Chapter 219\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNot yet,\u201d I said quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYet,\u201d Lance repeated, raising a brow. \u201cThat\u2019s optimistic of you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stared into my glass, the amber liquid catching the light. \u201cIt\u2019s not optimism. It\u2019s\u2026 conviction. I\u2019ve spent most of my life thinking love was a weakness. Something that made you reckless. But it isn\u2019t. It\u2019s a choice. One you make every day to be better, to stay, even when it\u2019s hard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance studied me for a long moment, his eyes glued to my face, though I couldn\u2019t read his expression. \u201cYou sound like Alaric.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled faintly. \u201cHe might be rubbing off on me. I have been seeing a lot of him. He\u2019s wiser than I gave him credit for.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance chuckled under his breath. \u201cYou\u2019re changing, big brother. I\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s impressive or terrifying how quickly. I guess you always have accomplished everything you put your mind to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyes drifted back toward the crowd. I could see Ellie in the distance now, seated near Alaric and Cassian.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be better for them,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cFor all of them. I don\u2019t expect Ellie to forgive me, but I want her to see that I can be different. That she was right about me \u2013 that I wasn\u2019t beyond saving.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance sipped his drink, thoughtful. \u201cYou really love her, don\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d The word came easily. No hesitation, no shame. \u201cI don\u2019t think I ever stopped. I just didn\u2019t know how to show it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance nodded slowly. \u201cThen don\u2019t tell her. Show her now. But not the way you used to. No grand gestures. Just\u2026 consistency. She\u2019s seen what your temper looks like. Show her what your patience looks like. But for god\u2019s sake, stop moping around and waiting for this to fix itself for you Inaction doesn\u2019t suit you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I gave him a sideways glance. \u201cSince when are you the expert?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I met Isla,\u201d Lance said with a crooked grin. \u201cApparently, women don\u2019t respond well to being told what to feel. Who knew?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That earned a quiet laugh from me \u2013 small, but genuine. \u201cYou might be onto something.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
We stood in companionable silence for a while, watching as the last of the lanterns were lit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Somewhere, music swelled again \u2013 a slower tune now, softer. I could almost picture Ellie still swaying in time to it, her head tilted toward the stars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI told her I love her,\u201d I said after a long moment. \u201cAnd I meant it. But I didn\u2019t ask her to come back. I didn\u2019t even ask for forgiveness.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance\u2019s brows lifted. \u201cThat\u2019s new.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the truth,\u201d I said. \u201cI don\u2019t want her to come back out of guilt or obligation. I want her to come back because she wants to. Because she can look at me and see something worth trusting again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance nodded. \u201cThat\u2019s a good start.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned the glass in my hand, watching the light refract. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t owe me anything. But I owe her everything The least I can do is give her space to breathe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if she never comes back?\u201d Lance asked quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t answer right away. The question stung, but I forced myself to face it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I\u2019ll still keep trying,\u201d I said finally. \u201cNot to win her but to be the kind of man who deserved her in the first place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a long moment, there was nothing but the soft crackle of lantern flames and the distant hum of laughter. Then Lance clapped me on the shoulder, squeezing once before heading back toward the party.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stayed where I was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could still hear Ellie\u2019s voice echoing in my head \u2013 that trembling whisper when she\u2019d said, You punished me instead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d spent years convincing myself that power was protection, that dominance could be love. But standing here now, with the scent of moonlight and smoke around me and the memory of her tears still fresh, I realized that love wasn\u2019t about control at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was about surrender.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I set my glass down on the railing and straightened, the familiar warmth of determination filling my chest along with the sting of the whiskey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wouldn\u2019t rush her. I wouldn\u2019t corner her. I would simply be there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could never take away the pain that I had caused, but I could do everything possible to make sure she never had to feel that way again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe that would be enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chap 220\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 219 Chapter 219\u00a0 \u201cNot yet,\u201d I said quietly.\u00a0 \u201cYet,\u201d Lance repeated, raising a brow. […]<\/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-23788","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\/23788","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=23788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23788\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}