Chapter 124\u00a0<\/p>\n
I forced a smile, trying to brush it aside. \u201cYou don\u2019t know me well enough to make an offer like that. Marriage, politics, protection-it\u2019s a bit much for someone I\u2019ve barely spoken to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBarely spoken to? Darling, you\u2019ve called me in tears, begging for my help. Or have you forgotten so soon?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His words hung heavily in the moonlight. I looked up at him, trying to gauge his expression. Was he threatening me or just making a point? I couldn\u2019t tell with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean much, not when it comes to something like a marriage. Agreeing to live with someone you barely know is a bit foolish, don\u2019t you think?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My mind was reeling at the idea of even entertaining this while I was still married to Nolan, but I knew that wouldn\u2019t matter to Kieran. Whatever was in the past between those two, it was clear they hated each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t naive enough to think that wasn\u2019t a factor in his proposal. If he could win me over it would hurt Nolan\u2019s pride, and I knew he would find satisfaction in that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then there was the matter of the twins. Kieran had no idea he was making this offer to a mother. If I were to seriously consider this, it would mean revealing the truth about my children to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was a risk I wasn\u2019t willing to take. Their existence needed to be guarded in order to protect them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even so, I knew that couldn\u2019t last forever. They were only babies now, keeping them happy and safe at home was easy. As they grew, that wouldn\u2019t be possible. They would need a safe home that would afford them protection.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew that they would have that in Moonstone, but was it something Kieran could offer as well?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran\u2019s lips curved, but there was no humor in his smile. \u201cThat\u2019s exactly why I want the chance to know you better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I raised a brow. \u201cThat sounds dangerously close to a date.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGood,\u201d he said without hesitation. \u201cBecause that\u2019s what I\u2019m asking for. One evening. Just you and me. No politics, no audiences, no rumors. Let me prove that I\u2019m serious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I laughed, partly out of nerves. \u201cYou\u2019re persistent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen something matters, I don\u2019t give up.\u201d He stepped closer, not enough to crowd me, but enough that I could feel the quiet intensity radiating off him. \u201cThink of it as research, if you must. You\u2019ll see who I am beyond the speeches and the titles. And I\u2019ll see the woman behind the messenger.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, I didn\u2019t know what to say. Part of me wanted to scoff, to shut him down and walk away. But another part\u2014the part still bruised from Nolan\u2019s coldness, from always being reminded of what I wasn\u2019t\u2014was\u00a0<\/p>\n
curious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet me guess,\u201d I said finally, aiming for a light tone. \u201cYou take every woman who might help your political career on a date?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His smile deepened, slow and deliberate. \u201cNo. Only the one\u2019s who matter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words sent an unwelcome flutter through me, and I hated that he noticed the slight hitch in my breath. I turned back toward the path, needing to put space between us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll think about it,\u201d I said over my shoulder, making my voice firm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s all I ask.\u201d His reply was smooth, satisfied, like he already knew I wouldn\u2019t be able to push the thought\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 124\u00a0<\/p>\n
aside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
And maybe he was right, because as I walked back toward the palace, I realized my mind was already racing ahead \u2013wondering if I should take him up on it, if only to test how serious he really was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Marriage was out of the question. But one date?\u00a0<\/p>\n
One date couldn\u2019t hurt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Could it?\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 124 Chapter 124\u00a0 I forced a smile, trying to brush it aside. \u201cYou don\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-23693","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\/23693","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=23693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23693\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}