Chapter 258\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third person POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian had always believed loyalty was a simple thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not easy-but simple. You showed up. You stood where you said you would stand. You protected the people you claimed to care about, even when it cost you something.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had built his life around that belief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was why the truth about Claire felt like a blade sliding between his ribs-slow, deliberate, and devastating. He moved through Moonstone with purpose, cloak pulled tight against the evening chill, his thoughts sharp and relentless. Rae\u2019s words replayed over and over in his mind, each repetition cutting deeper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She thinks Nolan is manipulating Ellie.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wanted to help Kieran win her over.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She fled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire hadn\u2019t denied it. She\u2019d run.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Which meant she knew exactly what she\u2019d done.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s wolf paced beneath his skin, agitation simmering dangerously close to the surface.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He kept it leashed by force of will alone. Losing control now would solve nothing. He needed answers. He needed\u00a0<\/p>\n
to understand how someone he had trusted since childhood could betray him so completely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The guards at the western border stiffened when they saw him approaching.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe came through here,\u201d one of them said immediately, before Cassian could ask. \u201cAn hour ago. Traveling alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian nodded once. \u201cWhich direction?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNorth road. Toward Pine Ridge territory.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course. Running to Kieran.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t waste another second.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The path narrowed as it wound away from the city, stone giving way to packed earth and sparse trees. The moon was already high, silver light spilling through the branches Cassian followed the familiar scent without difficulty -fear, determination, and something bitter beneath it all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Guilt, maybe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He found her just beyond the final boundary marker, standing rigidly at the edge of Moonstone\u2019s influence, a single bag slung over her shoulder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She spun around.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a moment, relief flashed across her face. Then it hardened into something defensive, brittle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCassian,\u201d she said. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His jaw tightened. \u201cThat\u2019s funny. I was thinking the same thing about you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 358\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
She took a step back instinctively, stopping only when the boundary stone pressed against her heel. Cassian bit back a growl at the sight. If she crossed that line, there was no going back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want it to happen like this,\u201d she said quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He laughed once, sharp and humorless. \u201cYou didn\u2019t want to get caught.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her shoulders stiffened. \u201cThat\u2019s not fair.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t it?\u201d he asked quietly. \u201cBecause from where I\u2019m standing, you spied on my sister. On her children. You fed information to a man who has been openly planning to use them for political advantage. And when you were discovered, you ran.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She flinched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
11\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to help her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words hit him harder than he expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHelp her?\u201d he repeated. \u201cBy betraying her trust?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t understand,\u201d Claire insisted, stepping forward now, eyes bright with something like desperation. Ellie wasn\u2019t herself when she was with Nolan. You saw it. You know what he was like back then. She told me all about it. How cold he was, how cruel. Kieran wouldn\u2019t be like that! Even if he was marrying her for the political benefit, he\u2019d still treat her better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s chest tightened. \u201cI know he failed her. Nolan is still her mate and he\u2019s trying to be better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you think that the past just\u2026 goes away because he\u2019s putting in effort now?\u201d she demanded. \u201cThat a few apologies and a couple of children erase years of neglect? He\u2019s manipulating her, Cassian. Using the bond. Using fear. Using the goddess.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian shook his head slowly. \u201cYou don\u2019t get to decide that for her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was vulnerable,\u201d Claire pressed. \u201cShe trusted me. She told me things-things that proved she wasn\u2019t free. That she was still trapped.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you decided to trade one manipulator for another?\u201d he shot back. \u201cKieran isn\u2019t interested in Ellie\u2019s happiness. He\u2019s interested in control.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re wrong,\u201d Claire said fiercely. \u201cHe loves her, in his own way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian stared at her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a long moment, he couldn\u2019t find words. All he could feel was the fracture spreading through his chest, the realization settling heavily into place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou believe that,\u201d he said finally. \u201cYou really believe that\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d she said, voice shaking. \u201cHe would have given her a choice. A real one. Not this-this inevitable pull back into a life that nearly destroyed her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian exhaled slowly, forcing himself to stay calm. \u201cEllie chose Nolan. With her eyes open. With full knowledge of what they\u2019d been through. It\u2019s her choice to make. All we can do, all we should do, is support her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 258 Chapter 258\u00a0 Third person POV\u00a0 Cassian had always believed loyalty was a simple […]<\/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-23827","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\/23827","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=23827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23827\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}