\u201cI promised my grandpa,\u201d Larissa said, her voice firm, \u201cthat I would make the Judson family a top\u2013tier powerhouse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one in the room doubted her for a second.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, Wren emerged from the kitchen carrying a platter of food. \u201cSir, Madam, Miss, dinner is ready.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExcellent. There\u2019s a lot of food today, let\u2019s help out,\u201d Rafe announced, heading for the kitchen. The other four uncles followed suit, each emerging with a dish.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sapphira watched her brothers, a smile playing on her lips. \u201cMy five brothers are working harder to impress Larissa than you are, her own father.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Neville\u2019s expression turned serious. \u201cAs her father, I cannot be outdone. If they carry one dish, I shall carry two!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He rolled up his sleeves and disappeared into the kitchen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa giggled. \u201cAre they really competing over this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems the kitchen is about to get very crowded with all those men,\u201d Gloria said with an amused sigh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Looking at the bustling scene around her, Larissa felt her heart swell with a happiness so profound her smile never faded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa, Grandma, Mom,\u201d she said, stepping forward, \u201cI\u2019ll help too!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After dinner, Larissa checked her phone and saw Leopold\u2019s friend request on Facebook.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She accepted it. An idea sparked in her mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDad, Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, Uncles,\u201d she announced, \u201cwe\u2019ve never taken a big family photo together. How about we take one now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat idea!\u201d her uncles exclaimed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWren, could you take it for us?\u201d Larissa called out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, Miss.\u201d Wren came over and took her phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa stood in the center, flanked by Sapphira and Neville on one side, and her grandparents on the other. Her five uncles arranged themselves in a row behind them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, say cheese!\u201d Wren instructed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCheese!\u201d Larissa grinned, flashing a classic peace sign as her parents and family smiled\u00a0<\/p>\n
09:57\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 476\u00a0<\/p>\n
warmly for the camera.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cClick. Click. Click, Click. Click.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wren took five shots.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa took her phone back, selected the best photo, and posted it on Facebook with the caption:\u00a0<\/p>\n
[Having a family that adores you is the greatest happiness in the world. ~]\u00a0<\/p>\n
She knew Leopold would be watching her feed obsessively. \u201cGo ahead and look,\u201d she thought. \u201cWallow in your regret. You\u2019ve earned it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in a generic apartment across town, the living room felt cold and empty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vivica, who had spent the entire day at the hospital with Finley, sat down at the dining table and looked at the simple meal of takeout containers with disdain. \u201cIs this all we\u2019re having for dinner?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how to cook, so I ordered in,\u201d Leopold explained. \u201cIf you don\u2019t like it, I can hire a cook tomorrow. For tonight, we\u2019ll just have to make do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMake do\u2026 I\u2019ve never had to \u2018make do\u2018 in my entire life!\u201d Vivica muttered, picking up her utensils resentfully. After a few bites, she couldn\u2019t hold back her complaints any longer. \u201cYour uncle is being utterly unreasonable, actually making us move out!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire city knows we were kicked out of the Judson family,\u201d Paxton said grimly. \u201cIt\u2019s only natural that your brother\u2019s family wants to distance themselves from the scandal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might understand, but I don\u2019t! I\u2019m his sister!\u201d Vivica protested. \u201cWe were only there for a few days, and he couldn\u2019t wait to get rid of us!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLarissa is your daughter and my sister,\u201d Leopold said quietly. \u201cAnd when she first came home, didn\u2019t we feel the same way? Didn\u2019t we want her gone?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
09:57\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 476 \u201cI promised my grandpa,\u201d Larissa said, her voice firm, \u201cthat I would […]<\/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-31001","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\/31001","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=31001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31001\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}