Page 77 of Married to the Cruel Duke

He spent a moment longer looking at her door before making his way back to his study.

William tried not to take it personally. She had been so busy getting everything ready for the party, she was probably just a bit worn out.

He needed to trust her to tell him if something was wrong. For now, it was best just to give her some space.

It didn’t change the next morning either.

William hardly saw Rebecca. If he didn’t know any better, he would worry she was avoiding him.

When he did manage to catch her, she rarely had much to say. Her responses were short, clipped, and rarely more than a word or two.

Still, it was understandable that she needed space. He just needed to be patient.

But it was hard when it hurt.

So after the third day of this, William sought her out.

Rebecca wasn’t hard to find. She was tucked away in the library, staring out the window with a blank look on her face.

“Rebecca, we need to talk,” he said softly.

CHAPTER 18

Rebecca spun to see William standing in the doorway and felt herself pale.

“Wh- what is it?” she asked, hoping to keep her voice even and wincing when she heard how badly she failed.

“Is something wrong? Did I do something to upset you?”

“Of course not!” she shook her head with so much force it made her neck ache. “Why would you think that?”

“You have been avoiding me. I assume there is a reason.”

She looked away, chewing her lip. “I haven’t been avoiding you.”

William shot her a look. “We both know that isn’t true.”

“I haven’t! I’ve just been busy with preparations for the party.”

“I already know the vast majority of them were done days ago. All that should be left are some finishing touches.” he sighed running a hand through his hair. “Look, whatever it is, you know you can tell me. If I did something to upset you, all you need to do is tell me what I did and I will be sure never to make the mistake again.”

She shook her head. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But there is something wrong.”

She didn’t respond, but she didn’t need to say a word. He knew already.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

Tears well in her eyes. “You wouldn’t ask me that if you knew what was going on.”

“I can promise you I will.”

She shook her head. “You can’t know that.”

“Then tell me. I know it can’t be easy, but I’m asking you to take a chance on me and trust me.”

That was the thing that broke her.

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