Chapter 8\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The word \u201cbitch\u201d had barely left Falicity\u2019s lips when the room froze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric\u2019s eyes narrowed the way only seasoned Alphas could manage: calm, lethal. His son, Cassian, went rigid in his chair, his jaw flexing as he leaned forward with a sharpness that barely restrained violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBitch?\u201d Alaric repeated, his voice so low and even it was more dangerous than a shout. \u201cDivorce?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Felicity, to her credit, or maybe to her ignorance, looked confused for a second too long. Her bright red dress seemed suddenly too loud for the muted tones of the meeting room. She blinked, finally noticing the tension as if it had just dropped from the ceiling and landed on her shoulders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2013I didn\u2019t realize you had company,\u201d she stammered, smoothing down the front of her dress as if that would fix anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou clearly didn\u2019t,\u201d I said sharply, my voice colder than I\u2019d intended. \u201cThese are our guests from the Moonstone Pack. Important guests. And you barge in here like this?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Felicity\u2019s eyes went wide with hurt. I saw the way her lip trembled, but I wasn\u2019t in the mood. She wanted to be Luna, yet this display was just\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can leave,\u201d I added, voice low. \u201cNow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her mouth parted in protest, but she thought better of it. With one last, wounded glance, directed more at the guests than me, she turned on her heel and walked out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The door shut behind her with a soft click, but the damage was already done.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian turned back to me slowly, his expression unreadable. \u201cSo,\u201d he said, \u201cWho is she to you? The next\u2026 Luna?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I replied too quickly. \u201cShe isn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric arched an eyebrow. \u201cThen who is?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hesitated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d already made the mistake of letting Felicity talk. The last thing I needed was for my alliance to unravel over something as trivial, no, as volatile, as Ellie.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not relevant to this conversation,\u201d I said with a tight smile. \u201cNeither of them are. We\u2019re in the middle of a transition. Internal restructuring.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian tilted his head. \u201cDoes that include a divorce?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t answer directly. Instead, I forced a small laugh and waved a dismissive hand. \u201cWhat Felicity said was inappropriate. I\u2019ll deal with her later.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd your Luna?\u201d Alaric asked again coolly. \u201cWhen will we meet her?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s recovering from an accident,\u201d I said. That part was true. \u201cThis isn\u2019t the time to involve her in diplomatic\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 8\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
affairs. I\u2019m sure you understand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two of them exchanged another look. Subtle, but deliberate. I was losing control of this conversation fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand,\u201d Alaric said finally. \u201cBut for future partnership, we\u2019d appreciate clarity. Stability, especially within your leadership\u2026 is vital.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian nodded. \u201cWhen she\u2019s well enough, make the arrangements.\u2018\u00a0<\/p>\n
})\u00a0<\/p>\n
I forced another smile, already calculating. \u201cOf course. I\u2019ll consider it when she\u2019s ready.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood before they could ask anything else, signaling to the Beta.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease show our guests to their palace accommodations. They\u2019ve had a long journey.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Beta nodded and gestured toward the hallway. Alaric rose first, followed by his son, neither of them voicing the things I knew they were still thinking. They left the room like a quiet storm, and I was left staring at the empty space they\u2019d occupied, wondering how two words\u2013bitch, divorce\u2014had nearly ruined a year of careful diplomacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stepped into the corridor with a sigh, running my hands through my hair when I saw her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Felicity was waiting, leaning against the wall with her arms folded, looking like she\u2019d been rehearsing her apology for the last ten minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t slow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have any idea what you just did?\u201d I said, my tone low and sharp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know they were in there,\u201d she shot back, following me with shuffled steps. \u201cI thought you were just with some advisors! You didn\u2019t tell me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t need to know. That wasn\u2019t your meeting to interrupt.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her eyes shimmered with tears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNolan, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d she said, voice softening into something pitiful. \u201cI thought you\u2019d be happy. I thought you\u2019d finally be free from her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at her, jaw tightening. \u201cThis wasn\u2019t the time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut why were they so upset?\u201d she asked suddenly, her expression turning calculating, wiping her sleeve to her nose. \u201cWhy would Alaric and Cassian care that much unless there was something going on?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean\u2026\u201d She leaned closer, eyes glinting with something cruel behind the innocence. \u201cIt\u2019s just strange, don\u2019t you think? The way they reacted? Especially Cassian. So protective. So emotional. Almost like\u2026 they had something to hide. Or like Ellie had been very close to him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stiffened. \u201cThat\u2019s a serious accusation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just saying what everyone\u2019s too afraid to,\u201d she whispered. \u201cYou know what Ellie\u2019s like. Always so sweet and helpless, but always needing attention. Maybe she\u2019s not so innocent. Maybe she used her body to\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
manipulate him, too. She\u2019s a rogue. They don\u2019t have rules like we do. You know that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 8 Chapter 8\u00a0 Nolan\u2019s POV\u00a0 The word \u201cbitch\u201d had barely left Falicity\u2019s lips when […]<\/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-23577","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\/23577","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=23577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23577\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}