Chapter 1345

Cole dragged his fingers across his temples in mounting exasperation. Part of him yearned to disappear entirely from Elliana’s presence, to escape this humiliation. Another part burned with the desire to track down Myles and unleash his full wrath upon him. Yes—Myles desperately needed to face the consequences of his terrible advice.

With that resolve crystallizing in his mind, Cole shot to his feet and strode purposefully toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Elliana asked, genuine surprise coloring her tone.

Cole didn’t spare her a backward glance. “To give someone a piece of my mind.”

The declaration still lingered in the air as he wrenched the door open and stormed through it, letting it slam shut with resounding finality.

Elliana studied the closed door for a long moment before shrugging. To give someone a piece of his mind? Who was about to endure his fury? She chose not to dwell on the question, releasing a quiet sigh instead.

When she had challenged Cole to compose that application—demanding it be genuine, heartfelt, and moving enough to reduce her to tears—she had intended it primarily as a gentle provocation. A test wrapped in playfulness, really.

What she genuinely craved wasn’t for Cole to grovel for her affection with elaborate prose. She wanted him to truly comprehend who she was at her core.

She wanted him to revisit the small, tender moments scattered throughout their shared history and, through examining those fragments, understand what she actually needed from him.

If they ever confronted similar hardships in the future, his instinct shouldn’t be to conceal the truth and divorce her under the misguided banner of protection—it should be to reveal everything so they could shoulder the burden as equals.

He stood like a towering oak, and she had always aspired to be another tree of equal stature growing beside him. When the tempest descended, she wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder with him against the gale—not huddle beneath his branches seeking shelter, nor be cast aside in the shadows, bewildered and alone.

? ν?

If he couldn’t internalize that fundamental truth, then their reunion held little purpose. As long as their hearts beat in harmony, their bond would prove unbreakable—regardless of whether a marriage certificate existed to validate it.

But if their core philosophies about partnership remained at odds, that certificate could transform back into divorce papers at the first hint of adversity, unless fate blessed them with an impossibly smooth path forward.

Elliana wondered how much time Cole would need to arrive at this understanding himself.

With that contemplation settling in her mind, Elliana shrugged, content to let him discover the truth through his own journey.

Naturally, Cole hadn’t yet undergone that crucial shift in perspective. He still clung to the belief that a man should carry the family’s burdens alone, serving as an impenetrable shield between his wife and children and every conceivable storm. When adversity loomed on the horizon, his priority remained unchanging—secure the safety and happiness of his wife and children before turning to face the battle in solitude.

Cole recognized that Elliana embodied the kind of partner who would gladly share his struggles without hesitation, but he couldn’t stomach the thought of her enduring even the smallest measure of suffering.

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