Page 74 of Wedded to the Sinful Duke

“And you allowed her?” she gasped.

He frowned again. “I am not her guardian. She can do whatever she wants, and she made her choice.”

Rebecca’s face hardened. “Jonathan, you’re an idiot.”

He flinched at her blunt words. “What?”

“I won’t pretend to know what exactly happened, but I can rightfully assume that you said or did something to drive her away,” she pointed out. He hated it when she was right.

He lifted an annoyed eyebrow at her. “Why do you always assume that I am to blame?”

“Because I know you better than you think,” she said calmly which only seemed to irritate him more because he could see how confident she was in her own conclusion.

“That still doesn’t make me to be the guilty party of every sour conversation,” he pouted.

“No, just this one,” she said simply. “Because I know the other party as well. And someone as kind and compassionate as Ciara would not offend anyone unless she was driven to it. And you are quite good at driving people mad for that matter. I know that from personal experience.”

“So, are you going to tell me the truth finally or do I have to pull it out of you like a weed out of my garden?”

“We had an argument,” he replied, not wishing to delve more deeply into it.

“I knew it.” She shook her head at him. “You’ve pushed away your only chance at happiness for what?” she demanded, leaning forward. “Your pride? Your stubbornness?”

Jonathan’s temper flared. “It’s not that simple, Rebecca.”

“Isn’t it?” she shot back. “You had a wonderful woman who loved you, and you let her go. Why?”

He felt a pang of guilt but masked it with anger. “You don’t understand. You remember what my father was like. That’s how I’ll end up. I can’t be the husband she needs.”

Rebecca shook her head. “That’s a pathetic excuse, Jonathan. You’re not your father. You have the power to change, to be better. Ciara saw something in you, something worth loving. Why can’t you see it?”

Jonathan clenched his fists, his frustration boiling over. “I can’t just change who I am overnight, Rebecca.”

She softened slightly, her voice gentler but still firm. “No one expects you to change overnight, but you have to startsomewhere. You have to be willing to try. Ciara believed in you. Don’t you think you owe it to her to at least try?”

Her words cut deep, and Jonathan felt the weight of his own stubbornness pressing down on him. He had pushed Ciara away because he was afraid of becoming like his father, but in doing so, he had become exactly what he feared.

“I don’t know, Rebecca,” he sighed, getting up and starting to pace about his study as he always did when he was apprehensive.

She inhaled deeply, her hands resting on her hips. “I was hoping that you would do this on your own, that you would realize the error of your ways, but I see you need help.”

Upon those words, she headed toward the door, lingering there only for a moment, turning to face him. “What are you waiting for? A formal invitation? Come on!”

He had no idea where she was taking him or what she had in mind. They walked through the grand corridors of the manor, their footsteps echoing against the wooden floors.

Rebecca led the way up a narrow staircase that creaked under their weight. At the top, they reached a dusty, dimly lit attic. Jonathan looked around, puzzled, until Rebecca pushed open a hidden door at the far end of the attic. She stepped inside, and he hesitated for a moment before following her.

“What is this place?” he asked, having seen it for the first time in his entire life. He had no idea that it was even there.

“This room is dedicated to your mother,” Rebecca said.

“But… who made it?” Jonathan asked, incredulous at what he was witnessing.

Rebecca hesitated for a moment then revealed what he needed to hear.

“It was your father.”

CHAPTER 35

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