Page 48 of The Rogue and His Flower

Anger courses through my veins, and I can feel my fingers clenching into fists at my sides as I listen to their hateful words.

“Fuck this,” I mutter, stepping out from behind the statue, my presence interrupting their conversation as I stride towards them, anger boiling like bubbling lava in my veins.

“Daisy…” Clarissa begins, taken aback by my sudden appearance.

“Save your breath, Clarissa!” I reply, holding my hand up, my voice cold and steady. “I have no interest in hearing what else you have to say.”

The other woman looks on nervously, clearly regretting getting caught gossiping.

“We were just joking,” Clarissa says, plastering on a fake smile.

“Joking?” I let out a bitter laugh. “Like you were joking when you, Jonathon, and the rest of your despicable friends humiliated me back in college? Just joking when you bet him to date me, to pretend he was in love with me only for him to dump me in front of everyone at our college ball, all for your entertainment?”

“I—” she stammers, backing off as I approach her.

“You are nothing but a spiteful, cold-hearted bitch who seems to have a lot of opinions about my life,” I continue, my anger blazing now, “But let me make one thing perfectly clear, I am done letting people walk all over me because I don’t fit into your world. You think you can be cruel, that you can judge me based on my past? That you’re better than me because you were fortunate enough to grow up wealthy, with parents who love you? What kind of person would ridicule another for something that wasn’t her doing? Are you truly that heartless?”

“I think we should go,” the woman she’s with says, but I round on her.

“Don’t move, I’m not finished yet,” I command, brooking no arguments before turning my attention back to Clarissa once more. “Back in college you may have hurt me, but believe me when I say, I’m not that girl anymore. I’m not afraid to stand up for myself. So, the next time you decide to spread rumours or talk behind someone’s back, remember this moment, because if you ever speak badly about me again, or anyone else for that matter, I’ll make sure you suffer. After all, it’smewho’s marrying Dalton, and it’s my soon-to-be father-in-law who runs Princetown, and we all know that if you cross him, you’re making an enemy of one of the most powerful men in this town, in the whole of England, in fact.”

I lock eyes with her, my gaze unwavering as Clarissa steps back, fear flickering in her eyes as she realises the gravity of my threat. The woman with her edges away, sensing the need to distance herself from Clarissa, and the situation.

“You can’t threaten me,” Clarissa finally manages to say, her voice uneven.

“I just did,” I reply with a steely resolve.

“My mother is close friends with Carl, there is no way he would?—”

“I think you’ll find that my father would indeed make your lives a misery if he were to find out about how you insulted not just my fiance, butme, and by extension,him,” Dalton says, his words carrying a dangerous edge as he steps through the French doors behind her.

I take a deep breath, my heart hammering in my chest as Dalton’s eyes meet mine. There’s a moment of tense silence before he says, “And for the record, the only person I haveeverpity-fucked is you, Clarissa. It is a night I regret immensely, though I barely remember it, it was so unremarkable.”

She gasps, her eyes blinking in shock. “You don’t mean that,” she stutters.

“I believe we’re done here,” he says coldly, “Leave. Now.”

The other woman scurries away, shooting him a fearful look before disappearing back inside, but Clarissa stands rooted to the spot, her expression a mix of fear and defiance. She opens her mouth as if to protest, but one glance from Dalton shuts her up.

“I won’t tolerate this kind of behaviour, especially not towards my fiance,” Dalton’s tone is firm and unwavering. “Consider this your final warning.”

Clarissa eventually seems to gather her senses and she brushes past Dalton, storming inside the manor. As she leaves, my breath whooshes out of my chest as hot tears threaten to spill from my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall in front of him. Instead, I turn away from Dalton and head towards the gardens, not wanting him to see how badly I’ve been affected by her hateful words.

CHAPTER TWELVE

DALTON

“Daisy, wait!” I call, quickening my pace to catch up with her, but she gathers up the delicate folds of her exquisite dress and takes off into the darkness, the pale moonlight catching the stunning jewels that adorn the bustier of her gown as she disappears into the maze.

As I navigate through the twisting paths, the sound of her footsteps against the paved pathway grow fainter and the hedges loom high around me, casting eerie shadows in the moonlight. Straining my ears, I hear faint sobbing coming from somewhere to my left. Without hesitation, I change direction, following the sound. Drix had told me what happened with her ex-boyfriend, how the prick had humiliated her in front of everyone when she was in college, but I had no idea about the extent of the situation, or that Clarissa had been involved. If I had, there’s no way I would have gone anywhere near her, let alone fucked her.

Just as I turn a corner, I see Daisy standing in a small clearing, her back to me, shoulders hunched over as if she’s trying to contain an inner storm. Slowly, not wanting to startle her, I reach out a hand, and touch her bare arm.

“Daisy, you really need to stop running away from me,” I say, hardly words of comfort, but it’s all I can think of.

She lets out a tremulous breath, her pretty blue eyes glistening with tears as she turns to face me. “Why are people so cruel?” she asks, her vulnerability cutting me deep.

Wordlessly I take her hand and lead her to the stone bench situated beneath an arch of shrubbery. We sit together as I contemplate her question.

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