Page 15 of Trapped with her Cruel Duke

Her father immediately offered her his arm without a word of apology or thanks. The action felt inevitable, as if he had already been anticipating her refusal and had countless threats prepared, ready to ensure that the wedding took place as planned.

Her father’s back was facing her, expectant and tense—arrogance personified.

Louise steeled herself. “No.”

The Earl turned back, his eyes widening as he stared at her in disbelief.

“I will not walk down the aisle with you,” she continued, stepping closer to her mother. “Mama can give me away. If you don’t allow it, I will run, and you will never see me again.”

There was a stunned silence as the Earl glanced between Louise and her mother in disbelief. She knew as his only child, her request would hurt him, or at least his pride, but that was exactly what she wanted. He was the one forcing her to do this—she would carry it out on her own terms.

After a long and painful pause, the Earl turned to his wife. His gaze was a frightening reminder of the man he could become—dark, brooding, and filled with suppressed rage. But it was all worth it, for her mother’s expression was defiant grace.

While Louise’s request might have hurt her father, it had emboldened her mother.

Without a word, Lady Northbridge held out a steady hand to her daughter. Louise took it, stepping forward as a servant opened the door for them to go down to St George’s.

“Are you ready, dearest?” Lady Northbridge asked.

Louise took a deep breath. “I am.”

CHAPTER 7

Christian stood at the head of the aisle, surprised by the nerves clawing at his gut.

He glanced around the church, taking in the beautiful space where he had stood many times before for the weddings of his peers.

The congregation before him, although hastily assembled, was larger than he had expected. Scanning the rows, he spotted his close friend, Isaac Cecil, at the end of a pew. As he watched, Arkley’s sister, Sybella, emerged from the back of the church and came to sit beside her brother.

To Christian’s left stood Gabriel, serving as groomsman. His jaw was set in stubborn defiance as they waited for the bride to arrive. He had barely spoken all day, and his disapproving silence said more than any words ever could.

The low hum of conversation ceased as the organist began to play. Christian’s spine stiffened, his breath catching as two figures appeared at the foot of the aisle. The guests rose, murmurs of surprise rippling through them.

It wasn’t Lord Northbridge beside his daughter—it was his wife.

Christian’s fingers flexed behind his back as he watched them approach. The absence of her father was a deliberate snub that reflected upon him as well. His gaze darted to the balcony above the entrance. Had she barred her father from attending the ceremony?

Is this her final act of defiance?

But when his gaze finally met hers, everything else fell away. Her coppery hair had been pinned back with a line of pearl pins that shimmered in the light streaming through the windows.

The defiance in her bright eyes pierced his soul such that it had his blood thrumming in seconds.

All that fire, just for me.

When she finally reached him and bid a soft farewell to her mother, he found that his breath was coming more quickly than he would have liked.

Louise Dawson was magnificent. Exquisite in a way that many ladies of the ton could only dream of. The paleness of her skin,contrasted with her hair, was something that he would never grow tired of looking at.

He took her hand and slowly led her toward the priest, who was standing at the altar. He was a squat little man, barely an inch taller than Lady Louise. His small spectacles perched precariously on the tip of his nose.

“You look very different from the Ice Queen I met before,” Christian said softly as they approached the altar.

“You look the same,” she shot back.

He smiled at her tone. “Tell me, do you intend to blame me for your father’s mistakes for the entirety of our marriage?”

“That depends, Your Grace. Will you continue to punish me for them?”

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