Page 65 of Her Seven Nights with the Duke

“I meant it when I said I have no intention of trapping you in a marriage you do not wish to be in. All Lord Worlington cares about is lining his pockets. However, that is of no importance tome. I will not jeopardize your happiness or freedom, even if it means I have a scandal attached to me.”

“Nora,” Samuel called, smiling at her, but she shook her head.

“No, Your Grace. I bid you to not be so familiar with me. You know that I love you. I cannot deny it, since you have read my confession. I cannot have you call me by my given name, not when I am about to lose you,” she said, her voice shaking with the strength it took to not shed a tear.

“Nora,” he called once more, his smile bigger.

“Why do you treat me this way?” she asked, a single tear rolling down her cheek.escaping from the dam she had built around her tears.

He reached for her, wiping it with his thumb. “You will not lose me, Nora. I am not here merely because I have ruined your reputation.”

She gave a watery laugh. “I have already managed that on my own, Your Grace. You need not worry about it.”

“I was up all night, thinking about this. About you and us. And I have come to only one conclusion. It is that I cannot do this without you. I love you, Nora. I cannot say for certain when I fell in love with you, but know that I speak truth when I say that I do.”

He caressed her cheek, looking into her eyes. Nora gasped when she saw nothing but truth there.

“For the longest time, I was afraid that I would turn into a man like my father and hurt the people that I should love and protect.” He laughed, moving away from her.

His face showed his pain as his mask crumbled. He was finally letting her see all of him. Not some part that he wished to show her before retreating into himself, but every single part of him. Her eyes filled once more with tears as he spoke.

“I still am afraid, and I do not know if there will ever come a time when I no longer fear turning into the man that he was, but with you by my side, I know that I can do anything and I can be anyone, even a man who is without fear.”

He took her hands in his, caressing them softly as her breath caught in her throat. She had often tried to imagine how it would be when he told her he loved her and what it would feel like. However, she had not been able to imagine it.

She had never been able to convince herself that he would ever truly love her. Not now, and not ever. And yet here he was, choosing to face his fears and let go of the things that had kept him bound to the life that he had lived, just like she had let go of her hurts and fears to love him wholly and truly.

“I read all of the letter, not just the parts I looked at before we were caught,” he said, making her laugh. “I read all of it, and I love you too. I love the color of your hair and the intensityin those beautiful green eyes. I love how fiercely loyal and protective you are towards those you love, and I love that you were willing to let me go if that was what it took to make me happy.”

“

You are a better person than I am, Nora. I am selfish and flawed, and I cannot imagine life without you. So, although I should oblige you, I simply cannot, and I hope that you will come to love me for my flaws as well, as I will love you for yours. Although I cannot think of anything that is flawed about you.”

Nora sobbed softly, going into his arms as he pulled her close. She had come to accept the fact that much like her mother, she was doomed to have a love that would go unrequited and would only lead to her ruin, but now it was clear that that was not to be.

He had said that he would defy his nature for her, and she was ready to do the very same for him, no matter how long it took her to unlearn and let go of the hurts.

“I have the letter here with me. I do believe it has become my favorite thing,” he said, making her blush.

Nora hid her face in embarrassment as Samuel teased her, threatening to read the letter to her until she accepted his proposal.

He pulled away from her and smiled warmly. “Say you will marry me, Nora. There is no one else I want to be with. I cannot imagine my life without you in it, not after I’ve had a taste of what a good life we will have together.”

Nora nodded. “I will marry you.”

Samuel smiled, handing her a box. She opened it to find a beautiful emerald ring that matched the color of her eyes. She gasped as she looked up at him, tracing the beautifully cut stone.

“It has been in my family for so long, passed down from Duke to Duke when we meet the women we wish to marry. I cannot think of a more fitting person to wear this ring,” he said.

Nora’s eyes watered as she offered him her finger. He slid the ring on her. He kissed it on her finger, smiling at her.

He lifted her chin with a finger and then kissed it, smiling at her.

He tilted her chin up, lowering his lips to meet hers in a kiss that had her toes curling.

Nora parted her lips to welcome his as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. He pecked her on the lips once more before pulling away, a smile on his face that matched the one on hers.

EPILOGUE

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