019s voice trembled. \u201cI\u00a0<\/p>\n
don\u2019t know why he was there, but the moment I saw him, I felt\u2026..\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt something was very wrong.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her breathing grew a little ragged, and Roderick gently rubbed\u00a0<\/p>\n
her back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026 my body, it was like it suddenly wasn\u2019t my own anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mrs. Miller\u2019s voice was filled with incredulous terror. \u201cIt was as\u00a0<\/p>\n
if some force was pushing me, controlling me, making me walk\u00a0<\/p>\n
towards him!\u00a0<\/p>\n
In my heart, I was terrified. I didn\u2019t want to go near him at all, but my legs\u2026 they were moving on their own!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine\u2019s heart sank, her nails digging into her palm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 317\u00a0<\/p>\n
This feeling, she knew it all too well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was the feeling of being forcibly controlled by the \u201cnarrative\u00a0<\/p>\n
control\u201d or a \u201cpredetermined role\u201c!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mrs. Miller\u2019s eyes reddened, filled with the relief and lingering\u00a0<\/p>\n
fear of having survived.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI desperately tried to regain control of my body. I was\u00a0<\/p>\n
screaming in my mind, \u2018Stop, stop!\u2018\u2026 I don\u2019t know where the\u00a0<\/p>\n
strength came from, but it felt like\u2026 like I broke free for a\u00a0<\/p>\n
moment. I turned and tried to run back\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She paused, trying hard to remember.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think\u2026 I managed to force myself back to where I was\u00a0<\/p>\n
standing, a little farther from him. I thought I had succeeded,\u00a0<\/p>\n
but then, a sharp pain shot through my stomach, everything\u00a0<\/p>\n
went black, and I don\u2019t remember anything after that\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After saying all this, Mrs. Miller seemed to have exhausted all\u00a0<\/p>\n
her strength. She closed her eyes wearily, a tear rolling down\u00a0<\/p>\n
from the corner of her eye.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The hospital room fell into a dead silence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeleine felt a chill run through her, as if she\u2019d been plunged\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 317\u00a0<\/p>\n
into an ice cave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was true. It was that force.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If her theory was correct, her initial funding of Edward was the\u00a0<\/p>\n
stepping stone for his business empire, and Zoe was a sacrifice\u00a0<\/p>\n
to enrich Edward\u2019s perfect Persona.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then Mrs. Miller was the catalyst meant to push her into liking\u00a0<\/p>\n
Edward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mrs. Miller broke free from that force\u2019s control, perhaps\u00a0<\/p>\n
because\u2026 her role as a catalyst was no longer important?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Did that mean she, too, was now free from its control?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick\u2019s expression was beyond ugly\u2013it was pure, icy rage,\u00a0<\/p>\n
as if he was about to destroy everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He struggled to keep his voice steady:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Miller, you did great. You were very brave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t think about it anymore. Get some rest. I\u2019ll handle the rest.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His voice wasn\u2019t loud, but it carried a reassuring strength and\u00a0<\/p>\n
undeniable resolve.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 317\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mrs. Miller nodded weakly, seeming genuinely more at ease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick and Madeleine stayed with her a little longer, and once\u00a0<\/p>\n
she drifted off to sleep again, they quietly slipped out of the\u00a0<\/p>\n
hospital room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The hospital room door closed softly, sealing in the fragility and\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 ` 317 \u201cIt\u2019s nothing, Dad. How\u2019s Mrs. Miller?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYou two should go […]<\/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-29614","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\/29614","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=29614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29614\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}