Page 25 of The Duke's Concealed Vow
Serena nodded, pulling away from her aunt. But as she did so, she knew what Imogen said was not true. She could never find any form of happiness in a marriage she never wanted, with a man who would never want her.
As she stepped heavy-hearted into a carriage that waited for her and Rowan outside her family’s townhouse, she realized that they were getting in it alone. Rowan’s mother, sister and brother-in-law had gone ahead of them, leaving them unchaperoned. Serena had to remind herself that since they were married now, there was no need for her to be monitored in the company of Rowan. And as the carriage pulled away, taking her out of view of her family and her childhood home, the weight in her heart made it ache. She was now truly alone with her new husband, and the thought was suffocating.
She thought she could handle the silence during the trip to her new home. But it did not take long for the silence to become overwhelming, carrying more tension than a bitter argument would. She pressed her hands into her lap for as long as she could bear it. But at last, she huffed, turning to him, deciding to make the most of the time they had alone.
“Why did you marry me?” she asked. She was still riddled with her nervousness. But she was also determined to figure out why she had found herself married to a duke she had met less than a fortnight prior. “Of all the unwed young women in the ton, why did you choose me?”
Rowan met her gaze, and she firmly held it. She stared at him to show him that she had no intention of letting go of the matter. He didn’t flinch under her scrutiny, but something flickered in his eyes, something that was new, but completelyunreadable to her. She tried to focus on it to see if she could determine what it was. But it was gone too quickly, and his ever calm, ever cool expression returned.
“It was an arrangement, Serena,” he said. “The terms and reasons for which are not something with which you need to concern yourself.”
Serena narrowed her eyes. She would not be deterred. And as they continued to stare at each other, there was another flash of something behind the calm waters of his hazel eyes. This time, it was emotion, and it was far more profound than that which would be tied to a mere arrangement.
“There’s more to it than that, isn’t there?” she asked, her heart pounding. She didn’t care how hard she had to press. She would get her answers one way or another.
Rowan did not look away, but his mouth closed as his lips pressed into a thin line. He thought he should continue keeping secrets from her. And she refused to allow it.
“I deserve to know the truth, Rowan,” she continued. “I am your wife now, and I will not be kept in the dark about matters which so deeply affect my life. I did not get a choice in this situation. You did. And I wish to know why you decided to change my life so drastically, of all the women’s lives you could have altered.”
Rowan’s jaw tightened, and at last he looked away from her. The silence stretched between them as Serena waited impatiently for any response from her aloof husband. But it quickly became clear that she would not get anything more from him.
“Rowan, at least look at me,” she said, hating that her voice sounded more pleading now than demanding.
But Rowan did not look away from the window, nor did an answer to her questions come. She could feel the chasm between them grow, being filled with a gulf of secrets that threatened toswallow them both whole. And Serena knew that she could not prevent such engulfment alone. If Rowan refused to so much speak to her, he would certainly never help her close the rift between them. What was she to do?
