Chapter 24\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Beta looked at him in confusion and surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie grabbed another pastry and walked up the stairs. Nolan watched her go, those ridiculous pajamas almost making him smile for a moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSir\u2026\u201d the Beta said uncertainly. \u201cI don\u2019t understand. Why are you putting up with her? Why haven\u2019t you gone through with the divorce? Why aren\u2019t you even getting angry?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy should I?\u201d Nolan said dismissively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo days ago, you would have had her in tears over such behavior. I just don\u2019t understand \u2013 what\u2019s changed? Could it be that she\u2019s done something to get under your skin? It couldn\u2019t be those ridiculous pajamas\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan shook his head. \u201cIt\u2019s just about fulfilling our agreement. Ellie is my wife, my Luna, and she deserves respect. As for what she wears \u2013 I couldn\u2019t care less, except for when we\u2019re in public.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut sir-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDrop it,\u201d Nolan said firmly. \u201cWe have work to do. This party is very important \u2013 I can\u2019t leave any detail up to chance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, of course, sir,\u201d the Beta responded reluctantly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Up in her room, Ellie ate a light breakfast of sweet pastries and carefully combed her hair. She was annoyed by the interaction but mostly because she didn\u2019t really know who that person was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She knew enough to guess that he was Nolan\u2019s brother- mostly because she\u2019d heard mention of him coming from the maids \u2013 but his attitude made her so angry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was judgmental, dismissive, and rude. Then again, everyone around Nolan seemed to treat her that way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she had made a promise\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013\u00a0<\/p>\n
a deal. She was going to play the part for Nolan, just long enough to get out of here with enough money to take care of herself and the baby.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She absentmindedly put a hand over her lower stomach. She couldn\u2019t feel anything moving yet and wasn\u2019t showing at all, but she knew that a little life was growing there, and she instinctively wanted to feel it somehow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was distracted from her thoughts by a maid coming into the room. The maid was carrying several garment bags. Ellie looked at her in confusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve brought some gowns for you to try on,\u201d the maid said with a nervous smile. \u201cYou\u2019ll choose the one you like, and then we can get it fitted in time for the party.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe celebration, right,\u201d Ellie said as she remembered the big event Nolan had mentioned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that you don\u2019t usually-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie cut off the maid\u2019s statement, stepping forward and taking the garment bags from her. She almost looked excited as she laid them all out on the bed and unzipped them one by one, looking appreciatively at the colors and textures of the dresses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The maid stood back and watched, confused, Ellie had always been so nervous about receiving expensive clothes\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 24\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
from Nolan. Now she looked excited, examining each one carefully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I try them on?\u201d Ellie asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, of course,\u201d the maid said. \u201cYou just need to make a decision today so the tailor has time to make alterations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie touched each of the dresses, feeling the fabric. She wanted to choose something that would be comfortable to wear for the entire evening while still looking good.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She chose a baby\u2013blue strapless dress \u2013 long, but with a slit up the hip. It was beautiful, and the fabric was soft. She quickly changed into it, looking at herself in the mirror.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was flattering, hugging her curves in all the right places, and the color looked nice against her skin tone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to walk around in it a little,\u201d she said to the maid, \u201cto make sure it\u2019ll be suitable for an entire evening.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay,\u201d the maid said uncertainly. \u201cI suppose that\u2019s fine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be back in a few minutes,\u201d Ellie assured her. She turned and walked out of the room, feeling how the silky fabric moved against her skin and how it didn\u2019t feel too tight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She went downstairs \u2013 she wanted to sit at the table and see if it rode up too much or felt uncomfortable\u00a0<\/p>\n
anywhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as she was turning down the hall, Nolan was stepping out of his office, a stack of papers in his hands. He paused, the irritated crease of his brow smoothing out as he looked at Ellie.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He seemed to freeze in place for a moment, his eyes glued to her in that dress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked absolutely stunning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 24 Chapter 24\u00a0 The Beta looked at him in confusion and surprise.\u00a0 Ellie grabbed […]<\/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-23593","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\/23593","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=23593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23593\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}