Chapter 197\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Alaric was right, then I was just overthinking things. Deep down, I knew what I wanted and it wasn\u2019t Kieran. No matter how much I tried to force myself to picture a future with him, it just didn\u2019t feel right.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked up, my brows knitting. \u201cDo you think the goddess would bond me to someone I wasn\u2019t meant to be with?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric looked surprised by the question. He placed his hand on my shoulder gently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the goddess doesn\u2019t waste bonds,\u201d he said simply. \u201cBut she also doesn\u2019t force us to follow them. The bond might show you a path, but it\u2019s up to you whether to walk it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned back, staring out the window. Outside, the Moonstone gardens glowed under the midmorning sun, pale petals fluttering in the breeze. The sight reminded me of the meadow in my dream, my mother\u2019s voice echoing through it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The goddess doesn\u2019t make mistakes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe that was the problem. Maybe I didn\u2019t trust myself to believe it yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned back to Alaric. \u201cI\u2019m afraid to let him in again. Nolan, I mean. I don\u2019t know what that would look like anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you afraid of exactly?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLike I said before, I\u2019m afraid that he\u2019ll take the boys,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cThat he\u2019ll decide one day that I\u2019m unfit or unworthy or-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOr that he\u2019ll love them,\u201d Alaric finished gently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked, startled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what you\u2019re really afraid of, isn\u2019t it?\u201d he said. \u201cThat he\u2019ll love them the way he couldn\u2019t love you easily, freely. That he\u2019ll show them a softness you had to fight for.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My throat constricted. \u201cThat\u2019s not fair to him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. But it\u2019s the truth, isn\u2019t it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gripped the mug tighter. \u201cIt is.\u201d My voice was soft, barely audible. \u201cI just don\u2019t know what to think anymore. I feel like my heart and my head are giving me mixed signals, and the dreams aren\u2019t helping.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re still having dreams about him?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the time. I don\u2019t know what it means.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI see,\u201d he said thoughtfully.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I\u2019m losing my mind. Everyone seems to think that this should be intuitive, that I should just relax and suddenly it\u2019ll all make sense, but it just doesn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay if you don\u2019t understand it yet. Your mother used to get visions that wouldn\u2019t make sense for years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYears?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe used to say that the goddess doesn\u2019t make mistakes, but sometimes her timing is bad,\u201d he said with a fond\u00a0<\/p>\n
smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re saying there\u2019s some context for this vision that I just don\u2019t have yet?\u201d I asked skeptically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s exactly what I\u2019m saying,\u201d he agreed. \u201cI know that you feel pressured to make a decision about Nolan, but there\u2019s no reason to rush yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI just\u2026 I\u2019m afraid to give him a chance and be disappointed again,\u201d I admitted softly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMost people don\u2019t know him,\u201d Alaric said. \u201cI\u2019ve watched him these past few months. There\u2019s a man under all that armor. One who\u2019s learning what it means to let himself feel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I studied him quietly. \u201cYou sound like you believe he can change.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI do. I\u2019ve seen what grief and guilt can do to a man. They can destroy him\u2026 or they can make him gentler.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded slowly, turning his words over in my mind. \u201cA gentler Nolan? That sounds like a joke.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sound of approaching footsteps interrupted us. A young nurse stepped up to us, holding a sealed envelope.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe results just came in, Alpha,\u201d she said, offering it to Alaric.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you,\u201d he said, setting it on the table between us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the nurse left, I stared at the envelope, my stomach twisting. It was silly to be nervous over something I already knew the answer to, but I was. \u201cAre you going to open it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly if you want me to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My hand trembled slightly as I reached for it. The seal broke with a soft tear. One thin sheet of paper slid free, the words crisp and sterile on the page.\u00a0<\/p>\n
DNA analysis confirms a direct biological relationship between Alpha Alaric Moonstone and subject Elaine Moonstone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let out a shaky laugh, pressing a hand to my mouth. \u201cIt\u2019s real,\u201d I whispered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric smiled, his eyes shining. \u201cIt always was.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He pulled me into an embrace, his voice rough against my hair. \u201cWelcome home, my daughter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I clung to him, the words sinking deep into the hollow places that had ached for so long.\u00a0<\/p>\n
COIN BUNDLE: get more free bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u65e5\u00a0<\/p>\n
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A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 197 Chapter 197\u00a0 +25 Bonus\u00a0 If Alaric was right, then I was just overthinking […]<\/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-23766","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\/23766","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=23766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23766\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}