Chapter 195\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you still love him?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked up sharply, caught off guard by the directness of the question. \u201cI\u2026 I don\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words tasted like a lie, and I dropped my gaze to the desk again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He waited patiently, as if he already knew I needed space to answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI loved him,\u201d I said finally. \u201cThat much I\u2019m sure of. But loving him hurt. He could be so cold, so distant, and I was always afraid of what mood I\u2019d find him in. It wasn\u2019t all bad, there were moments when he was gentle, when he looked at me like I was the only thing keeping him steady. But those moments never lasted.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now?\u201d Alaric asked quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sighed. \u201cNow he\u2019s different. Softer, maybe. More uncertain. It scares me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you don\u2019t trust it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded. \u201cExactly. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s real, or if it\u2019s just guilt. Guilt will fade with time and if he goes back to who he was before\u2026 I don\u2019t know what it means for the boys or for me. They deserve a father, but I\u2019m not sure he\u2019s ready to be one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric leaned back, studying me. \u201cDo you think he would ever hurt them?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was the same question everyone asked. Would Nolan hurt the boys? The answer was so obvious to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said quickly. \u201cNever. For all his flaws, Nolan\u2019s not cruel like that. Just\u2026 cold.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what are you afraid of?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My throat tightened. \u201cThat he\u2019ll take them away from me. That he\u2019ll decide one day that I\u2019m not enough.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The admission came out in a whisper, raw and honest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric\u2019s expression softened. \u201cYou\u2019ve been alone a long time. It\u2019s natural to be afraid of losing what you\u2019ve finally found.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, blinking away the tears that burned behind my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me about Kieran,\u201d Alaric said after a pause. \u201cCassian mentioned he\u2019s been spending time here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has,\u201d I said slowly. \u201cHe\u2019s kind. Patient. Charming. The boys like him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled faintly. \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t feel the same. I know that what he wants is strictly political, just an alliance. But when he touches me, I don\u2019t feel\u2026 anything. Not the spark. Not the bond.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric tilted his head. \u201cThe mate bond?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d I hesitated, my voice softening. \u201cWhen Nolan touched me, even when I wanted to hate him, I could feel it. Like a current running beneath everything. It\u2019s not there with Kieran.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes the goddess gives us peace,\u201d Alaric said, \u201cand sometimes she gives us fire. You have to decide which\u00a0<\/p>\n
one you can live with.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked down at my hands again. \u201cPeace sounds easier.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt usually is,\u201d he said gently. \u201cBut fire, passion, it can make life worth living.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That afternoon, I sat in the Royal Hospital, the sterile scent of antiseptic mingling with the faint sweetness of moonflower tea someone had left steeping on the counter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The nurse drew a vial of my blood and labeled it with my name Elaine Moonstone. Seeing it written out made something twist in my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My real name. My first name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was like looking at a part of myself I hadn\u2019t seen in years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the nurse stepped out, I sat alone for a moment, fingers tracing the bandage on my arm. The blood test was just a formality, Alaric had said. For the council. For appearances.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But for me, it meant more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It meant reclaiming what was stolen from me that day in the forest so long ago. My identity, my family, my rightful place, all of-it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t going to be hiding anymore. There would be no doubt left for me or anyone else about who and what I was. I would no longer be a rogue who had somehow become an alpha\u2019s mate. I would be the daughter of an alpha -the inheritor of a great spiritual gift.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And the world would know it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Getting a little blood drawn was all it would take to quiet the doubts and complaints of the elders. It almost seemed too easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I thought of Nolan again\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013\u00a0<\/p>\n
how he\u2019d never once asked for proof that the twins were his.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d known. Instinctively. As if some part of him had recognized them before his mind could.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That same bond still lived somewhere between them, whether I wanted it to or not. No one could take that away. So, why was I trying so hard?\u00a0<\/p>\n
The goddess doesn\u2019t make mistakes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
COIN BUNDLE: get more free bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 195 Chapter 195\u00a0 \u201cDo you still love him?\u201d\u00a0 I looked up sharply, caught off […]<\/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-23764","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\/23764","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=23764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23764\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}