Madeleine understood at once and let out a long sigh of relief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roderick had said the business with Leo was a knot in\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, it seemed she could finally open up, pull out that knot, and\u00a0<\/p>\n
untangle it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The cemetery was in a quiet spot in the suburbs, surrounded by\u00a0<\/p>\n
evergreen pines and cypresses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The weather was a bit overcast, and the air smelled of damp\u00a0<\/p>\n
grass and trees.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca walked ahead, wearing a simple black dress and\u00a0<\/p>\n
holding a bouquet of white funeral lilies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian followed half a step behind her, dressed in a simple dark\u00a0<\/p>\n
shirt and pants, his expression calm and gentle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They stopped in front of a clean headstone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the photo on the headstone, Leo was smiling gently and\u00a0<\/p>\n
shyly, forever frozen in his youth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 340\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca bent down, gently placed the funeral lilies in front of\u00a0<\/p>\n
the grave, and stood there silently for a long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian didn\u2019t disturb her, just quietly stayed by her side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a while, Rebecca took a deep breath, turned around, and\u00a0<\/p>\n
gave Adrian a somewhat forced smile. \u201cHave you been waiting long?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian shook his head, his gaze gentle. \u201cNo, you can stay as long as you want.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca looked at the man before her who was always so\u00a0<\/p>\n
accepting of her, then glanced back at Leo\u2019s photo, a mix of\u00a0<\/p>\n
emotions welling up inside her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAdrian,\u201d she began softly, \u201cI asked you to come today because\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted you to know some things\u2026 about me, about Leo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian looked at the box in her hands with a knowing glance and nodded. \u201cOkay. Talk. I\u2019m listening.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was a kid, my family went bankrupt. We had it pretty\u00a0<\/p>\n
rough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She let out a soft laugh, crouched down, and then sat on the\u00a0<\/p>\n
steps.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 340\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBack then, the debt collectors would stop at nothing. They\u00a0<\/p>\n
cornered me in an alley once.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s voice was calm. Adrian\u2019s eyes were full of heartache\u00a0<\/p>\n
as he sat down beside her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was Leo who rushed out and saved me. He was\u2026 actually really skinny back then, but I don\u2019t know where he found the\u00a0<\/p>\n
strength. He protected me like his life depended on it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She paused, then continued, \u201cAfter that, it was like he suddenly grew up. He secretly learned martial arts and boxing, then taught me move by move. He said he couldn\u2019t be by my side all the time, so I had to learn to protect myself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A bittersweet, warm smile touched the corners of Rebecca\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
lips:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBack then, he was like my brother, my guardian angel. I\u2026 relied\u00a0<\/p>\n
on him and was so grateful to him. For a while, I couldn\u2019t even\u00a0<\/p>\n
tell what kind of feeling it was.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She lowered her head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLeo was a very, very good person. But why do bad things\u00a0<\/p>\n
happen to good people? He was so young, and he got a\u00a0<\/p>\n
terminal illness.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 340\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked up, her gaze clear as she faced Adrian, her honesty\u00a0<\/p>\n
heartbreaking. \u201cIf Leo hadn\u2019t gotten sick and passed away, we\u00a0<\/p>\n
might have really tried to become something more. The box I\u00a0<\/p>\n
received on my dad\u2019s birthday was actually from Leo\u2019s sister.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She pressed her lips together, recalling what she had seen that\u00a0<\/p>\n
day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cInside, it was all letters Leo wrote to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be precise, they were love letters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he never gave me a single one. He said he could tell I\u00a0<\/p>\n
wasn\u2019t sure about my feelings for him, so he would wait.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut fate didn\u2019t give him the chance to wait. After he got sick,\u00a0<\/p>\n
there was even less of a chance he would give me those\u00a0<\/p>\n
letters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Adrian listened quietly without interrupting, his eyes showing no\u00a0<\/p>\n
jealousy, only understanding and compassion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He knew it took great courage for Rebecca to be so honest, and\u00a0<\/p>\n
that it meant she trusted him completely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLosing him hit me really hard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 340\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rebecca\u2019s voice was choked with emotion, \u201cI lost a close family\u00a0<\/p>\n
member, someone who pulled me up when I was at my most helpless. So for a long time, I didn\u2019t dare think about him, afraid\u00a0<\/p>\n
the pain would overwhelm me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She held Adrian\u2019s hand tightly, but her gaze remained gently on\u00a0<\/p>\n
the tombstone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019ve changed now. I\u2019m not that little girl shivering in an alley, needing someone to protect me anymore. I have my own\u00a0<\/p>\n
career, the courage to face challenges, and\u2026 someone I can\u00a0<\/p>\n
truly rely on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She paused, as if she were giving the young man in the photo a\u00a0<\/p>\n
solemn update:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLeo, you don\u2019t have to worry about me anymore. See? I\u2019m\u00a0<\/p>\n
care of myself. The fighting you taught me, I still sometimes. You wanted me to be strong and live\u00a0<\/p>\n
nappily, and I\u2019ve done all of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 341\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 341\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 ` 340- Madeleine understood at once and let out a long sigh […]<\/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-29637","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\/29637","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=29637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29637\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}