{"id":28237,"date":"2026-02-25T15:26:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T15:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=28237"},"modified":"2026-02-25T15:26:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T15:26:16","slug":"28237","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readmore.cx\/?p=28237","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cLily, no!\u201d I gasped, lunging after her, but it was too late. She collided with Ethan\u2019s legs, wrapping her arms around his expensive trousers.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ethan looked down. The smile vanished from his face, replaced not by guilt, not by panic, but by a look of sheer, unmasked annoyance.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The silence that followed Lily\u2019s cry was deafening. It seemed to suck the oxygen right out of the Save-Mart.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ethan peeled Lily off his leg as if she were a piece of lint. He didn\u2019t kneel. He didn\u2019t hug her. He simply adjusted the cuff of his gold watch\u2014a Patek Philippe I had never seen before\u2014and looked at me.<\/div>\n
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\u201cLily, no!\u201d I gasped, lunging after her, but it was too late. She collided with Ethan\u2019s legs, wrapping her arms around his expensive trousers. Ethan looked down. The smile vanished from his face, replaced not by guilt, not by panic, but by a look of sheer, unmasked annoyance. The silence that followed Lily\u2019s cry was…<\/p>\n

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