Page 32 of Promised to the Ruthless Laird
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CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The first thing Finley became aware of was warmth. The lingering heat of a body beside him and the softness of skin. For a fleeting moment, he remained still, hovering between sleep and wakefulness, his mind blissfully empty. But then the memories of the night before flooded in, and his chest tightened.
His eyes opened to find Edin already awake. Her dark hair was tousled from sleep, her expression unreadable. But her eyes — those sharp, knowing eyes — locked onto his, and Finley swore he saw something flicker across them before she spoke.
“Ye need tae go.” Her voice was low, urgent. Not cruel, but firm.
The words hit him like a slap. Finley forced himself upright, the sheets slipping from his body as reality settled cold and heavy in his stomach. Of course, she was right. It was reckless enough that he had stayed this long. If anyone found him here…
He swallowed hard, nodding. “Alright.”
Edin didn’t say anything more, didn’t soften. She simply waited, watching as he climbed out of the bed, gathering his clothes with hands that felt clumsy and unfamiliar. He wanted to say something, anything to break the thick silence that had settled between them. But what was there to say? That he regretted it? That he didn’t? That he wished he were the kind of man who could make promises, but knew in his bones that he never would be?
No, there was nothing to say. So, he simply dressed. When he turned back to her, fully clothed, she was already looking away.
Finley hesitated at the door. “Edin?—”
“Go.”
It was not a plea. It was an order.
With a sharp exhale, he obeyed.
The hallway was empty as he opened the door and stepped into it, but Finley still felt exposed as he made his way back to his room. Every step echoed in his ears, loud and damning. The air was cool against his skin, but he felt feverish, thoughts pressing in on him from all sides.
Once inside his own chambers, he shut the door firmly behind him, exhaling like he had just emerged from battle. The roomwas dark, undisturbed. Lonely. He ran a hand down his face, gripping the back of his neck as he paced the floor.
What had he done?
The question clawed at him, even though he already knew the answer. He had been reckless. Foolish. Weak. He had let desire and emotion strip him of reason, and now there was no taking it back.
Edin.
The very thought of her sent a fresh wave of guilt crashing over him. He had had no right. He had never had any right. And yet, he had taken something that was hers anyway — stolen something from her that could never be returned. What had she been thinking? What had he been thinking?
He squeezed his eyes shut. It didn’t matter. What mattered was what came next.
He could never let it happen again.
Not because he did not want her — even he couldn’t fully comprehend how much he wanted her — but because it was impossible. There was no future in it, no path that did not end in ruin. He had always known that his fate was not his own to shape. His parents had made that clear long ago. His duty was to his family, to the expectations placed upon his shoulders sincethe day he had drawn his first breath. And that duty did not include Edin.
No matter how much he longed for her, no matter how much what had happened between them had shaken him to his core, it did not change the truth: he would have to marry a highborn lady. A match chosen for him. It had to be a union that would serve his family’s interests, not his own. That was the way of things. And if that was his fate, then what he had done last night was more than just reckless, it was dishonorable.
Finley braced his hands against the edge of the washbasin, staring at his reflection in the small mirror in front of him. He looked as he always did. And yet, something about his own face felt unfamiliar. As if a stranger were staring back at him.
Dishonor.
The word settled like a stone in his stomach. He had dishonored her. Had made her a part of something that could never be anything more than a moment stolen in the dark. And Edin, — fierce, unbreakable Edin — would never let herself be something temporary. She had too much pride for that.
His throat burned. He had been a fool.
