Chapter 259\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe chose what was familiar,\u201d Claire snapped. \u201cThat\u2019s not the same thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian took a step closer. \u201cYou don\u2019t get to override her autonomy because you don\u2019t like her decision.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Silence stretched between them, heavy and aching.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI never meant to hurt you,\u201d Claire said quietly. \u201cOr Ellie. Or the boys. I would never have let anything happen to them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already did,\u201d Cassian replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words landed like a physical blow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her face crumpled for just a second before she recovered. \u201cwas careful.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou gave Kieran insight,\u201d Cassian said. \u201cYou told him where Ellie was. Who she trusted. How she felt. That alone could have gotten her killed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire\u2019s breath hitched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou put my nephews at risk,\u201d he continued, voice low and controlled. \u201cAnd you did it while smiling at my sister\u2019s table.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tears welled in her eyes now. \u201cI thought I was saving her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian looked at her then-really looked at her-and saw what he hadn\u2019t wanted to see before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not malice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Conviction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was what made it worse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t get to decide what saving looks like,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cNot when it costs someone else their agency. Ellie is an adult; she has a right to choose what she does with her own life. I had my doubts, too, about Nolan. I saw firsthand how he treated her. But I\u2019ve also watched how he\u2019s changed over the past year. His grief, his struggle to take responsibility and find a way to make things right. If that\u2019s enough for Ellie, then we have no right to interfere.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wiped at her cheeks angrily. \u201cSo what now? You drag me back in chains? Hand me over to Nolan so he can punish me for disloyalty?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian\u2019s jaw clenched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he said after a moment. \u201cI\u2019m not doing that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her head snapped up. \u201cYou\u2019re not?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d he repeated. \u201cBecause despite everything\u2026 I don\u2019t think you set out to cause harm.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Relief washed over her features, quick and unguarded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut don\u2019t misunderstand me,\u201d Cassian continued coldly. That doesn\u2019t mean I forgive you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her shoulders slumped. The words hurt as they left his mouth. Claire had been his closest friend for decades, and what he was doing now tore at him, but it was necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re leaving,\u201d he said. \u201cNow. You won\u2019t return to Moonstone. You won\u2019t approach Ellie, Rae, or the children again. If you do, I will personally see to it that you face the full weight of your betrayal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 289\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire nodded shakily. \u201cI understand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019re done helping Kieran,\u201d Cassian added. \u201cIf I find out you\u2019ve contacted him again-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t,\u201d she said quickly. \u201cI swear.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian studied her for a long moment, then stepped back, creating space between them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were my responsibility,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cI trusted you when it mattered most.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d she whispered. \u201cAnd I\u2019m sorry.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t respond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire adjusted the strap of her bag, hesitated, then turned and walked away down the northern road without looking back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian watched until she disappeared into the darkness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Only then did he let his shoulders sag.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The loss hit him all at once-years of friendship, shared history, the certainty that he\u2019d been wrong about someone he loved. His wolf whined softly, unsettled and confused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What he was giving her was more than mercy; it was a gift. No one would know about this betrayal, no one outside of the family. Claire could make a clean break and start over somewhere else without this hanging over her head. He only hoped that mercy wouldn\u2019t come back to bite him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian dragged a hand through his hair and turned back toward Moonstone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was no time to grieve.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He needed to warn Nolan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time he reached the city, dawn was beginning to break over the horizon, casting the ground in pale gold. He sent the message immediately-brief, factual, urgent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s confirmed. Claire was spying for Kieran. She believed she was helping Ellie. She\u2019s gone. He isn\u2019t giving up. Cassian leaned against the stone wall outside the packhouse afterward, exhaustion finally catching up to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan\u2019s response came a few seconds later. Simple, clipped Typical of Nolan,\u00a0<\/p>\n
He won\u2019t win. Thank you for handling it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cassian sighed and scrubbed his hand down his face. Loyalt, he realized, wasn\u2019t simple after all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sometimes it demanded that you walk away from the people you loved.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And sometimes, the cost of believing in the best in someone was learning exactly how wrong you\u2019d been.\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 259 Chapter 259\u00a0 \u201cShe chose what was familiar,\u201d Claire snapped. \u201cThat\u2019s not the same […]<\/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-23828","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\/23828","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=23828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23828\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}