Chapter 71\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been weird without you here,\u201d I said, leaning back in my office chair with the phone pressed to my ear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure it has been,\u201d Felicity responded. Her voice sounded a little different coming through the phone than I was used to hearing it. \u201cAfter all, we haven\u2019t been apart in years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot since we were young. Not for more than a day or so, anyway. And it\u2019s already been a week since you left,\u201d I said, the tension in my voice obvious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou miss me?\u201d she said, sounding more than a little pleased.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course I miss you,\u201d I replied, trying to sound irritated but failing entirely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI miss you too, Nolan,\u201d she said with a sigh. \u201cIt\u2019s so difficult being away. I guess maybe I\u2019m spoiled. I just got used to seeing you every day. Oh, but how have things been going in the pack house since I left? Hopefully it hasn\u2019t been too stressful dealing with Lance and Ellie and the Moonstone delegates. I feel bad that I left you with so much on your plate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, it hasn\u2019t been great,\u201d I replied with a scoff. \u201cLance is the same pain in the ass he ever was.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s only getting worse. Spending time with Ellie is a bad influence.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, I can\u2019t blame Ellie for his behavior. Besides, she\u2019s been surprisingly quiet since you left,\u201d I replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean, quiet?\u201d Felicity asked curiously.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s hardly left her room at all, and I went to check on her and-\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. She went all day without eating. It was a little concerning.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Felicity groaned, and I could imagine the way she was rolling her eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNolan, you\u2019re falling for her tricks again. There\u2019s nothing wrong with her. She\u2019s just being dramatic to get attention.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if that\u2019s it. We had a pretty long conversation about what\u2019s been going on lately. I think she really did get hurt,\u201d I confessed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you serious?\u201d Felicity asked in disbelief. \u201cShe\u2019s perfectly fine. She\u2019s just playing it up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s true,\u201d I answered thoughtfully. \u201cI spoke to her doctors again about the car accident. Her injuries were pretty severe. I don\u2019t think she\u2019s lying about her memory issues.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, Nolan,\u201d Felicity said, sounding annoyed but almost fond. \u201cYou\u2019re just so caring, even when you try to put on that cold face. Don\u2019t start falling for her tricks just because I\u2019m not there to point them out to you. You know you can\u2019t trust her. She\u2019s a rogue.\u201d 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m well aware of that, Felicity. But I\u2019m telling you-something else is going on with her. Something\u2019s not right, and she\u2019s hiding it from me. It\u2019s not like her. If she was actually just sick or injured, she wouldn\u2019t shut up about it, she\u2019d play it up for attention. The fact that she\u2019s hiding it means it\u2019s probably something serious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOr she\u2019s just getting better at her little games. Nolan, look-don\u2019t go soft while I\u2019m gone. I\u2019ll be home soon, and we have plans. For us. For a family. Don\u2019t forget that just because I\u2019m not there right now,\u201d Felicity said seriously.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 71\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not going to forget,\u201d I replied, my voice coming out softer than I intended.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood,\u201d Felicity replied. \u201cBecause I\u2019ll never forget the promise we made.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her tone stirred a memory that I couldn\u2019t handle at the moment, not so soon after arguing with Lance about our parents. I cleared my throat and sat up straighter at my desk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have work I need to get back to, but call me again tomorrow, all right? I want to make sure you\u2019re okay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d Felicity said, her tone brighter. \u201cI\u2019ll make sure I call every day. I love you, Nolan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hesitated, my voice barely audible as I replied, \u201cLove you too,\u201d before ending the call.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third person POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment the call with Nolan disconnected, Felicity was dialing her contacts within the pack house. The maid answered on the second ring, her voice low and secretive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Miss?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want a report on Ellie\u2019s activity since I left. What the hell is going on over there?\u201d Felicity demanded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s hardly left her room since you left, and when she has, she\u2019s remained in the house,\u201d the maid explained. \u201d She seems to be ill. She\u2019s been pale and either eating nothing or eating voraciously, it\u2019s hard to predict.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe hasn\u2019t left the house at all?\u201d Felicity asked skeptically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Miss. She\u2019s had visitors, though. Rae and Lance have come to see her, and Cassian, the young man from Moonstone, has been keeping her company here. But she hasn\u2019t left.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is she playing at\u2026\u201d Felicity muttered to herself. \u201cDoes she think that proximity is going to win Nolan over just because I\u2019m gone? I can\u2019t be so simple.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWas there anything else, Miss?\u201d the maid asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCall me immediately if you notice anything different,\u201d Felicity said before hanging up the phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was fuming. Nolan\u2019s sympathy toward Ellie was completely unacceptable. That manipulative rogue was obviously playing some kind of game with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t waste any time,\u201d Felicity said to herself. \u201cShe started this the second I left. She knows exactly what she\u2019s doing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The worst part was that Nolan sounded like he was falling for it. He spoke about her with concern. Felicity wasn\u2019t used to hearing him like that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He always sounded so controlled. To hear him show any kind of emotion was unusual, and the fact that it was aimed at Ellie was infuriating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, Felicity knew the truth about Ellie\u2019s behavior. It must be related to the baby. That damn baby.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was she starting to show? Was that why she was hiding in her room? She didn\u2019t want anyone to see the way she was getting fat\u2026 Or was it something else?\u00a0<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t really matter. Felicity was going to make sure that it didn\u2019t go any further. That baby was never going to see the light of day, and Nolan was never going to find out about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It had taken a lot of work, but being this much closer to the Border made negotiations easier. Finally, Felicity had\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 71\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
a solid plan in place to deal with the baby. It was nasty-she could admit that and she wasn\u2019t exactly proud of what she was doing. But it would all be worth it to protect her future with Nolan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie was a threat she couldn\u2019t ignore any longer. This last conversation with Nolan only proved that. If she wasn\u2019t careful, Ellie could win him over. She could ruin absolutely everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan was everything to her. He was Felicity\u2019s childhood love, the only person she had ever imagined spending her life with. She wouldn\u2019t let anyone stand in the way, not Ellie, and not her baby. And if that made her a terrible person, then so be it. She could live with that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wasn\u2019t afraid to get her hands messy, and she knew that was a skill that would come in handy when she was the Luna. She\u2019d have to make difficult decisions all the time, for the good of the pack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She told herself this was just one way to prove to Nolan that she had the strength to do what had to be done-for them, for their pack, for everyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 71 Chapter 71\u00a0 Nolan POV\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s been weird without you here,\u201d I said, leaning […]<\/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-23640","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\/23640","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=23640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23640\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}