<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Chapter 863 Cecilia Cannot Sleep</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Jessica stood outside, shivering in the cold.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">She had been waiting for Zachary to call her back, but her patience was wearing thin. She walked up to Zachary’s tent, only to find that the zipper had been fastened from the inside.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Zachary had clearly fallen asleep, as the kerosenemp had been extinguished.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">She was so angry that she stomped her foot.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">However, since Vivian shared a tent with Zachary, Jessica had an empty tent to sleep in. She quickly crawled inside.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Without a sleeping bag, she shivered in the cold on the mountain.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Huddled inside the tent, she barely kept herself warm with the few pieces of clothing she had brought with her.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">She had never been this miserable before.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">At that very moment, peculiar noises emanated from the tent next to her. It was Mason and Lucille.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“Darn it…” she cursed in exasperation.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">On the other side, after Cecilia lulled the two children to sleep with a horror story, she could not for the life of her fall asleep.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Outside, the wind howled, its sound reminiscent of someone crying.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Tucked inside her sleeping bag, she tossed and turned.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“Do you want toe over?” Suddenly, Nathaniel spoke.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Cecilia asked in confusion, “What?”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Nathaniel could sense Cecilia’s fear. “Sleep next to me.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“No,” Cecilia rejected his proposal right away.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Nathaniel didn’t insist.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Cecilia closed her eyes. Ten minutester, she still couldn’t fall asleep.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">She lowered her voice. “Nathaniel, are you asleep?”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“Not yet.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“Are you scared too?”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Before Nathaniel could answer, Cecilia rose and approached him, lying down next to him.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“Don’t be scared, there are no ghosts in this world,” she whispered smile tugged at the corner of his lips.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">He wanted to say he wasn’t afraid, but he decided to y along with her instead. “I know. It’s just that, I keep overthinking after hearing the story you told earlier.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“Right? I feel the same way. When I close my eyes, my mind starts to wander.”</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Cecilia hadn’t expected that Nathaniel, a fearless man, would actually be afraid of ghosts. She was thrilled, finally having found his weakness.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">I’ll scare him to death if he dares upset me in the future.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“Go to sleep.”</font></font>? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org.
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">“All right.” Cecilia moved a little closer to him.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Lying right next to him, she felt less afraid, probably because he was tall and muscr. Not long after, she drifted off.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">Nathaniel, sensing the petite presence in his arms and inhaling her faint fragrance, felt any trace of sleepiness fade away.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">To make matters worse, he felt mes of desire burning in his chest, one that he simply couldn’t extinguish.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">The next morning, as dawn broke, a thin mist hung over the surroundings, with the soft redness of redbuds faintly visible through the haze.</font></font>
<font style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font style="vertical-align: inherit;">When Cecilia opened his eyes, she was taken aback to find herself in Nathaniel’s arms.</font></font>
She shifted slightly, and the man let out a muffled groan as he opened his eyes. “You’re awake?”
Cecilia felt a bit embarrassed. Fortunately, the kids were still asleep. Otherwise, they would’veughed at her for being scared of ghosts and seeking refuge in Nathaniel’s arms at her age.
“Yeah,” she replied.
At that moment, Elliot turned and asked, “Mommy, why are you sleeping next to Daddy?”
Cecilia’s face instantly flushed crimson. “Eli, you’re awake too?”
“Jon and I have been awake for a while. We even used the bathroom,” said Elliot.
Jonathan also turned and said, “Mommy, good morning.”
Cecilia said after a pause, “Good morning.”
Climbing out from her sleeping bag, she announced, “Ill go prepare breakfast for you two.”
“Mommy, we’ve already eaten,” Jonathan considerately said. “We’ve saved your portion for you.”
Hearing that, Cecilia went out and saw that bread and milk had already been neatly arranged on the small table outside.
“Ahl Right then a niercing scream shattered the beauty of the moment.