It made you wonder just how many storms Larissa had weathered to become so composed and self\u2013reliant, never causing anyone a moment of worry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was true what they said: adversity forces a child to grow up fast. Larissa\u2019s maturity was a direct result of a childhood without shelter, where she\u2019d had to learn to fend for herself. There was so little they could do for her now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later that evening, after dinner, Larissa tended to her herb garden as she always did. She meticulously checked on each plant, watering and fertilizing them as needed. Once finished, she went back to her room for a long, hot shower.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After drying her hair, she slipped into a set of comfortable pajamas, climbed into bed, and pulled out her phone. She tapped on Haskell\u2019s profile and started a video call.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It only took a moment for him to answer. Haskell\u2019s face appeared on the screen, and it looked like he\u2019d just showered, too. He was wearing a soft robe, his damp hair tousled and slightly messy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHaskell, how did it go today? Any news about your brother?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She knew from their recent sessions that he spent every day investigating his brother\u2019s disappearance, sometimes having to check out leads\u00a0<\/p>\n
himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Haskell offered a faint smile. \u201cNo luck today, either.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa could see the frustration and disappointment behind it. She had even tasked Nightveil with looking into it, but it was baffling that even her organization\u2019s top people couldn\u2019t find a single trace of Haskell\u2019s brother.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHaskell,\u201d Larissa said, \u201cI think you need to confront your father again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 536\u00a0<\/p>\n
She paused for a moment before continuing. \u201cIf he still won\u2019t talk, you need to get tough with him. If you can\u2019t bring yourself to do it, I will. I\u2019ll force it out of him. I don\u2019t mind feeding him another one of my little concoctions if that\u2019s what it takes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Haskell chuckled softly. \u201cNo need to waste your precious poisons. I\u2019ve already made up my mind. I\u2019ll give my teams one more week to search nationwide. If they still find nothing\u2026 I\u2019ll get the truth out of Thatch, no matter what it takes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had to know if his brother was alive. Was he safe?\u00a0<\/p>\n
If he was living well, then a little more time wouldn\u2019t matter. But if he was suffering, then every passing day was just another day of pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay. As long as you\u2019ve made your decision,\u201d Larissa said, then switched gears, telling him about the phone call from her grandfather.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see what he\u2019s doing, right, Haskell? He wants me to forgive them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMm,\u201d he hummed in agreement. \u201cFrom his perspective, that makes sense.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf that\u2019s his plan, it feels like a total betrayal,\u201d she said, her voice sharp with frustration.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry about what he thinks,\u201d Haskell said, his tone serious. \u201cJust stick to your plan. You and your father control Judson Pharmaceuticals and Starlight Media now. That\u2019s what matters. All this other emotional baggage is just noise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Larissa nodded. \u201cYeah, you\u2019re right. I\u2019m thinking the same thing. It\u2019s a good thing you and my dad insisted on giving me the shares. Otherwise, I could have built up the company just to hand it all over to Paxton\u2019s family on a silver platter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly,\u201d Haskell said, his expression firm. \u201cThe only thing you can count on is what you hold in your hand. Feelings\u2026 they\u2019re fragile. They rarely survive the test of time and reality.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
14:40\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 536\u00a0<\/p>\n
A playful glint appeared in Larissa\u2019s eyes. \u201cOh? Is that what you think? Does that mean you think our feelings aren\u2019t reliable, either?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 537\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 537\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 536 It made you wonder just how many storms Larissa had weathered to […]<\/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-31061","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\/31061","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=31061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31061\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}