Page 59 of Wedded to the Deviant Duke

“I—I simply was emotional,” Thalia said. “Lingering hysterics from yesterday, perhaps. It wasn’t your fault, I simply–”

“Don’t speak about yourself in such a way.” It was back, but only briefly; that cold, precise tone Gabriel used when trying to intimidate someone. When stalking after his prey. “You treat yourself as badly as your cousin does.”

Once more, Thalia fell silent, wringing her hands as she leaned against the door. “I’m sorry.”

“No, that isn’t–” Gabriel exhaled loudly, starting forward to try and close the distance between them. “Thalia, I don’t want your apologies.”

“Then what do you want?” She asked, feeling her legs grow weaker the closer he drew. Five paces, two paces—he was a mere arm’s length away now, dark eyes burning with a desire to…t o be heard? Understood?

Gabriel sighed, his breath prickling against the exposed parts of her chest. She suddenly felt quite cold in her nightdress, and Thalia wished she had thought to put on some sort of robe.

Without a word, Gabriel shrugged off his outer jacket, gently draping it across her shoulders. Thalia’s fingers grasped at its collar, a familiar earthy scent mixed with smoke warming her core completely. Her cheek brushed against it, and she inhaled deeply.

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, and she hastily straightened herself, trying to give the jacket back. Gabriel’s hand gently pressed against her shoulder, ensuring it stayed in place.

“I-I’ll ruin it,” she said through gritted teeth, trying to keep her tears from spilling.

“I don’t care,” Gabriel insisted.

Thalia allowed herself a few tears, wiping her face before speaking once more. “I had no right to speak to you that way. You told me the truth from the start.”

“I did.”

“You said this was to be a ploy to please your sister.”

“It was.”

Thalia’s heart skipped a beat. “Was?”

Gabriel seemed to think long and hard about his next sentence, finger tracing the seam of his jacket while seemingly committing every detail of Thalia’s face to memory.

Those midnight eyes… far more complex than she originally assumed. But, everyone was more complex beyond their walls. Everyone held up a mask for the social masquerade.

“I apologize if my actions toward you muddled our understanding of each other.”

She was holding her breath, hoping—daring to hope—that the conversation wouldn’t go where she thought it might.

“I do not—I did not intend to insinuate your usefulness ended at…” Again, Gabriel sighed, brow furrowed in clear frustration towards himself. It was the first time Thalia had heard him speak so ineloquently. “What happened in the library… that isn’t your only purpose to me.”

Thalia let his words wash over her, wrestling between a desperate desire to believe him, and the stinging ache of distrust. “Why won’t you say it?”

Gabriel fell quiet, unable to hold his gaze with her any longer.

“Charlotte told me,” Thalia continued. “On the way home… she told me you had no intention to marry.”

He looked as if she’d just slapped him across the face.

Gently, Thalia pushed him away, removing the jacket from around her shoulders. “I almost wish you had said otherwise. That you required more from me, that our arrangement simply wasn’t beneficial enough.”

“Thalia.”

“Because, at least that way–” She struggled to keep her voice steady. He had to understand; he had to. “At least that way… I wouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. I wouldn’t have allowed myself to be misled so easily.” Thalia held the jacket outward, forcing her arm not to tremble under its weight. And, after a long, terrible silence shared between them, Gabriel took it back. “I’m sorry I was short with you,” Thalia said.

“I’m… sorry it came to that point at all,” Gabriel replied.

She felt as if she would come undone, there and then. It wasn’t his fault—he wasn’t the reason she’d placed so much emotional trust into him. That wasn’t fair; it wasn’t what he asked from her. Thalia let her next breath burn in her chest, tears blinking free and streaming down her face. Then, she let it out in a rush, forcing herself to face Gabriel one last time.

“The dresses really are lovely, thank you. You have excellent taste.”

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