Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Chapter 827

Madge blinked in surprise. "You could tell I was awake even with your back turned?"

Norris chuckled and nodded toward the wall. "Take a look-your shadow gave you away."

She glanced at the wall and let out a groan, feeling foolish. Trying to recover, she cleared her throat and changed the subject. "What's so interesting about that photo album?"

"Oh, everything. It's got pictures of you," Norris replied, his tone as gentle as a summer breeze as he flipped to the next page.

"The first time I met you, you looked so pale, barely hanging on. Your health was always fragile after that you'd get winded just walking a few steps. It took ages for you to get better. I always thought you were just born delicate, but looking at these old photos... you were such a little troublemaker back then..."

His words softened, nostalgia coloring his voice as the girl in the photos and the woman beside him seemed to merge into one, making Madge feel more whole than ever.

She smiled, her heart suddenly melting. "I don't remember my past. It's like I was a boat drifting on the open sea, with no idea where I came from or where I was going. But then, by some miracle, I met you. And just like that, I finally found my place in the world. No more wandering, no more being lost."

Norris gazed at her, love shining in his eyes.

Catching sight of the album in his hands, Madge's curiosity got the better of her. She leaned in, pressing her shoulder against his as they looked together.

"How old are you in this one?" she asked, pointing to a picture. "You almost look like a little boy."

"Hmm... maybe five or six? That was at the Rodriguez Estate. The fish pond there was huge."

stopped.

beaming in the middle, eighteen and radiant, while Teague Sullivan had his arm slung casually over her shoulders, both of them looking at the camera. They stood beneath a cherry tree, petals swirling in the breeze. The scene was almost too beautiful to

flickered. She answered quietly,

each other that long? Even before your sister

of us grew up

"So

Yikes.

you could put it that

The closeness between the boy and

their posture and their expressions—was

to jump to conclusions, but unable to ignore the obvious intimacy in the

a moment, then nodded frankly.

hide it. It was part of the past, after all; both she and Teague had their own families now, nothing to be ashamed of. If she tried to cover it up, that would only make it

Norris stared, dumbfounded.

bombshell land in his lap out of

more details?"

"Like what?"

you engaged? Did

honest as ever. "No, we never dated. But we did like each other, and both our families pretty much

silent, lips

nudged his arm. "What's with the long