The Day I Stopped Waiting Was the Day He Started Begging novel Chapter 135

Perhaps it was because of Arthur's words, or perhaps it was something else entirely.

Madeline nodded.

The two of them walked out to the small second-floor balcony. It was lined with rare roses—exotic varieties Seraphina had imported from overseas. They were in full bloom despite the season, casting a subtle, intoxicating fragrance into the air.

"What did you and Grandpa talk about?"

At some point, York had ruthlessly snuffed out his cigarette with his bare fingers.

He was wearing a casual khaki dress shirt, the top three buttons carelessly undone, radiating a rakish, untamed energy.

His messy fringe fell over his forehead, and those eyes—eyes that could look affectionately at a stray dog—were now clouded with something dark and unreadable.

"Didn't you hear everything from right outside the study?"

Madeline felt a slight chill. Just as she crossed her arms to keep warm, York's windbreaker—still carrying his body heat—was draped over her shoulders.

She didn't refuse it.

York reached out to adjust the collar for her. Gripping the lapels, he pulled her slightly closer and flashed a wicked smirk.

"Why dress like this if you know it's freezing? Who told you to be so deliberately enticing? You'll catch a cold."

"Also, do I look like the kind of upstanding citizen who eavesdrops outside doors?"

"Madeline, slander is a punishable offense."

She wasn't used to him being this close. Her delicate brows knitted together, and she fired back on instinct.

"If it really was slander, wouldn't Prosecutor Yates have taken legal action by now?"

"Besides, that was a private conversation between Grandpa and me. If you wanted to know so badly, why didn't you just ask him yourself?"

She wasn't taking the bait. Her clear, bright eyes were perfectly composed in the moonlight.

"York, are you too scared to ask, or... mph..."

Her final words were entirely swallowed by York's aggressive, punishing kiss.

The sheer force of his movement pushed her stumbling backward until her lower back hit the balcony railing. That momentary sensation of falling backward made her grab a fistful of his shirt on pure instinct.