Chapter 260\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ellie POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The news should not have surprised me. My trust had been tested and taken advantage of so many times at this point. I should have expected that someone as stubborn and determined as Kieran would play dirty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shouldn\u2019t have been surprised.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And yet, I was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Claire had seemed like such an honest person. I\u2019d trusted her deeply. Learning that she was reporting back to Kieran from the start was disappointing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood at the window of the sitting room with my arms folded tight across my chest, staring out over Silver Fang\u2019s inner courtyard while Nolan spoke quietly behind me. The guards below moved in their usual patterns, steady and alert, nothing outwardly changed. Life continuing as if nothing had shifted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But something had.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKieran had eyes on you in Moonstone,\u201d Nolan said again, his voice carefully controlled. \u201cThrough Claire. I can\u2019t believe no one noticed before\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d I said softly. \u201cCassian told me the details. I wish knew how he\u2019d gotten to her. Cassian trusted her. They were friends. He must be devastated.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCassian had dealt with it. She shouldn\u2019t be an issue in the future,\u201d he explained, voice a bit softer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded slowly. I was curious about what Cassian had done, but not enough to ask. That was a wound I didn\u2019t need to pick at.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you alright, Ellie?\u201d Nolan asked gently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded once. \u201cI will be. Eventually.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t press. Nolan had learned-slowly, painfully-when to let silence do its work.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I exhaled and turned back toward him. He was standing near the hearth, arms crossed, expression taut with restrained anger. Not the explosive kind people liked to imagine when they spoke about him. This was colder. Sharper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More dangerous.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI keep thinking about what she said,\u201d I admitted. \u201cNot the spying. Not the betrayal. But the way she talked about you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan\u2019s jaw tightened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe saw what the world saw,\u201d I continued. \u201cWhat I told her. A version of you that existed once and never really left public memory.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat version earned its reputation,\u201d he said flatly. Not defending himself, not making excuses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I agreed. \u201cBut it wasn\u2019t the whole truth. And I didn\u2019 give her the rest of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked toward him slowly, grounding myself in the familiar pull that guided me closer. It still startled me sometimes, how different the bond felt now. No longer sharp. No longer overwhelming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Steady.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 200\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe thought she was saving me,\u201d I said with a sigh. \u201cFrom you. From the life I ran from. From everything I said that I never wanted to go back to.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan studied my face. \u201cAnd do you think she was right? Do you need to be saved from me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The answer came easily.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not just because of the boys. Not just because of the safety Silver Fang offered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But because of the man standing in front of me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe version of you she believed in doesn\u2019t exist anymore, I said quietly. \u201cAnd even if it did\u2026 it doesn\u2019t get to define you forever.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His gaze softened, something unguarded flickering there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLast night,\u201d I added, my voice lowering without my permission, \u201cwas different.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He inhaled slowly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt it too-the shift, the awareness between us that hadn\u2019t faded with the dawn. The intimacy we\u2019d shared hadn\u2019t been frantic or desperate or driven by guilt or fear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It had been deliberate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Careful.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t afraid,\u201d I said. \u201cNot of you. Not of us. For the first time, I didn\u2019t feel like I was bracing for something to break.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan stepped closer, lifting a hand but stopping just short of touching me, as if still asking permission.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to be the man the world fears,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be the man who hurt you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou aren\u2019t,\u201d I replied. \u201cNot anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I closed the remaining distance and rested my forehead against his chest, feeling the steady strength there. His arms came around me without hesitation this time, firm and protective without being possessive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know Kieran is still watching,\u201d I murmured. \u201cI know he isn\u2019t done.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan\u2019s hold tightened fractionally. \u201cI won\u2019t let him near you again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d I said. \u201cBut I need you to understand something.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He waited.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t convince Claire because he\u2019s clever,\u201d I said. \u201cHe convinced her because people want to believe the worst about you. And because I once did too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nolan didn\u2019t look away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t anymore,\u201d I said. \u201cWhatever comes next\u2026 I\u2019m choosing this. I\u2019m choosing you. This isn\u2019t about the pull or about feeling obligated. I\u2019m not desperate for belonging anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 260 Chapter 260\u00a0 Ellie POV\u00a0 The news should not have surprised me. My trust […]<\/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-23829","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\/23829","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=23829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23829\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}