Chapter 196\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The waiting room in the Moonstone infirmary was hushed, all pale walls and soft light filtering through frosted glass. The air smelled faintly of sage and sterilized equipment, familiar, yet different now that I was on the other side of the patient chart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sat in one of the wooden chairs near the window, my hands wrapped around a mug of cooling tea. Across from me, Alaric stood near the shelves, looking through old magazines that had nothing to do with the test but kept his hands busy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We had been waiting for nearly an hour, though neither of us had said much. It wasn\u2019t an uncomfortable silence. It was the kind that sat heavy and full \u2013 the kind shared by two people who didn\u2019t need words to fill the space.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Things were comfortable with Alaric, they always were. Even before I suspected the connection between us, there was something about him that had always put me at ease. Despite the strange anxiety I was feeling now, that hadn\u2019t changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, Alaric turned, setting the magazine aside. \u201cYou look nervous,\u201d he said gently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled faintly. \u201cYou\u2019d think I was waiting for the results of something serious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a way, you are,\u201d he said. \u201cBut not for me. Whatever that paper says won\u2019t change what I already know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I met his eyes, and my smile wavered. \u201cI know. It just feels\u2026 final, somehow. Like the moment I see it, there\u2019s no pretending anymore. No halfway.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He sat beside me, his movements slow and deliberate. \u201cSometimes finality is a gift, Ellie. Closure doesn\u2019t end a story, it allows it to begin a new chapter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked down at my tea, watching the faint curl of steam fade. \u201cI\u2019ve spent most of my life running from my past. Every time I thought I\u2019d found a place to belong, it slipped away. And now that I finally have the truth, I\u2019m terrified I\u2019ll lose it again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric\u2019s expression softened. \u201cYou won\u2019t. Not this time. I\u2019m not going to let anything take you away again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I exhaled shakily. \u201cI want to believe that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause you\u2019re not the same girl who was taken from me. You\u2019ve built a life, one you should be proud of. That doesn\u2019t disappear just because your roots reach deeper than you realized.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled faintly, my voice quiet. \u201cYou make it sound so simple.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLife is rarely simple,\u201d he said. \u201cBut some truths are. You are my daughter, and nothing changes that. Not a test, not the past, not even your fears.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked quickly, my throat tightening. \u201cHow can you always tell what I\u2019m feeling? I never had anyone who talked to me like this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric\u2019s lips curved. \u201cWell, you\u2019ll have to get used to it. You\u2019re stuck with me now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That drew a quiet laugh from me, fragile but real.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a long pause, Alaric leaned back, studying my face. \u201cCassian tells me Kieran\u2019s been around a lot lately. Does that have anything to do with your anxiety?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sighed softly. \u201cHe has. He\u2019s really trying to win me over.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 19\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that all he\u2019s doing here? Has he told you anything else about his visits to Moonstone?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hesitated. There was something in his tone that made me consider my words carefully. \u201cI know that he\u2019s been exploring. He\u2019s mentioned that Moonstone is bigger, more beautiful than he realized and that\u2019s he\u2019s enjoyed getting to see more of it. Why?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCall it curiosity. An alpha from another pack is spending a lot of time sniffing around my city and my daughter, yet he seems to be avoiding me. It\u2019s a strange situation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s avoiding you?\u201d I asked in surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe that wording is a bit dramatic. But it\u2019s customary for an alpha who comes this far into the territory to pay respects. He hasn\u2019t done that. Your brother isn\u2019t exactly fond of him; that could be the reason. Still\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s worth noting,\u201d I finished for him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCassian doesn\u2019t like him at all, does he? He warned me to be careful around him\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd yet,\u201d Alaric said with a faint smile. \u201cYou\u2019re still entertaining his visits and stressing yourself out over him. Why?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure, honestly. I feel like I should. He\u2019s been helpful and I feel like\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLike it\u2019s rude to reject him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sighed and shook my head. \u201cWhen you simplify it like that, it sounds ridiculous.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it is, sweetheart. You don\u2019t owe him anything just because he was kind to you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I take a sip of my tea and turn his words over in my head. Obviously, he was right. But for some reason, the situation felt so much more complicated than that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 196 Chapter 196\u00a0 Ellie POV\u00a0 The waiting room in the Moonstone infirmary was hushed, […]<\/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-23765","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\/23765","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=23765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23765\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}