Page 50 of Forbidden Bastard
Her heart twisted and her temples banged. Wow. No one else made her this… out of control. She couldn’t say a word.
He stepped forward and pressed his forehead to hers. “Believe this. I did do it to protect Clara. I was being offered… billions of dollars and "investors" were buying stock in my company to persuade me to join a coup. I didn’t want those people to hear of Clara or use her to get to me. She was my only weakness that might be used to manipulate me.”
Weakness. Family was a strength. Clara seemed like she’d do anything to protect him. “I don’t understand.”
He reached behind his head and massaged his neck. “Not everyone believes monarchies are good and many want Avce to disappear off a map. In showing…passionas I did when I stormed into the palace and then obeyed the king’s decision, I proved coming after me privately wasn’t going to gain would-be traitors any alliances. I didn’t expect the king to pay me off. This whole estate, you, everything… it all feels like a lie.”
Ouch. The wind beat against her skin as the storm heightened. “I’m not a lie. I’m here.”
He let out a small laugh and turned toward the house to walk away. Her stomach was in knots. He said, “But you don’t love me. It’s better if you stay in the guest house with your parents and leave tomorrow.”
Oh no. She couldn’t breathe. Or think. Or feel. She called out to his shoulder, “Wait. What?”
He didn’t bother to turn again. He stood still and stared toward the house. “If we aren’t getting married, I lose it all anyhow. It’s best to just disappoint Clara a little now and move her and myself back to Paris… alone. Where we belong.”
Then he had no title. Clara wouldn't reconnect with her old friends and once again Sandi would've destroyed her life, as well as other people’s lives. He would lose this house. He’d never have a chance to make amends with anyone. She pressed her hand to her stomach, feeling sick. “So you’re breaking up with me because I’m scared about tomorrow?”
This time he half-turned and she glimpsed a glassy-eyed tear that he didn’t bother to wipe away. “I’m breaking up with you because you proved one thing… you don’t love me. And it’s better if we just stop now.”
Love. The word was like a lion’s roar. And he was right. It was the missing link.
He strode toward the house and she screamed, wishing she could stop this as she shouted, “Charles!”
On the bottom step of the patio he said, “Don’t worry about me. I’m used to being unwanted and unloved.”
Wow. She’d torn him down hard. And all because she'd hesitated instead of jumping up and down and embracing feelings. She rushed after him. “Charles.”
But he disappeared in the darkness just as she made it to the top step of the patio.
He’d told her to leavenow.
If she ran inside she’d humiliate herself and him more.
First she needed a clue on what she wanted.
What had just happened wasn’t it, but she wasn’t sure how to fix anything.
Maybe this wasn’t… fixable. Maybe they didn’t fit at all.
Chapter 16
Inside the house, Charles’s shoulders were tight. He wasn’t sure what to do or where to go.
What he did know was that he needed a drink. He needed to numb his heart and body from feeling.
In the past he’d avoided alcohol when in pain and chose the gym because alcohol dulled his common sense, but now… if anything could wipe out the storm inside his soul… he needed something, for one night.
Tomorrow he’d hit the gym, his usual way to deal with hurt, but as he walked toward the wine cellar, the butler stopped him. Charles immediately corrected himself, like Sandi had asked, and said, "Bernard."
The butler lowered his head. “Your Grace.”
Soon he’d be Mister or Monsieur and living back in France. Everything would return to normal once he could untangle himself from this night. He straightened his shoulders. “Miss Smith will be staying with her parents tonight.”
Bernard raised his brow. “It will rain soon, Your Grace, and Miss Smith went into the maze.”
Running around outside in a maze designed to entertain the villagers long before radio, television, or the internet were ever created didn’t seem the best place to be in a storm. He nodded at Bernard. “Call me when she leaves the maze. She probably just needs a few minutes, alone.”
“Very well, Your Grace,” Bernard said.
