Chapter 123\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran\u2019s words clung to me like smoke I couldn\u2019t shake off. A political marriage. The phrase had echoed in my head since they\u2019d been spoken, weaving itself into my mind until it was all I could think about.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Guests were starting to leave, making their goodbyes, but the party wasn\u2019t done just yet. I was standing near the door waiting for Lance and Nolan, who were speaking to Cassian and Alaric. I had already excused myself, stating that I was tired and wanted a little air before the long drive back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the truth was that Kieran\u2019s offer had put me off balance and I couldn\u2019t stop thinking about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marriage. Again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even the thought made my stomach twist. I\u2019d barely survived one union-an arrangement that had never been mine to choose, one that had left scars deeper than I wanted to admit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even if things with Nolan had improved, that didn\u2019t take away from the fact that this marriage was a disaster.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The idea of stepping into another, even if only for politics, felt like willingly binding myself in chains again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And yet, a part of me couldn\u2019t deny the logic of it. He was right about the whispers, about the expectations that came with being labeled the goddess\u2019s messenger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So far, people had treated me with wary reverence, but reverence could sour into fear. Fear could turn to hatred. Nolan had told me himself more than once-power drew both loyalty and enemies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But marriage? That wasn\u2019t the answer. Not for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was still turning the thought over when Kieran found me again. I\u2019d stepped out into the palace gardens for some quiet, the air fresh with the scent of late summer blooms. The moonlight filtered through the trees, dappling the stone path with light, and for a fleeting moment, I almost felt at peace.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then his voice cut through the stillness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou seem lost in thought.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I glanced over my shoulder. Kieran approached with his usual composed grace, hands clasped behind his back, his sharp eyes trained on me like he could read every word I hadn\u2019t spoken.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJust enjoying the air,\u201d I said lightly. \u201cIt\u2019s less crowded out here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCrowds can be suffocating,\u201d he agreed, falling into step beside me. \u201cEspecially when their eyes are all on you.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t answer. He wasn\u2019t wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a while we walked in silence, the gravel crunching beneath our feet. Finally, I stopped near a stone bench and turned to face him. \u201cAbout what you said\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAh,\u201d he said with a faint smile. \u201cStraight to it. I like that.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou caught me off guard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the point.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I crossed my arms. \u201cMarriage is\u2026 it\u2019s not something I can even think about right now. Not seriously. I don\u2019t see a need for something that drastic. People may call me the messenger, but no one\u2019s given me trouble for it. Not yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chiste: 129\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Besides that, I am still married to Nolan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran studied me for a long moment, then shook his head slightly, as though disappointed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet,\u201d he echoed. \u201cBut they will. You\u2019re too smart not to see it, Ellie. Reverence is fragile. One wrong step, one misinterpreted word, and the crowd will turn on you. Do you really think Nolan will protect you when that happens? Or that his pack will?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His tone wasn\u2019t cruel, but it was cutting, and it landed deeper than I wanted to admit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t sure. Nolan had banished Felicity for me. I knew how hard that was for him; he had truly loved her. But could I expect him to step up again, if it meant exposing himself to public ridicule?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had his promise to protect me, but he\u2019d broken promises to me many times in the past.\u00a0<\/p>\n
BIG SALE: 3500 bonus free fou you\u00a0<\/p>\n
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A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 123 Chapter 123\u00a0 Ellie POV\u00a0 Kieran\u2019s words clung to me like smoke I couldn\u2019t […]<\/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-23692","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\/23692","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=23692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23692\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}