Chapter 178\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third person POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The party should have felt like a distraction. It didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance stood at the railing of his yacht, the silver waters of the harbor stretching out beneath a twilight sky. Music drifted from the deck \u2013 soft jazz, laughter, the low hum of conversation \u2013 but it all sounded distant, muffled, like it belonged to someone else\u2019s life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was the first clear night they\u2019d had in weeks, so he\u2019d taken advantage of it to have one more good party before it became too cold to do it again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was surrounded by friends, politicians, and half a dozen ambitious alphas-in-waiting, not to mention the beautiful women, but he couldn\u2019t make himself care. The whiskey in his glass had long since gone warm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For years, this had been his escape. Noise, people, motion. Anything to drown out the quiet that came when the world stopped spinning. But now, after what Nolan had told him, quiet was all he could hear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He swirled the amber liquid idly, watching the reflection of city lights ripple across the surface.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan was a child when they broke him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had been so alone, and part of that was Lance\u2019s fault. His brother needed him, and all he did was throw it in his face. He\u2019d left him to Felicity\u2019s machinations. In a small way, Lance felt like he was partially to blame for the way things had gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t the alpha, but he was still the son of an alpha, and he should have been paying more attention. He should have tried harder to help take care of the pack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He could have done something sooner to help Nolan, and Ellie, too, for that matter. He\u2019d seen how Nolan treated her, and he\u2019d let it happen. Not because he was afraid of speaking up, but because he simply hadn\u2019t cared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance cringed as he thought about how selfish he\u2019d been all of these years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thought wouldn\u2019t leave him. It gnawed at him, relentless and ugly. He\u2019d spent his whole life angry at a man who\u2019d been trying to survive. Angry because it was easier than admitting he\u2019d never really known him at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He tipped the rest of his drink back and set the glass down with a soft clink.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBrooding at your own party?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The voice came from behind him \u2013 bright, lilting, and laced with amusement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance turned, half expecting another well-meaning guest. Instead, he found a woman leaning against the railing a few feet away, holding a flute of champagne.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was tall, with golden-blonde hair swept into a loose knot, tendrils escaping to frame her face. Her dress shimmered like liquid gold in the fading light, and her smile \u2013 wide, mischievous trouble attached.\u00a0<\/p>\n
was the kind that came with\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you weren\u2019t supposed to start people-watching until at least the second hour,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He arched a brow. \u201cExcuse me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look like a man trying to decide whether to jump or finish his drink,\u201d she said, tilting her head. \u201cThat\u2019s a very particular kind of mood.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 178\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance blinked, a reluctant smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. \u201cAnd what kind of mood is that, exactly?\u201d \u201cThe \u2018I\u2019m too handsome to be this miserable\u2019 kind,\u201d she said without missing a beat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He laughed, genuine and surprised. \u201cYou always talk to strangers like that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly when the strangers aren\u2019t boring,\u201d she said. Then she stepped closer, eyes glinting \u201cWhich, lucky for you, you don\u2019t seem to be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He chuckled, leaning an elbow against the railing. \u201cYou\u2019ve got nerve.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure it was a compliment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was.\u201d She smiled, taking a slow sip of champagne. \u201cI\u2019m Isla, by the way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The name clicked faintly in the back of his mind. He studied her more carefully now the subtle steel behind the charm. \u201cIsla\u2026 from the Crescent River Pack?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n
the poise, the confidence,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMm-hmm,\u201d she said, watching him over the rim of her glass. \u201cAnd you\u2019re Lance. The reluctant prince of Silver Fang. My soon-to-be fianc\u00e9.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nearly choked. \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her smile widened, delighting in his reaction. \u201cOh, don\u2019t look so surprised. You\u2019ve read the alliance proposal, haven\u2019t you? Our families have been trying to make this match happen since I was nineteen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought that fell through,\u201d Lance said, frowning. \u201cI thought that your parents were angry about the delays.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did I,\u201d Isla said breezily. \u201cUntil my father reminded me that politics, like fashion, has a way of recycling bad ideas.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance laughed under his breath. \u201cSo you\u2019re telling me this isn\u2019t a romantic coincidence?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, definitely not,\u201d she said with mock solemnity. \u201cPurely strategic. Though I have to admit, it\u2019s more fun watching you try to piece it together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u65e5\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 178 Chapter 178\u00a0 Third person POV\u00a0 The party should have felt like a distraction. […]<\/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-23747","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\/23747","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=23747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23747\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}