Side Chick Era... Over

Loving Mom 29

Sharon tried to push past the reporters, but their encirclement felt like a wall of steel.

“Sharon, please answer my question!”

“Sharon-”

“Sharon-”

The voices buzzed around her like a swarm of wasps, piercing her ears.

And then, someone shoved her–hard.

Caught off guard, Sharon hit the ground with a painful thud.

She struggled to rise, palms stinging, knees burning, when a sudden cry pierced through the noise.

“She hit someone! Mrs. Biggs just hit someone!”

+25 BONUS

It was impossible to tell who shouted it, but the reaction was instant. Every flashbulb turned on her, bathing her in a storm of strobing lights.

The noise, the strangers‘ faces crowding in with hungry eyes, felt like masked demons closing in. She couldn’t breathe. Her lungs burned with the weight of it all.

voice from outside the chaos–low and cold, cutting through the clamor like

aside. All of

unison. A tall man stood at the edge of the

Sharon’s pupils contracted.

Xavier.

crowd’s momentary daze gave him just enough time. He crossed over to her, noticed her twisted

hospital,” he said, lifting her gently from the

again, like bees drawn to a bloom. But something about him–his

relationship with Sharon? Are you aware she’s been

who had been hurling insults

turned his gaze on her, his black eyes cold and fathomless. His voice dropped, sharp enough to pierce

“Are you questioning me?”

caught in her throat. She couldn’t utter another

something about him–his aura and the weight of his silence. Under

take you to the hospital now.” Before she could reply, he scooped

a voice–equally low but tinged

“Oh? What a crowd.”

D

Chapter 29

was clear and cool, like