Chapter 137\u00a0<\/p>\n
The novelty will wear off,\u201d Lance replied quickly, trying not to admit even to himself that the whole situation made him jealous.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just saying it\u2019s nice to get nice things.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, Ellie,\u201d Lance said seriously, \u201cthis whole situation with my brother is complicated, but he\u2019s going to give you that divorce you asked for. When he does, it means you have a second chance to choose for yourself. Forget about fated mates, forget about the Goddess\u2019s will. This is your choice. Don\u2019t rush into picking someone like Kieran just because he\u2019s there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you\u2019re right. I don\u2019t intend to rush into anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTrust me, a lot of people don\u2019t have a choice. You don\u2019t want to make the wrong one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou sound bitter,\u201d Ellie said, attempting a teasing tone, but the look on Lance\u2019s face told her the comment had fallen flat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something in his expression shifted. It was subtle, but she knew him well enough to see that the remark had struck a chord.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you thinking about your arranged engagement?\u201d she asked more gently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d Lance admitted with a heavy sigh. \u201cWhen you disappeared, everything with that situation was put on hold. All of our resources and focus were on finding you. Of course, I knew you were fine the whole time, but it was a good excuse to get Nolan off my back. Now that you\u2019re home safe and all of that\u2019s resolved, the parents of my fianc\u00e9e are insisting, demanding, really, that Nolan set up a meeting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWait, you\u2019re telling me you haven\u2019t even met this woman yet and they expect you to marry her?\u201d Ellie scoffed in disbelief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s how arranged marriages work, Ellie. The higher-ups make the deal, and we\u2019re expected to go along with it. Her parents are important, influential, high-ranking \u2013 and it\u2019s Nolan\u2019s job as Alpha to make sure I don\u2019t embarrass the family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The bitterness in his voice was impossible to miss.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNolan wouldn\u2019t really force you to go through with it, would he?\u201d Ellie asked, her tone softening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cForce? No, I don\u2019t think so,\u201d Lance said. \u201cBut encourage? Yeah. And if I\u2019m honest, I don\u2019t have a good reason to reject the offer. I\u2019m not the kind of guy who\u2019s ever going to settle down by choice. I know I have an obligation to the pack. A marriage like this could help strengthen alliances and bring more stability. You know my reputation precedes me. I\u2019m sure plenty of elders would love to see me \u2018settle down\u2019 and behave properly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut would you be happy?\u201d Ellie asked quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if my happiness matters all that much,\u201d Lance said with a shrug. \u201cIt\u2019s not like a political marriage is going to change who I am. It\u2019ll just mean I get a little less crazy on my boat parties.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie got the feeling that there was something more behind those words, but didn\u2019t press him. A look passed over his face something Ellie couldn\u2019t quite identify. It reminded her of the first time they\u2019d truly bonded, when he\u2019d helped her and Rae expose their friend\u2019s cheating fianc\u00e9.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 137\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance had always had strong feelings about loyalty. If he went through with this marriage, she knew he\u2019d be loyal, even if he felt nothing for his bride.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a complicated situation for him, and it made Ellie realize exactly how lucky she was to have a second chance, a chance to choose love for herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance was right. She shouldn\u2019t rush it. She needed to choose carefully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And she wasn\u2019t sure if Kieran was the right choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 137 Chapter 137\u00a0 The novelty will wear off,\u201d Lance replied quickly, trying not to […]<\/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-23706","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\/23706","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=23706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23706\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}