Chapter 20\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI only refused a loveless arranged marriage and had a failed relationship. That\u2019s hardly a crime worth dying for. Why do you insist on rubbing my failures in my face and hounding me like this?\u201d Vivian asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice was weak, but her words carried no hint of a breakdown. She simply seemed worn down by Kingston\u2019s deliberate provocation, her tone edged with petulance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He just stood on the balcony, saying nothing. He simply raised his hand and tossed the cigarette butt he\u2019d crushed into a small ball into the trash can.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The atmosphere remained tense.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vivian fell silent for a few seconds. Realizing Kingston wasn\u2019t someone she could lose her temper with freely, she suppressed her emotions and steadied herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI apologize for disturbing you. I\u2019ll take my leave.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She quickly turned to go, a trace of melancholy shadowing her features.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kingston was like the protagonist in a male\u2013centric novel who had just been scorned, then decisively slapped his ungrateful ex\u2013fiancee down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vivian had never imagined that a seven\u2013year relationship would devolve into such a\u00a0<\/p>\n
humiliating spectacle. She\u2019d always been fiercely competitive, but in front of him, she couldn\u2019t hold her head up at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she waited for the elevator, she sighed. Every part of her felt drained, and she couldn\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
summon a shred of energy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo walked out of the elevator just as they passed each other. He raised his hand to greet her, but Vivian had already lowered her head and stepped inside, eyes downcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She pressed the floor button and faced the elevator wall lifelessly, as if standing in the corner as punishment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the doors closed, Theo\u2019s hand, still raised from the greeting, fell to scratch his head in confusion before he made his way into Kingston\u2019s residence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kingston stood on the balcony, holding a lit cigarette between his fingers. Hearing the door open, he glanced over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo clearly sensed Kingston\u2019s gaze dim slightly, as if he were rather displeased to see him. Smart as he was, he immediately understood what Kingston\u2019s look meant.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cossyp Maroor\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fun Merge\u00a0<\/p>\n
Relaxing\u00a0<\/p>\n
FREE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Play now\u00a0<\/p>\n
X CLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 20\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if Ms. Hartwell didn\u2019t come back, you don\u2019t have to be that disgusted with me, do you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kingston gave him an indifferent glance and exhaled the smoke he\u2019d been holding, the haze obscuring his expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo moved closer, unable to stop his curiosity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did she come to see you about? She couldn\u2019t have regretted things and wanted to marry you after all, could she?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kingston shot him a look. \u201cWhich eye of yours saw her regretting anything?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She might regret being with Logan, but she would never regret breaking off their engagement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo said, \u201cI just ran into her in the elevator. She looked dejected and heartbroken. Wasn\u2019t it because she tried to reconcile with you and got rejected, so now she\u2019s devastated?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hadn\u2019t seen devastation. When she had lashed back at him, she had been plenty energetic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kingston tapped his cigarette lightly, flicking off the ash.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou seem quite experienced in this area. Did you get rejected again?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He casually emphasized the word \u201cagain\u201c:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Theo\u2019s face immediately fell. He groaned inwardly, wishing he could shut Kingston up, so he hurriedly changed the subject.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cElaine messaged me earlier saying she\u2019s coming to Baymoor tomorrow. She insists you wear the coat she bought you to your meeting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kingston hummed in acknowledgement without protest, though his irritation was obvious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His sister, Elaine Carter, just a few minutes older than him, had loved coordinating his outfits since they were children.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since entering the fashion industry, her complaints about his boring black suits had grown louder. From then on, she had taken particular delight in raiding his closet, as over 70% of his\u00a0<\/p>\n
wardrobe was her creations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally seeing someone who could control Kingston, Theo felt a surge of relief, like a weight\u00a0<\/p>\n
had been lifted off his shoulders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stepping into Kingston\u2019s walk\u2013in closet, he planned to find Kingston\u2019s outfit for tomorrow as instructed by Elaine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He searched through the entire closet but couldn\u2019t find that black wool coat. His memory\u00a0<\/p>\n
Harbor\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fun Merge\u00a0<\/p>\n
Relaxing\u00a0<\/p>\n
FREE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Play now\u00a0<\/p>\n
X CLOSE\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 20\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
suddenly caught a detail, and he said quietly to Kingston, \u201cYour wool coat seems to be at Ms. Hartwell\u2019s place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kingston frowned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thinking of Elaine\u2019s outspoken nature and tendency to tattle, he felt a headache coming on. The last time he had upset her, she had complained to their mother about him. As a result, he was forced to go on blind dates for a month.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 20\u00a0 \u201cI only refused a loveless arranged marriage and had a failed relationship. That\u2019s hardly a crime worth dying […]<\/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":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-i-cancel-the-engagement-and-level-way-up"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327","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=327"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":363,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327\/revisions\/363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}