\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan looked like I\u2019d slapped him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, he said nothing. Just stood there with that same stiff posture, brows drawn together, like the weight of the word divorce hadn\u2019t fully settled on him yet. His silence stretched, broken only by the hum of tension thickening between us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re being ridiculous,\u201d he finally muttered, jaw ticking. \u201cYou\u2019re clearly upset. If this is some tantrum to get attention\u2014\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2019s throwing a tantrum?\u201d I raised my eyebrow, \u201cYou think this is about you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His head jerked back, blinking like I\u2019d just spoken in another language. For a moment, I almost laughed. He truly didn\u2019t get it. The man was so used to seeing me as a quiet, obedient shadow of a wife, he couldn\u2019t comprehend the idea of me actually walking away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSomehow you think I\u2019m trying to impress you,\u201d I continued, voice sharper now. \u201cLike everything I do is some elaborate act to win you over. This is so toxic. I\u2019m done. I\u2019m not going to be your silent little accessory. I\u2019m not going to let your mistress mocks me and you stand there saying nothing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is a mistress?\u201d Felicity snapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His mouth opened, a protest forming, but I didn\u2019t let him finish. \u201cEllie\u2014\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I snapped, cutting through whatever excuse he was about to feed me. \u201cYou made a deal? Fine. But I never agreed to be humiliated in my own home. I never agreed to be treated like some disposable incubator. I\u2019d never agreed to give up my child. And I sure as hell didn\u2019t agree to you. So let\u2019s get to it. Are we getting divorced or not?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He frowned, clearly thrown off by how steady I was. How real this was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re serious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I met his eyes without blinking. \u201cDead serious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His lips thinned, frustration flicking over his eyes. \u201cFine. If you want to throw your life away, don\u2019t let me stop you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned sharply, calling out over his shoulder, \u201cBeta! Prepare for the rejection ceremony. Do it now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Felicity\u2019s hand moved to her hip with a low scoff under her breath. \u201cFinally.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Beta peeked through the door, confusion etched deep into the furrow of his brow. \u201cAlpha,\u201d he said carefully, \u201cah, not that I\u2019m questioning you, but perhaps you should\u2026 reconsider?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan\u2019s chest filled with a deep breath, like a volcano holding its fuse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The beta continued, his voice more pitched. \u201cIt\u2019s just\u2026the rejection ceremony isn\u2019t something to do lightly. With all due respect, this seems like an emotional argument\u2014\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo what I said,\u201d Nolan finally barked, cutting him off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Beta hesitated, glancing at me like he expected me to cry, plead, offer some kind of excuse. But I just stared back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I even rolled my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then Nolan\u2019s eyes fell to me, that cold smirk tugging at his mouth again. \u201cThink it over, Ellie. After today, you\u2019ll regret this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regret?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I broke out a laughter. Why is he so confident that I\u2019d want to stay here? I only regret coming back to ask him about the child. The man who let another woman laugh at me across the table and hoped I said nothing and swallowed it like medicine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How could that be possible?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRegret?\u201d I said. \u201cI regret staying this long.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I left the room without waiting for permission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n
The maid blinked when I asked for help finding my own bedroom. Guess they hadn\u2019t gotten the memo yet, the Alpha\u2019s wife didn\u2019t know where she slept.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I followed her through the long corridors with my chin high, not stopping once. I didn\u2019t care that my heart was racing, or that the walls of this place still echoed with memories I didn\u2019t have. This wasn\u2019t my home. It never had been.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time I reached the room, I already knew I didn\u2019t want to take anything with me. I didn\u2019t want the gowns I wore to please him, the perfume that he\u2019d once scoffed at, or the jewelry I had no memory of choosing. None of it felt like mine. Still, I opened the drawers and started folding, just to give my hands something to do.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The maid lingered awkwardly, eyes darting to my stomach, then to the door, like she expected Nolan to barge in and drag me back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He dare to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third-Person\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan was still, his feet planted like roots had grown through his feet, staring at where Ellie had disappeared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Felicity, as usual, didn\u2019t wait for an invitation as her hand slithered up his arm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNolan,\u201d she said softly, her voice all honey and silk. \u201cI know this must be\u2026 stressful. Don\u2019t worry about Ellie,\u201d she said. \u201cYou know she does this. She\u2019s impulsive. Emotional. She\u2019ll come crawling back when she realizes you mean what you say.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t answer. His mind was still echoing with Ellie\u2019s voice. \u201cI want a divorce.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Felicity leaned in closer. \u201cMaybe this is for the best. Once the ceremony\u2019s done, everything will be simpler. We can finally talk about the future.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His jaw tensed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur future,\u201d she continued, her fingers drifting to his arm. \u201cMarriage. A real mating bond. A proper Luna by your side. And children, Nolan. You need a proper heir. Someone strong. Someone like you. Like us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice dropped into something breathy. \u201cI\u2019ve always dreamed of a little boy with your eyes and my\u2014\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stood up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She froze mid-sentence, blinking at the sudden shift.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to walk,\u201d Nolan said curtly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And he left the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan could feel her staring after him, but he couldn\u2019t hear her anymore\u2014not over the sound of Ellie slamming every door she\u2019d ever kept politely closed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Divorce.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She meant it. She wasn\u2019t bluffing, or begging, or trying to prove a point.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was done.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And the worst part? She hadn\u2019t looked heartbroken. She\u2019d looked free.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Beta caught up with Nolan in the hallway, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. \u201cSir, are you sure about this\u2026 It\u2019s just a shame,\u201d he muttered. \u201cThe child of a fated mate bond would\u2019ve been the strongest of its generation\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t bring that up again,\u201d He snapped, sharper than he intended.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He went silent, walking beside him with careful steps. Nolan could feel his questions pressing against his teeth, but he didn\u2019t voice them. Smart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, he could sense the doubt radiating off him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wasn\u2019t the Alpha always indifferent about his wife? Why is he so angry now?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because this wasn\u2019t how it was supposed to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because she wasn\u2019t supposed to leave me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan clenched his fists.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe can\u2019t even have children,\u201d he muttered. \u201cIt\u2019s better this way. That marriage was never built to last. I\u2019ve been sick of that low-status rogue for a while now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Beta didn\u2019t respond as the lie hung between them. Before the silence could stretch any longer, a young wolf skidded to a halt around the corner, panting and wide-eyed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlpha!\u201d he said, breathless. \u201cA Healer is requesting to see you. It\u2019s urgent\u2026 about your wife!\u201d<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 4 Chapter 4 \u00a0 Ellie\u2019s POV\u00a0 Nolan looked like I\u2019d slapped him.\u00a0 Still, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-unremembered-mate-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23573\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}