Page 95 of The Duke and the Unwanted Bride

He had made the mistake once, and he would not make it again. And so, he sat and waited…

Hours passed by before she eventually woke up. A slight stirring. A soft cough. A groan, for she likely had a terrible headache. And then, ever so slowly, her eyes opened.

“Hannah!” He was already by her side, taking her hand and holding it tight. “You’re awake.”

She coughed and cleared her throat, frowning as she looked around. “How did I…?”

“I carried you back,” he explained. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow at him. “You mean you saving me? Yes, I have vague memories.” She chuckled, but it sounded painful.

He laughed and kissed her hand. “And Amelia. You… you saved her. She told me what you did. I can’t… I cannot believe that you?—”

She pulled her hand free. “That what? That I would risk my life to save your daughter?”

“Ourdaughter.” He took her hand back and looked at her, refusing to blink or allow her to look away. “I don’t know if this is the right time. Likely, you want to rest but… but… I need to tell you. I have been an idiot, Hannah. A moron of the highest order. The things I said, I—” He swallowed thickly. “I was wrong. About everything.”

Her brow was tight, and her stare was confused. “You might have to be a little more clear than that. My head…” She gently touched her head. “I have a terrible headache.”

“I want to have children with you,” he said, not seeing any point in being subtle. “After what you did today… I can’t believe I everdoubted you. You care for Amelia, Hannah. You care for her as any mother would, and I know that you would make an even better mother to a child that you bear—one that is a part of both of us. I was wrong.” He kissed her hand as he felt a weight lift off his shoulders, relieved that he had finally said it. “And I want to start a family with you. My only regret is that it took me this long to realize it.”

“And Amelia?” she asked. “What about her?”

Frederick smiled. “She might not be your daughter through blood, but after today…” He kissed the back of her hand. “You are her mother. And I know you will continue to be so, even when you have a child of your own.”

She was silent for some time as she studied him. Searching for the lie, it felt like. But Frederick made sure to look at her the whole while, so she could see the truth in his words. He was done pretending that he did not want this. He was done lying to himself. And he was past the point of living alone because he thought that was what he deserved.

“It is a funny thing,” she said eventually, her words spoken carefully and assuredly. “I have spent the last five days trying to decide what it is that I want. Hurting, you can probably imagine?—”

“I am so sorry,” he interjected. “I should never have?—”

“Please, Frederick.” She cleared her throat, pulled her hand free, and then sat up so she could meet his eyes. “Let me…” A deepbreath. “What I realized during that time was that yes, I want a child. Yes, I want to be a mother. But I don’t want those things just because I have this yearning to start a family, as my sisters have. I want those things…” She sniffed and then smiled. “I want them with you. And if I can’t have them with you, then I do not want them at all.”

His heart swelled. “We can have those things, Hannah. And we will. I was wrong, this whole time, I was a fool.”

“Be it Amelia only or a baby of our own, Frederick, I need you to know that I am not trapped in this marriage.” She chuckled. “I never have been. And no amount of… of grumpiness or stubbornness is going to change that.”

He laughed. “Do not hold me to that.”

“You really want to start a family with me?”

“More than anything.”

Hannah hesitated a moment. Something flashed behind her eyes, a look that Frederick thought he knew but was certain he misread. She was still pale and worn from earlier. Still weak and fragile and frail. Surely… surely not that?

“Then prove it,” she said, raising a single eyebrow at him. “If you can.”

Frederick leaned back, unsure. “Are you saying…”

She pushed the covers off her. Dressed in the same thin pelisse she was wearing earlier, it hugged her body—barely even covered her, truth be told. Frederick eyes looked over her body, and he felt his heart begin to hammer, his blood begin to simmer, his amorous desires?—

“But you… you must be tired.”

“Perhaps as tired as I have ever been.”

“And hungry.”

“Famished.”

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