Chapter 211\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before he could answer, Lance appeared with a glass in each hand. \u201cYou two look like you\u2019re negotiating a treaty, not at a party.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I accepted one of the drinks with a grateful smile. \u201cMaybe we\u2019re just out of practice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSpeak for yourselves,\u201d Lance said cheerfully. \u201cI am having the time of my life. I\u2019ve danced so many people I\u2019ve lost count and won two drinking contests.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course you have,\u201d Nolan muttered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance winked at me and melted back into the crowd, leaving us alone again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The music swelled, laughter rising like waves around us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, Nolan said, \u201cThank you for inviting me. And for keeping up appearances at events like this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I frowned. \u201cYou mean for the election?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded. \u201cIt matters. People notice when we\u2019re together. When we\u2019re\u2026 civil.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked down at my drink, my pulse quickening. \u201cIt isn\u2019t just for appearances.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He blinked, clearly caught off guard. \u201cIt\u2019s not?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d I hesitated, heart pounding. \u201cNolan, about the divorce-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stiffened instantly. \u201cI know,\u201d he said quickly, before I could finish the thought. \u201cIt\u2019s fine. I won\u2019t make this harder for you than it already is.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I froze. \u201cThat\u2019s not what I\u2014\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand why you want to end it,\u201d he interrupted, his tone steady but his eyes dark. \u201cYou deserve your freedom. I just hope it makes you happy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The way he said it \u2013 controlled, distant \u2013 felt like a door quietly closing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My throat tightened. \u201cThat\u2019s not what I was going to say,\u201d said softly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But he\u2019d already looked away, nodding toward the band. \u201cYou should dance. People will expect it. Tonight\u2019s about you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My pulse stuttered. \u201cAnd you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t dance,\u201d he said simply. \u201cNot like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled sadly. \u201cI remember.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, our eyes met \u2013 and in that heartbeat, the air between us changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The noise of the crowd faded. The scent of pine and moonlight wrapped around me, achingly familiar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I remembered our first pack gala \u2013 how I\u2019d stood alone at the edge of the dance floor, watching him from across the room, wishing he\u2019d just look at me the way he was looking at me now. Wishing that he\u2019d treat me like his mate, like he wasn\u2019t ashamed of me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was a rogue thrown into the middle of pack politics and traditions that I barely understood. I was so afraid that I\u2019d embarrass him, so I had stood there frozen with indecision and anxiety while Nolan had played his part alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back then, he hadn\u2019t noticed me at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 211\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, it felt like he couldn\u2019t look away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted to tell him I missed him. That the bond was still there, a soft pull beneath my skin that hadn\u2019t weakened with time or distance. That the spark whenever we touched still made my heart skip a beat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wanted to tell him that I wasn\u2019t sure about the divorce anymore. That I wanted to wait, to call it off. That it just didn\u2019t feel right anymore. The thought of divorcing Nolan made my heart ache in a way that I couldn\u2019t describe in words. It felt like I couldn\u2019t breathe when I thought of truly leaving him behind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But all of the words stuck in my throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was looking at me with those sharp, stormy eyes as I stood there silently. I could see the tension in every line of his body. He thought he knew what I was thinking. He thought that I was going to call him out for delaying the deal we\u2019d made. How could I make him understand how wrong he was?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could try again, Rae and Cassian were stumbling off of the dancefloor and toward us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEllie, come dance with me!\u201d Rae called out, excited and a little drunk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a minute,\u201d I called back, smiling despite myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian was at her side with a broad smile on his face, one hand hovering near her back as he guided her through the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I looked back, Nolan\u2019s expression had already shuttered again \u2013 polite, unreadable, safe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI should go,\u201d I murmured. \u201cPeople are expecting me to socialize.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He nodded once. \u201cGoodnight, Ellie.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGoodnight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I turned away, I felt the faintest tug in my chest \u2014 that invisible thread between us stretching, straining, refusing to break.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The music rose again behind me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t look back, but I felt him watching me until I disappeared into the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 211 Chapter 211\u00a0 Before he could answer, Lance appeared with a glass in each […]<\/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-23780","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\/23780","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=23780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23780\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}