Chapter 16\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at the two test results laid out on the desk like opposing truths in a courtroom. One claimed Ellie was pregnant. The other, clean and pristine, said she wasn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Healer stepped forward. \u201cAlpha, I know I have no right to ask this, but\u2026 Ellie didn\u2019t lie. Not about this. I\u2019ve been her physician for years. I saw what the stress did to her. I also saw the change, this time, it\u2019s real. Whatever\u2019s happening with her now, she\u2019s carrying your heir.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heir.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The phrase lodged in my throat like a splinter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sat back down hard in the chair, the legs scraping loudly against the floor. I stared down at the test results again, numb.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A child. My child.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fingers tapped the desk, slow and deliberate. \u201cThen explain this.\u201d I flicked the newer results with the back of my hand. \u201cThis one says she\u2019s not.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This\u2026 this could ruin, change everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d the Healer said, shaking his head. \u201cI triple\u2013checked the first one. I wouldn\u2019t mistake something like that, not for the Luna-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not the Luna,\u201d I said sharply, cutting him off. \u201cShe\u2019s my wife. For now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a pause. A beat too long.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026So,\u201d I muttered, voice low and gritted, \u201cis she pregnant or not?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Healer flinched. \u201cIt\u2019s possible someone tampered with the records. I\u2014I can\u2019t say for certain unless we test her again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My jaw tightened. Fury began to bubble beneath my skin like an itch I couldn\u2019t reach. If Ellie really was pregnant and still planned to divorce me\u2026 walk away with my heir\u2026 It wasn\u2019t just betrayal. It was theft. That child was\u00a0<\/p>\n
mine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2026Ours.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wouldn\u2019t dare,\u201d I said aloud, to no one in particular.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlpha?\u201d the Beta asked from beside me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t answer. The Healer started rambling again, eager to redeem himself. \u201cShe might be hiding it. But if we could monitor her behavior\u2026 some signs might confirm her pregnancy. Food aversions, emotional changes, scent shifts\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood silent for a moment. \u201cFood aversions?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, any strong dislike for things she used to enjoy?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 16\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
I thought back to her in my office, lounging on my desk like she owned it, crunching through a bag of chips like a defiant teenager. She hadn\u2019t looked sick. She looked\u2026 infuriatingly smug.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was eating chips,\u201d I muttered. \u201cSalt and vinegar.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Healer blinked. \u201cSo\u2026 no aversions, then. Mood swings, perhaps? Crying? Anger?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot\u2026 exactly.\u201d I hesitated, running my hand over my face. \u201cShe\u2019s been sharper lately. Blunt. Annoying.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could be a symptom-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could just be Ellie,\u201d I snapped.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Healer dipped his head. \u201cFair enough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His next question stopped me mid growl. \u201cHas her scent changed?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Silence stretched out like winter frost. I swallowed hard, suddenly uncomfortable in my own skin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t know,\u201d I said stiffly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Beta shifted behind me, clearly trying not to react. It sounded pitiful even to my own ears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had never been close to Ellie. Not the way I was supposed to be. If I was, I could pick up the change in a pup\u2019s presence easily.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We slept under the same roof, shared a title, but never a life. I never bothered to learn her rhythms. Never noticed the way she looked at me, or avoided me, or, goddess help me, suffered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes flickered to the mental health reports from the past, flipping through them absently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hadn\u2019t even known about the depression records until today. She was hurting under my roof and I\u2019d just\u2026 never asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was she ever really docile? Or just quiet because I gave her no room to speak?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I exhaled sharply through my nose and waved the Healer off. \u201cLeave. Now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He obeyed quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once the door shut, the Beta hesitated by my side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat now?\u201d he asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared down at the stained test result, the one with the coffee blotched across it. Regardless, pregnant or not, she should be here. Home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned slowly to face him. \u201cI get closer to her. If she\u2019s carrying my heir, I smell the change soon enough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 16 Chapter 16\u00a0 Nolan\u2019s POV\u00a0 I stared at the two test results laid out […]<\/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-23585","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\/23585","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=23585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23585\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}