Chapter 80\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan was the first one through the door, which I hadn\u2019t expected. Not that I thought he would shy away from the situation after how upset he\u2019d been during the attack and the way he\u2019d rushed to protect me, but seeing him rush to my bedside now still surprised me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What shocked me even more was when he dropped to his knees and took my hand in his. The fear I had seen in his eyes during the attack wasn\u2019t completely gone, but now there was something else there. Sadness. A sadness so deep it made my heart skip.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t remember him ever saying those words to me before. Of course, with my memory problems, I couldn\u2019t be certain-but I was sure I hadn\u2019t heard him say them in the months since the accident.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am so sorry. This is all my fault.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNolan, you tried to stop him-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I hadn\u2019t been such a bastard, you would have told me about the babies. If I had known you were pregnant, the security would have been stronger, hell, I wouldn\u2019t have even let you go. This is all my fault, and I need you to know how sorry I am.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His grip on my hand tightened, almost painfully. His gray eyes looked glassy, as though he was about to cry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not your fault. I chose to keep it a secret.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is my fault! Our babies are gone because I couldn\u2019t earn your trust. Because I pushed you away. I made your life miserable. I\u2019m sorry, Ellie.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The beeping of the monitors was the only sound for a long moment. I hadn\u2019t known what to expect from him. Anger, maybe, but devastation? The raw emotion in his eyes was unlike anything I could have imagined.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It made me feel guilty in a way that hollowed me out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could find the words to respond, he suddenly stood. His grip on my hand tightened once more, almost painfully, then released. Without another word, he turned and walked out the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance and Cassian exchanged a glance as they watched him go before moving closer to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWas he\u2026 crying?\u201d Lance asked quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so,\u201d Cassian replied, just as the door clicked shut.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never seen him like that,\u201d I said, looking up at the two of them. \u201cI had no idea he\u2019d react so strongly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, it only makes sense, considering\u2026\u201d Lance glanced back at the door again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re glad you\u2019re going to be all right,\u201d Cassian said. \u201cWe were really scared for a minute there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long was I out for?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSince last night. Rae was waiting with us, but she went home to get some sleep.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s probably for the best. I need to talk to you-well, I need to talk to you, Lance. But unless my memory\u2019s wrong, you already told Cassian about the situation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
13\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter HO\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance looked guilty as he nodded in agreement. \u201cYeah. I filled him in before this happened.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m annoyed, but\u2026 it worked out for the best.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEllie, do you have any idea who that guy was? Why he did this to you?\u201d Cassian asked, his tone gentle even if his question was characteristically blunt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shaking my head, I admitted, \u201cI have no way of knowing if he\u2019s really someone from my past, or if he was just saying that to freak me out. I have no memory of him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve only been able to confirm that he was a rogue, and he seemed to have been planning this for a while. Tracking down any other information has been difficult,\u201d Cassian explained.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, it\u2019s only been a day. I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re surprisingly calm about this,\u201d Lance said with concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a confession to make,\u201d I said, the guilt I was feeling intensifying. \u201cI lied. Or-I asked the doctor to lie.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLie about what?\u201d Lance asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout losing the babies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The silence in the room was deafening as they both stared at me in disbelief. I saw the moment Lance\u2019s eyes flicked toward the door, remembering Nolan\u2019s apology.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just\u2026 if news gets out that the attack failed, then somebody might try again. It\u2019ll be safer for them if it\u2019s a secret. I can\u2019t hide the fact that I survived, but-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI see. You think the babies were the target,\u201d Cassian said. \u201cWhat made you come to that conclusion?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like he was aiming for my stomach,\u201d I said, touching my belly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe doctor said something like that too,\u201d Lance added. \u201cThat it barely missed your womb.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s better to hide the fact that the babies are still alive. Just in case somebody wants to hurt them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you won\u2019t be able to hide it for long-especially now that Nolan knows about the pregnancy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s exactly why I need your help.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to go through with the plan?\u201d Lance asked in surprise. \u201cYou still want to run away?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anything, this makes me even more certain that it\u2019s the only thing I can do,\u201d I replied. \u201cIf I want my babies to have a chance, I have to hide. I have to hide them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, there\u2019s no reason we can\u2019t follow through with the plan,\u201d Lance said, looking at Cassian. \u201cIs there?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian shook his head. \u201cI\u2019ve already started making arrangements in Moonstone. You\u2019ll have safe haven there. We\u2019ll make sure no one finds you, especially Nolan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes widened with realization. \u201cThat\u2019s why you told him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, the only option you offered was to go to Kieran\u2019s pack-and I don\u2019t trust that guy as far as I can throw him,\u201d Lance replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re really willing to go that far for me?\u201d I asked Cassian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course. I\u2019ve seen firsthand the situation you\u2019ve been living in, and even if Nolan is expressing his regrets now,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 60\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Banus\u00a0<\/p>\n
that doesn\u2019t change things. I\u2019m sure once Felicity is back, it\u2019ll go right back to the way it always was.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s right,\u201d Lance agreed. \u201cWe all know Felicity isn\u2019t going to let any kind of sympathy keep her from getting what she wants. And Nolan never could tell her no.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thought of Felicity made me uneasy. I suddenly remembered the strange incident with the beef tartar at the first event with Cassian and his father. It had tasted wrong, and Felicity had been so defensive about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was dangerous. I couldn\u2019t trust her around my babies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right about that. So you\u2019ll help me run away? You\u2019ll help me escape from here and find somewhere safe to stay until the babies are born?\u201dI asked hopefully, looking between the two of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd after,\u201d Cassian said firmly, \u201cI\u2019ll make sure you have a place to stay. Somewhere safe to raise them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t tell you how much this means to me. I\u2019ll never be able to thank you for this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t need to thank me. We\u2019re friends, right?\u201d Cassian said, smiling slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d I said, smiling as my eyes filled with tears. \u201cWe\u2019re friends.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you don\u2019t need to worry about anything,\u201d Lance added. \u201cJust trust us. Everything\u2019s going to be all right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He took my hand and I squeezed his tightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It might have been foolish of me, but I did trust them. And for the first time in months, I felt like I was finally, truly safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
COIN BUNDLE: get more free bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 80 Chapter 80\u00a0 Ellie POV\u00a0 Nolan was the first one through the door, which […]<\/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-23649","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\/23649","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=23649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23649\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}