Page 61 of My Cruel Duke

“Stop it, both of you!” Penelope yelled, now truly desperate to diffuse the situation.

But like stubborn children, neither Rhysand nor Partick moved an inch.

“Your Grace, I think you should move away fr—” Penny heard the marquess start to say, but she was not ready to lose either her brother or her husband, not at dawn, not ever.

Penny weaseled her way between the both of them and pushed hard, but neither of them moved.

“Stop this right n—” Penny’s vision blurred and it was as though a heavy weight was dumped on her body. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as her legs gave out, and then she was met with sweet darkness.

* * *

“I cannot believe such a thing befell an angel like her…”

“I am certain all she wanted was a secure future, and all she got in return is sickness…”

“The cruel Duke did this again. He managed to drain out all the life from her, little by little, and now she can barely stand on her two feet, poor thing.”

“Did you hear the rumors? That the Cruel Duke murdered his family as a child? What would happen if he now kills her own brother too?”

“Shh, speak quietly; who knows if he is listening?”

“It is best if he is listening. He ruined the duchess the same way he ruined her family. I shall fabricate a doctor’s note for my health and retire. I cannot keep working here, not for a man like him.”

Rhysand sighed and ran his fingers through his dark hair. He had not meant to eavesdrop, but the maids had not been discreet either. From their words, they meant for him to hear them, and they were right.

How could he forget who he was so soon?

Penelope had given him a taste of her light and sweetness, and suddenly, he thought he could be a normal person and live a normal life?

He had forgotten he was cursed. He could never live a happy life. He could only live in darkness, in the shadows, inhershadow, for she was light, as bright as the sun—his Sunshine.

She had touched him with her light, and he deluded himself into thinking he could have her however he wanted her. And now, he had drained the life from her.

For a while now, her smiles had ceased; he could not hear her soft laughter in the halls. He had succeeded in making her as soulless as he was. He had drained the light from her, so she was a shell of herself. Her sharp tongue turned blunt, and all she did was hide away in her room.

Initially, he thought she came down with a type of illness, but it was not the case. He made her sick while she battled her demons alone. She was sick, and he did nothing about it. No, he had done something about it; he cared for himself alone, using her body to satisfy his needs while thinking she was benefiting from the pleasure.

Now, she carried his child.

“The Duchess is two weeks gone,” the doctor, who had come to the house to check on her, had announced.

A wave of happiness had brushed over his features as he tightened his grip on her hand. HisSunshinehad done it. She conceived an heir for him, but at what cost?

She was no longer happy; she no longer spent long hours in the garden painting or decorating the estate. He had done that to her.

Rhysand took a handful of his hair and pulled it. He needed to feel something other than the pain that consumed him where his heart used to be. He pulled tightly on the strands, but nothing could be compared to the pain he had put Penelope through.

He could not keep her with him, not anymore. His want for her turned even more visceral by the day. He could not be so selfish as to keep draining the little life left in her for his own happiness. He cared about her too much to do that to her.

She deserved better. She deserved to find happiness and be happy. She deserved to smile every day. Even more than that, he wanted his child to know her like he had known her: full of love, light, beauty, and strength.

He could not take that away from his unborn child. And so, with that, Rhysand made his decision. It had been the plan when they agreed to get married.

Rhysand cleared every hint of emotion from his face and returned to his wife's room— no, Penelope’s.

Even while bedridden, she looked exquisite, just as beautiful as the first day he saw her all those years ago. He did not think for one second that one day she would be his wife or that she would carry his child.

Penelope’s eyes fluttered open, and when those precious brown orbs found his eyes, the awareness that he would let her go sliced through him. They would be married, but only in name and paper.

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