Chapter 177\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan met his gaze, eyes hard. \u201cYou want an answer? Fine. Because she tried to destroy the only person who threatened her position. Because she tried to kill my babies, she made it clear that the title of Luna meant more to her than I ever had. She went after Ellie. She endangered the twins. I could forgive her for a lot, Lance, but not that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The silence that followed was heavy, thick with the weight of everything unsaid.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance\u2019s voice was quiet when he finally spoke. \u201cYou loved her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan exhaled. \u201cI thought I did. But at some point, the girl that I loved turned into someone else, a stranger. She wasn\u2019t the kind, generous girl who had patched me up after training and comforted me when I broke down. In the end, she was self-important and cruel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked out the window again, watching the rain blur the horizon. \u201cEllie never looked at me like that. She didn\u2019t want the alpha. She just wanted me, and I threw it in her face. I let Felicity convince me that Ellie was using me. I was a fool.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance was quiet for a long time. Then he asked, \u201cAnd now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNow,\u201d Nolan said softly, \u201cI don\u2019t know who I am anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201ce the alpha,\u201d Lance replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan laughed mirthlessly. \u201cYes. The alpha. But what does that even mean? I drove Ellie away with my cruelty and indifference. I lost my boys because I couldn\u2019t be trusted. My control of the pack is hanging on by a thread because I can\u2019t keep my own family together. I messed everything up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you didn\u2019t,\u201d Lance answered automatically. \u201cYou messed up a lot, but I don\u2019t think any of it is broken beyond repair. Listen, when I helped Ellie run away from Silver Fang, none of us knew the truth of what was going on here. No one knew about Felicity\u2019s schemes, no one even suspected.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I should have,\u201d Nolan snapped back sharply. \u201cI should have known! I was closer to her than anyone. I was with her all the time, and I never saw the signs. I almost lost everything because I was blinded by my own emotions. I was weak.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEmotions aren\u2019t inherently weak, Nolan,\u201d Lance replied. \u201cThey can be a strength.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I believed that. I really do,\u201d Nolan said softly. \u201cBut my emotions have only ever caused me more trouble. I thought that if I spent enough time pretending to be cold and untouchable, I could become that way, but it only made things worse for all of us. That includes you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMe?\u201d Lance said with a frown. \u201cNolan, I did plenty of messing up of my own. I never should have blamed you for everything. I said such horrible things to you-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were an angry kid, you didn\u2019t do anything wrong by blaming me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t a kid. I didn\u2019t grow up and figure it out. It took you confessing for me to even consider that I could have been wrong about you. I\u2019m sorry for that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned, and for the first time in years, Lance saw not the alpha-the legend, the leader-but his brother. A man tired of being unbreakable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance set his glass down. \u201cYou think she\u2019ll come back?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan gave a half-smile. \u201cWould you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 177\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance didn\u2019t answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead, he crossed the room and stood beside him, both of them looking out into the storm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should have told me,\u201d Lance said after a long silence. \u201cAbout what they did. About everything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want you to see them the way I did,\u201d Nolan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I already did,\u201d Lance said quietly. \u201cI just didn\u2019t want to admit it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rain eased to a drizzle, the clouds beginning to break apart. The faintest trace of sunlight spilled through the\u00a0<\/p>\n
gray.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan felt something loosen in his chest-a tension he hadn\u2019t realized he\u2019d been carrying for years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t change what I did,\u201d he said. \u201cOr what I allowed. But I\u2019m trying to be better. Maybe it\u2019s too late. I would understand if that was the case. But I hope that I can earn your trust someday.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance nodded slowly. \u201cYou\u2019re trying. Maybe that\u2019s enough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They stood there for a while longer, saying nothing. The silence between them wasn\u2019t empty anymore. It was tentative, healing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Lance finally left, the room felt strangely still. Nolan returned to his desk, staring at the faint rings left by their glasses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He thought of his parents, of Felicity, of Ellie.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And for the first time in a long while, he let himself feel the full weight of his choices-without anger, without\u00a0<\/p>\n
excuses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 177 Chapter 177\u00a0 Nolan met his gaze, eyes hard. \u201cYou want an answer? Fine. […]<\/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-23746","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\/23746","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=23746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23746\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}