Chapter 163\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then again, Ellie knew that too. This wasn\u2019t about love or attraction; it was political.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a while, Cassian exhaled. \u201cHe\u2019s been around Ellie a lot lately.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe trusts him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t seem worried.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am,\u201d I said simply. \u201cBut not in the way you think.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s brow furrowed. \u201cThen what way?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pictured Ellie\u2019s face in the park when she saw me with the boys. The vulnerability in her eyes, the uncertainty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My voice softened, turning inward. \u201cKieran feeds on insecurity. He offers safety while sowing doubt. Ellie\u2019s\u2026 vulnerable to that right now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian didn\u2019t argue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s finding herself again,\u201d I continued, my tone almost too soft to hear. \u201cLearning to live without fear. Without me. That\u2019s good. That\u2019s what she deserves. But men like Kieran know how to turn strength into isolation if you give them time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian looked at me for a long moment. \u201cYou really love her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My expression didn\u2019t change, but the silence that followed was answer enough. I couldn\u2019t deny it. It would be pointless to try.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know what love was,\u201d I admitted finally. \u201cNot when I married her. I thought it meant control. Stability. Keeping things under control, predictable. I thought that because we were fated that she would just\u2026 just be content with being there. I know that was selfish. I know that I messed everything up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s voice softened. \u201cThat\u2019s a hard lesson.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gave a small, humorless smile. \u201cThe hardest one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
We drank again, and the conversation drifted back to the rogues, to strategy, to safer ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the question still hung in the air between us-unasked but present.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, I said it. I had to, it wouldn\u2019t stop spinning in my mind. \u201cDoes she seem happy?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s hand stilled halfway to his glass. He looked out the window instead of at me. The night had deepened; Moonstone\u2019s lanterns burned low and gold, casting long shadows across the courtyard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think she is?\u201d he asked me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t know,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cYou see her more than I do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian hesitated. \u201cShe\u2019s\u2026 trying. She laughs sometimes. She smiles. But there\u2019s a part of her that\u2019s still somewhere else. Still healing, or fighting. I can\u2019t tell.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded slowly, absorbing the words like they were both balm and wound.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 163\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s enough,\u201d I said after a while. \u201cAs long as she\u2019s trying.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian studied me again, like he was seeing something new in my face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wondered what he was seeing. The ruthless Alpha of Silver Fang, the one who could command a room with a glance, or something else? Something softer, weaker.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve changed,\u201d Cassian said quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe,\u201d I said. \u201cOr maybe I\u2019m just tired of pretending not to care about anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
We sat in silence for a long while after that, two alphas from different packs drinking in the dim light, bound together by shared guilt, mutual respect, and the quiet understanding that everything was shifting around us. All because of the same woman. A woman we were bound to by blood and fate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Cassian finally stood, I didn\u2019t try to stop him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep an eye on her,\u201d I said as Cassian reached the door. \u201cEspecially when Kieran\u2019s around.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian nodded. \u201cYou have my word.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Cassian-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He paused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t let her see me. Not yet. I don\u2019t want her to think that I\u2019m coming to Moonstone to pressure her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s gaze flicked to me, surprised. \u201cYou really mean that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. If she\u2019s finding peace here, I won\u2019t be the one to take it from her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian studied me for a moment longer, then nodded once and left.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the door clicked shut, I exhaled slowly. The brandy had gone warm and sharp, but I drank the last of it\u00a0<\/p>\n
anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d expected to feel angry or jealous after hearing about Kieran. Instead, I just felt\u2026 tired.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Somewhere in the distance, thunder rolled over the mountains.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I set the empty glass down, my reflection glinting faintly in the window. The man staring back looked older than I remembered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The scent of Ellie and the boys was still lingering, making my wolf whimper pathetically. I wanted to find her so badly, but I knew that would be a mistake. She came here to escape from me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m a selfish man. I know that about myself. But if I ever want them back in my life, I have to learn not to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
COIN BUNDLE: get more free bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
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A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 163 Chapter 163\u00a0 Then again, Ellie knew that too. This wasn\u2019t about love or […]<\/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-23732","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\/23732","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=23732"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23732\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23732"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23732"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23732"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}