Page 93 of Ravished By the Beastly Duke

She knew something had changed, but she could not quite place it. After all, she and her husband had never eaten a meal in silence before. They always had something to talk about.

“The meal is rather tasty,” Eveline started, looking at her husband to see if she would get a reaction from him.

He stopped eating for a brief second before he grunted in response and returned to his meal.

Eveline sighed. Now she knew for a fact that something was terribly wrong, and she was determined to get to the end of it.

“You did not sleep in our bed last night,” she noted.

This seemed to finally elicit a reaction from him, as he looked up.

“Indeed, I did not,” he responded.

Eveline had expected something, a form of explanation. She deserved that at least, but she had gotten nothing from her husband, who now sat across from her like a complete stranger.

“That is quite unusual, don’t you think?” she pushed.

“It is. I suppose I simply wanted to spend some time alone,” he said simply.

Eveline’s eyes widened with shock. “Spend time alone?” she repeated.

At that moment, she decided to speak in plain words. He had left her no choice.

“I suppose your decision to spend time alone is the reason you did not bother to check up on your wife. It is quite surprising, especially as you had nearly fainted with worry when I had been injured,” she said rather angrily.

This seemed to finally get her husband’s attention, as he set down his cutlery and faced her.

“Eveline,” he said, “I apologize for my rather irrational panic yesterday.”

Eveline did not respond. She only stared at him, willing him to continue.

He let out a long sigh.

Eveline was certain she would not quite like what he was about to say.

“I had to spend the night in my study, as I needed to be alone,” he continued. “I needed time alone to think.”

“To think?” Eveline asked. “And what were you thinking about?”

“I lost control yesterday, and it was unlike me. I needed to know why I had done that,” William said.

Eveline’s heart softened just a bit.

His reason was not an excuse, but now she understood him better.

“It is quite simple, don’t you think?” she responded. “You panicked so much because you were scared that your wife might be severely harmed. It is not irrational at all. After all, you care about me.”

William nodded. “And that, in fact, is the problem. I care about you. I care too much.”

“I would argue that there is no such thing as caring too much. And caring for me is, most definitely, not a problem. Why would you think it is one?”

“This has all been a mistake,” William muttered in a voice so cold she could have sworn it was not her husband who spoke.

“What has been a mistake?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

Her worst fear was manifesting right in front of her eyes. Her heart thudded hard in her chest.

“Trying to be more than a friend to you, pretending that we are one happy family,” he said.

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