Chapter 264\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third person POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance stood outside Isla\u2019s door longer than he meant to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was an unfamiliar hesitation, one that sat wrong in his chest. He was used to action-decisions made quickly, words spoken plainly, problems confronted head-on. Pacing corridors and second-guessing himself was not his style.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Nolan\u2019s words echoed anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Be steady. Be patient. Listen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It felt a little bit like asking a fire not to be hot. Lance had always been reckless. He was a racer, after all. You didn\u2019t get behind the wheel of a car intending to push it as fast as possible just for the thrill if you were a cautious person.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But for Isla, he had to try. She made him feel things he\u2019d never felt before, made him want to be different for her. More cautious. More gentle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He lifted his hand and knocked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a pause. Long enough that he almost turned away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then the door opened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Isla stood there in a simple dress, hair loosely pulled back, her expression carefully neutral. Too carefully. Her eyes flicked over him, then away, already preparing to retreat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLance,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know you were coming.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know,\u201d he replied. \u201cThat\u2019s why I did.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her shoulders tensed, but she stepped aside to let him in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sitting room was quiet, sunlight filtering through tall windows and catching on the polished wood floors. It felt too formal for a conversation like this, too composed, but Lance suspected that was intentional. Isla liked order. Control.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At least she did lately. It didn\u2019t seem that way when she was crashing a party on his houseboat because he was avoiding their arranged meeting. This felt more like a retreat. Like she was craving order and predictability despite herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All things that were slipping through her fingers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She gestured to a chair but remained standing herself, arms crossed loosely in front of her chest, tense and defensive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this is about this morning-\u201d she began.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not,\u201d Lance interrupted gently. \u201cAt least not just that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She frowned. \u201cThen what is it about?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 264\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
He took a breath, grounding himself. \u201cIt\u2019s about us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The word seemed to hit her physically. Her posture stiffened, chin lifting defensively.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no \u2018us\u2019 to discuss,\u201d she said coolly. \u201cWe\u2019re\u2026 spending time together. That\u2019s all.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words hit him like the punch of a blade in his ribs, but he took the blow without reacting.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance nodded once. \u201cThat\u2019s what it was supposed to be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her gaze snapped back to his. \u201cSupposed to be?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t plan on caring this much,\u201d he said simply. \u201cAnd I get the sense that you didn\u2019t either.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She turned away, moving toward the window. \u201cYou\u2019re reading into things.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAm I?\u201d he asked. He didn\u2019t follow her, giving her space the way Nolan had advised, no matter how hard it was. \u201c Because you\u2019ve been pulling away. Avoiding being seen with me. Cancelling plans without explanation. And I don\u2019t think it\u2019s because you lost interest.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Silence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Isla\u2019s fingers curled against the window frame.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t come here to argue,\u201d Lance continued. \u201cI came here because I care about you. And because whatever\u2019s going on\u2026 I want to understand it. I want to listen. I don\u2019t want whatever this is to tear apart what\u2019s building between us, and I don\u2019t think you do either.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She laughed, sharp and brittle. \u201cListening won\u2019t fix this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe not,\u201d he agreed. \u201cBut not listening will definitely break it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
That got her attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She turned slowly, studying his face as if searching for something-judgment, perhaps, or impatience. Whatever she was expecting, she didn\u2019t find it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to hurt you,\u201d she said quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words landed heavier than anger would have.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou already are,\u201d Lance replied honestly. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think it\u2019s intentional.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her composure cracked then, just a little. She swallowed hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t expect this,\u201d she said. \u201cAny of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither did I,\u201d Lance admitted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She crossed the room and finally sat, hands clasped tightly in her lap. When she spoke again, her voice was strained, pulled tight by restraint.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was supposed to be simple,\u201d she said. \u201cA political arrangement. Something clean and mutually beneficial.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 264\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance\u2019s chest tightened. \u201cYou\u2019re talking about us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d she said. \u201cOr what my family wanted us to be.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He waited.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents arranged this match years ago,\u201d Isla continued. \u201cLong before you and I ever met. They saw Silver Fang as an opportunity-access, influence, protection. They thought aligning with you would give them leverage.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lance\u2019s jaw clenched, but he didn\u2019t interrupt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
P\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Cold Marriage That Turned Warm 264 Chapter 264\u00a0 Third person POV\u00a0 Lance stood outside Isla\u2019s door longer than he […]<\/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-23833","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\/23833","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=23833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23833\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}