\u201cAre you trying to seduce me on purpose?\u201d Larissa continued to tease.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Haskell casually adjusted the lapel of his robe. \u201cYou found me out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A peal of laughter came from the screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen are you coming back tomorrow?\u201d he asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter breakfast, around eight,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ll head straight to your office for your treatment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, Sage appeared in the background of her video feed. The snake was holding a small plate with its tail and repeatedly banging it against the wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa turned around. \u201cAlright, alright, stop rushing me! I\u2019ll take you all out for the buffet later.\u201d She turned back to the camera with an exasperated sigh. \u201cWe\u2019re out in the countryside, and the local wildlife is too tempting for them to resist. They\u2019re dying to go on a hunt.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Haskell noticed Sage\u2019s triumphant expression. He raised an eyebrow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
An angel\u2013faced devil, that one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to go. See you tomorrow!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before he could respond, she had already hung up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Haskell stared at the blank screen for a moment, a reluctant fondness in his eyes as he set the phone down. A strange thought occurred to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d just managed to neutralize Torrin. Was he now going to have to compete with a small snake for her affection?\u00a0<\/p>\n
That evening, Avril and her three best friends organized a get\u2013together at the Subzero Bar, inviting everyone they knew from their social circle. She recounted the morning\u2019s events at the Judson estate with dramatic flair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The crowd listened with a mixture of shock and disdain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you ask me, the Judson family had it coming.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStill, it\u2019s wild. How long has Larissa been in Regal City? And she\u2019s already taken over the whole family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTaking it over is one thing. Holding onto it is another.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Avril scoffed confidently. \u201cHolding onto it? You\u2019re underestimating Larissa. She\u2019s not just taking over the Judson family; she\u2019s going to elevate it to a top\u2013tier powerhouse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Someone let out a dismissive laugh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAvril, you\u2019re exaggerating. Larissa only beat Finley and his family because they were incompetent. But turning the Judsons into a top\u2013tier family? Do you think all the other families are just sitting\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
09:19\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tanter pu\u00a0<\/p>\n
around doing nothing? If it were that easy, everyone would be a top\u2013tier family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly. People like us are lucky to get the scraps from powerhouse families like the Palmers and the Lincolns.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
*Besides, from what you said, she\u2019s pissed off the Lincolns. You think they\u2019re just going to let that alide? Forget becoming a top\u2013tier family; she\u2019ll be lucky if they don\u2019t bankrupt her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another person added with a aneer, \u201cWho knows? If Haskell manages to inherit the Palmer family, he might be able to give her a boost,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be naive. If Zoltan Palmer really intended to give the family to Haskell, why would he wait three months to make it official?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Avril just shrugged off their cynicism. \u201cI\u2019m telling you, Haskell will become the Palmer heir, and Larissa will make the Judson family a top\u2013tier name. Believe it or not, I don\u2019t care.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t believe it. Anyone else?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNope.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one who has ever crossed the Lincoln family has come out unscathed. They either go bankrupt or get bought out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe you\u2019re all too scared to cross the Lincolns, but Larissa is different,\u201d Avril shot back. \u201cThese days, anyone who crosses her is the one who\u2019s in for a bad time!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Someone, eager to stir the pot, asked, \u201cAre you saying the Lincoln family is going to have a bad time, Avril?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the Lincolns are smart enough to leave her alone, then they\u2019ll be fine,\u201d Avril declared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHa! Avril, you really know how to spin a tale.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
Wings of Broken Time by Alina Das 389 \u201cAre you trying to seduce me on purpose?\u201d Larissa continued to tease.\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":[89],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-throne-of-thorns-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30911","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=30911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30911\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}