Chapter 96\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
The dining room felt too large with just the two of us seated across from each other. It always had, but now the silence between us made it even more noticable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Or maybe it was because I was used to so much noise now. The boys were good babies, but even good babies cry a lot of the time. Not hearing their little voices cooing and crying was driving me mad. I felt like my heart was breaking and it had only been a day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pushed my fork through the last scraps of dinner without really tasting anything. My nerves were buzzing, every little movement put me on edge. Every time Nolan shifted his weight or moved his hand I had to fight the urge to snap my head up and stare at him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He leaned back in his chair, the wooden legs scraping lightly across the hard floor. I lifted my eyes and looked atChapter 96\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d been quiet most of the meal, which was typical, but now his eyes steady, unreadable-were fixed on me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something I need to discuss with you,\u201d he said finally, his tone careful, measured.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My shoulders tightened. \u201cThat sounds ominous.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not,\u201d he replied, though his expression didn\u2019t soften. \u201cIt\u2019s about the election. The kingdom elders have set the schedule. I\u2019ll be officially placed on the ballot in six weeks, but there are events leading up to that. Meetings. Appearances.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
}}\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you want me to\u2026\u201d I trailed off, my fork clattering onto my plate. \u201cOh. You want me to stand next to you.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot just stand,\u201d Nolan said, his voice low but firm. \u201cYou\u2019re my wife, Ellie. That carries weight. Your presence tells people I\u2019m stable, that I\u2019m supported at home. The council will be watching closely for cracks. The pack will too. Especially in light of everything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The word \u201cwife\u201d hit harder than it should have. I swallowed against the tightness in my throat. \u201cYou mean you want me to play Luna again. Smile pretty, shake hands, and keep quiet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes flickered, though I couldn\u2019t tell if it was irritation or amusement. \u201cNot exactly. I want you to be yourself. You\u2019re sharp. People listen when you speak. Besides, people are curious about you right now, they want to know where you\u2019ve been.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd\u2026 what are we going to tell them about that? We can\u2019t exactly tell the truth. That isn\u2019t going to restore the public trust,\u201d I pointed out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan shifted slightly, the tension in his shoulders increased, and a muscle in his jaw twitched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was a difficult topic to even broach with him. He wanted an explanation, and I couldn\u2019t give him one, not a full one. I could see the wheels turning in his head, feel him reaching to fill in the blanks in my story.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was afraid of what he was going to come up with to fill those spaces. What conclusions would he draw in my silence?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could only guess and none of them were good.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been thinking about that all day,\u201d he said with a sigh, his voice dropping to something softer and less certain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 96\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for my behavior, I could say you were sent away in secret to recover from the attack but\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut everyone knows you were frantic to find me,\u201d I finish for him. \u201cNo one would believe that was all an act.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly. So, I\u2019m not certain what the best option is. I was hoping that you might have some input on this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our eyes met, and his stormy grey-blue gaze seemed to waver, something almost vulnerable there for just a moment before he looked away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to have to admit that you didn\u2019t know where I was,\u201d I say carefully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I see the twinge in his jaw at my words but he doesn\u2019t immediately argue. Our eyes meet again and I can see the conflict, but he\u2019s still listening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 96 Chapter 96\u00a0 +25 Bonus\u00a0 The dining room felt too large with just the […]<\/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-23665","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\/23665","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=23665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23665\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}