Chapter 184\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next morning came gray and cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The air carried the chill of autumn and left me feeling bleak. The boys were still asleep, bundled in their cribs, and the quiet felt heavier than usual.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood by the window with a mug of tea cooling in my hands, replaying the night before over and over in my head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kieran\u2019s kiss had been gentle. Thoughtful. The kind of kiss that should have made my heart flutter. But it hadn\u2019t. It had felt\u2026 hollow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like it was a performance that I couldn\u2019t bring myself to fully participate in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d lain awake afterward, staring at the ceiling, trying to convince myself it meant nothing, that the lack of spark didn\u2019t matter. But the truth wouldn\u2019t be buried. It pressed against my ribs with every inhale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I thought of Nolan, my pulse still jumped. Even now. Even after everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hated that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hated that part of me still ached for him when I knew I shouldn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time afternoon came, the walls of the apartment felt too close, too small for the weight of my thoughts. I packed the boys\u2019 diaper bag and made my way to the packhouse, hoping that seeing Cassian might help ground\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ground was still damp from the last few days of rain, the air cool and damp. Cassian\u2019s office door was ajar, his voice low as he wrapped up a phone call. He looked up when I entered, his expression softening immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEllie,\u201d he said, rising from behind the desk. \u201cYou\u2019re a sight for sore eyes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled faintly. \u201cYou say that like it\u2019s been years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFeels like it,\u201d he said, rounding the desk to pull me into a one-armed hug, careful not to jostle the twins. \u201cYou okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He gave me a look that said try again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sighed. \u201cCan we sit?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded and gestured toward the couch near the window. I settled the boys in their carrier on the low table beside us. Cassian crouched to peek at them, his expression softening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re getting big,\u201d he said. \u201cLook at these cheeks. You\u2019ll have your hands full once they start crawling.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t remind me. It\u2019ll be any day now. Ian is already close\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He smiled, but his eyes were searching. \u201cSomething\u2019s on your mind.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways,\u201d I said lightly. But my voice cracked on the word.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t push, just waited. That was the thing about Cassian \u2013 he\u2019d learned that silence often drew the truth out faster than questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 184\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a long pause, I said softly, \u201cKieran came by yesterday.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s brows lifted. \u201cYeah?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been visiting a lot lately,\u201d I went on. \u201cHelping with the boys, keeping me company. It\u2019s been\u2026 nice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d Cassian asked gently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hesitated. \u201cHe kissed me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian blinked, then leaned back. \u201cAh.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d I said weakly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t say anything right away. Just studied my face, as if trying to read what I wasn\u2019t saying. Cassian had warned me about Kieran, too. I found myself worrying that he would be disappointed in me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, he asked, \u201cDo you want to talk about it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d I admitted. \u201cI thought I did. I thought maybe\u2026 if I tried to move on, everything would hurt less. But it didn\u2019t feel right. It didn\u2019t feel like anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. \u201cBecause you\u2019re still in love with him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words hit like a pulse, simple and undeniable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at him, my throat tight. It was the same conclusion I had reached already, but not the one I wanted to hear from him. \u201cThat\u2019s not-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEllie,\u201d he said softly. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to lie to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked away, blinking hard. \u201cIt\u2019s not that simple.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSure it is,\u201d Cassian said. \u201cYou loved him. You probably still do. And now you\u2019re trying to convince yourself you shouldn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fingers tightened around the edge of my sweater. \u201cHe hasn\u2019t even tried to see me. Or the boys. It\u2019s like he doesn\u2019t care.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian hesitated, then sighed. \u201cThat\u2019s not true.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My head snapped up. \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been in contact with me,\u201d Cassian said quietly. \u201cEvery day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I froze. \u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCalls, messages \u2014 checking in about you and the twins. Making sure you have what you need, that you\u2019re safe, that no one\u2019s giving you trouble. He asks for updates but never pushes for details. He just\u2026 wants to know you\u2019re okay,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared at him, heart pounding. \u201cWhy didn\u2019t he say something to me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s expression softened. \u201cBecause he doesn\u2019t want to scare you off again. He thinks giving you space is the only way to show you he\u2019s changed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words hit hard, not painful, but deep.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been doing this since the day you left,\u201d Cassian added. \u201cEven when he doesn\u2019t say it outright, I can hear it\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 18.4\u00a0<\/p>\n
in his voice. He\u2019s trying to do the right thing, even if it kills him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 184 Chapter 184\u00a0 Ellie POV\u00a0 The next morning came gray and cold.\u00a0 The air […]<\/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-23753","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\/23753","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=23753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23753\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}