A really beautiful chapter. You can see why Noah was reluctant to love someone, I mean everyone else thought for sure he'd end up in just a political marriage, but he can't help loving Raeliana. But especially the end there really makes your heart ache.
As for people saying Rae should just forget about Blondie, it would be nice if it was that simple but I can see why Rae would struggle with this. First off Rae started off this story with having a survivor mentality and I don't think she's fully moved on from that. It's been about trying to live and even after that figuring out this scheme or that. She hasn't really been able to focus on embracing her new life and pursuing her own happiness, she's still thinking more like a reader. That's what creates the other issue, her not being confident in the depth or lasting ability of Noah's affections. She still believes in the novel pair of Beatrice and Noah. I don't think she's worried about stealing Noah from Beatrice, but more concerned that they are sort of predestined. That even if Noah says he loves her now, once he meets Beatrice he'll realize that Beatrice is his real love and she'll get her heart broken. That's why she keeps holding back, she keeps anticipating Noah eventually dumping her. Keep in mind too, that Rae doesn't know about the dark scheming version of Beatrice we've been privy to, in her mind she is still the kind beautiful FL, so she has no reason to think they wouldn't end up a good pair. What she actually needs to get over is the thing she's been depending on: the plot of the novel.