Chapter 140\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked up at him, trying to read any deception in his expression but I saw none. He seemed so sincere\u2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew that I\u2019d been warned about him by nearly everyone, but when it was just the two of us like this it was difficult for me to remember why I wasn\u2019t supposed to trust him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just have a lot on my mind\u2026 the rumors about this messenger thing are getting worse and,\u201d Thesitated before finishing the thought in a rush. \u201cAnd I\u2019m starting to wonder if they\u2019re right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d Kieran looked surprised by my words. \u201cYou think that the goddess is actually speaking to you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, I just\u2026 I\u2019ve been having these strange dreams for weeks now. It feels like there\u2019s some deeper meaning to it but I can\u2019t make sense of it. It makes me feel like I\u2019m losing my mind, but maybe that\u2019s because I\u2019m fighting it. Maybe it\u2019s time I stop hiding from myself\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let my words trail off as my mind returned to the boys once again. I was hiding so much.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran must have noticed the shift in my expression because his brow furrowed. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took a shaky breath. I hadn\u2019t planned to tell him\u2014not this soon, maybe not ever-but the words were there, pressing against the back of my throat until they spilled out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s something you need to know before this marriage thing\u2026 before anything goes further between us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He straightened slightly, his focus sharpening. \u201cAll right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have children,\u201d I said quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a long time, he didn\u2019t react. His eyes searched my face as though waiting for the punchline to a cruel joke. When he realized there wasn\u2019t one, the color drained from his face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren,\u201d he repeated, the word catching in his throat. \u201cAs in\u2014?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTwin boys,\u201d I whispered. \u201cThey\u2019re alive. They\u2019ve been safe with Cassian this whole time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The silence that followed was deafening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. \u201cEllie\u2026 how long have you-why didn\u2019t you tell anyone?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it wasn\u2019t safe.\u201d My voice cracked, the weight of my secret pressing down on me all over again.\u201d Because if anyone found out, they\u2019d become targets. You don\u2019t understand how dangerous it is for them\u2013for all of us.\u201d 10\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stepped forward, lowering his voice. \u201cDoes Nolan know?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shook my head quickly. \u201cNo. And he can\u2019t. Not yet. Please, Kieran-you can\u2019t tell anyone. Swear to me you won\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His jaw clenched, the conflict clear in his eyes. For a second, I thought he might argue, that his loyalty to the Alpha Council or to his own ambitions would win out. But then he nodded once, slow and deliberate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI swear it,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cNo one will hear it from me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Relief crashed over me like a wave. I hadn\u2019t realized how tense I was until my shoulders began to shake,\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hesitated, then added, \u201cEllie\u2026 if you\u2019re afraid, if you think something\u2019s coming-you don\u2019t have to face it alone. Whatever this is, I\u2019ll help you. I\u2019ll protect you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted to believe that too. I wanted to believe that there was still safety somewhere, that trusting someone new wouldn\u2019t destroy everything I\u2019d built.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But as I met his gaze, something inside me whispered a warning. The same quiet voice that had been echoing in my dreams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nothing is what it seems.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, I nodded, forcing a small smile. \u201cThank you, Kieran.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For now, that was all I could give him. The illusion of trust.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And maybe, just maybe, it would buy me enough time to figure out what the goddess was trying to show me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 140 Chapter 140\u00a0 +25 Bonus\u00a0 I looked up at him, trying to read any […]<\/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-23709","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\/23709","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=23709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23709\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}