Chapter 1350

Aron’s lips twitched, and he quickly averted his gaze. If he met Hugh’s eyes for even another second, he worried he might actually lose control and slap Hugh.

Paulina shook her head, clearly entertained by the scene.

After a few moments, Myles finally pulled himself together. He turned to Hugh and, with a note of real sincerity, said, “Hugh, Cole was right. Our family truly does owe you. Without you, we’d have lost everything a long time ago.”

After walking out of the Fletcher siblings’ courtyard, Cole slipped into deep reflection. He realized it wouldn’t be fair to blame Myles alone for the failed second application. Myles had based his advice on countless success stories he’d seen, so his reasoning hadn’t been entirely off.

Cole now saw that the real mistake rested with himself. He’d always known Elliana was extraordinary, yet he had foolishly tried to win her over with the approach one might use for ordinary women. Wasting that second chance was completely his fault.

Reflecting on his two failures, Cole understood what he needed to do. Rushing into another application wouldn’t work; he would have to prepare thoroughly before making a third attempt. One more failure would mean there’d be no more opportunities left.

Even if the lack of a marriage certificate didn’t lessen his feelings for Elliana or their commitment to raising their kids, Cole couldn’t shake his slight displeasure. He wanted to be officially bound to Elliana. Without the legal tie, he always felt like something was missing.

He couldn’t help but recall how easy it had been to marry her the first time. It was almost as if fate had just handed him the marriage certificate, placing Elliana’s name beside his without any effort at all. Back then, winning her hand had seemed effortless. But now, just getting her name on that document again felt like an impossible task, and he didn’t even know where to begin.

Cole gazed up at the sky and let out a heavy, drawn-out sigh.

Just then, a gust of wind broke apart a cloud overhead. Cole took out his phone and called Manley. “Dude, I want to get the guys together for a meeting.”

? ?: ν?

He figured his closest friends—Allan, Merlin, and Manley—were all brilliant in their own right, and their advice would be much more valuable than anything Myles could offer.

Manley, clueless about Cole’s real intentions, answered with a mix of surprise and amusement. “You want to hang out with us? Well, this is rare. I thought you were always too busy spending time with the wife and kids for any of this.”

Since regaining his memories and making up with Elliana, Cole’s life had revolved entirely around her, pushing his friends far into the background. He’d turned down every invitation, no matter who called. Manley often teased him about choosing love over friendship.

After the children were born, Cole had hardly left the house for anything else. It wasn’t just that Manley and the others never saw him; sometimes, Cole didn’t even bother answering their calls, leaving his friends hanging time after time.

Therefore, it was no surprise Manley couldn’t resist a jab. Cole felt a little awkward but quickly replied, “Enough talk. Just get everyone together.”

“Alright.” Manley relented at once. “I’ll ring up Allan and Merlin now. You pick the time and place.”

“Tell everyone to be in the private room at the Royal Club in half an hour. If anyone shows up late, they’re doing a handstand and downing three hundred drinks,” Cole replied mercilessly.

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Message from Noah: Have a great week dear readers. God loves you, and Noah wishes you all the best. (?O?=)? ?

P.S. I’ll keep you updated through the galn?vels WhatsApp community, but I’m sooo excited because there are so many amazing novels coming that I truly think you’re going to love. Plus, there are audiobooks/audionovels on the way that I sincerely hope you enjoy as much as I do. ?( ? )

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