Page 43 of Alone with the Beastly Duke
“Jasmine, I am so sorry for all the hurtful things I said to you. If I could take it back, I would do it in a moment. You have brought sunshine and joy into my life, and I only want to keep you happy. I have failed at that as I have only made you sad by the things I said to you,” he said. “I can only ask for your forgiveness, but I would understand if you decide not to forgive me. I just want you to know that I...that I...care for you, and I will always do so.”
For the first time since the incident, Axel saw a smile spread across Jasmine’s face. She looked radiant and happy, the way he had always known her.
“Now, that is an apology,” Jasmine said as she walked toward him.
Axel also smiled, his heart leaping in joy.
“Do you forgive me?” he asked when she stopped in front of him.
Jasmine bit her lips and furrowed her brows as though she was thinking deeply about the question he had just asked. The gesture, however, only called Axel’s attention to her luscious red lips. He imagined pulling her toward him, pressing her against his body, and kissing her as he had always dreamed of doing.
“I would not say I have forgiven you. Now, where are those gifts?” she asked.
Axel laughed. “I presumed you did not like the novels and the flowers, so I threw them away,” he lied as he tried to hide the gifts behind him.
“Lies! You have not even left this room, so how could you have possibly thrown the gifts away?” she asked.
“You have a point,” Axel admitted, “but I threw them out the window when you were not looking.”
“Indeed.” Jasmine gave a smile that showed she did not believe him. “Are you telling me that if I check the hand that you hide behind your back, I would not see these gifts?” she asked.
Axel shrugged. “You can look for yourself,” he replied.
Jasmine walked closer to Axel, and he held his breath at how close she was to him. She ducked and reached behind him to get to the gifts.
“Yes!” she proclaimed triumphantly.
Jasmine snatched the gifts from his grasp, but instead of moving away, she stood in front of him, staring at him. Axel could not keep his eyes off her lips, and his breath hitched when she parted them slowly.
“Jasmine!” he muttered.
The spark was undeniable. The chemistry they had both long suppressed came to the fore and was palpable. Axel leaned toward her, but at the last minute, Jasmine pulled away, the gifts in her hands.
“Why did you react that way before?” she suddenly asked.
Axel exhaled. The moment had passed yet again.
“It is because of my former wife,” he explained. “I just could not bear seeing her vase. It...it made me feel...feel...” He could not bring himself to say it.
“I understand that you still feel deeply for her,” Jasmine said.
Axel realized something at that moment.
“My reaction had little to do with what I used to feel for my former wife,” Axel pronounced, “and it has more to do with my guilt over her death. Seeing you with that vase made me feel guilty.”
“Oh, but you should not feel guilty. Despite what you feel, I know that you are a good man, and you would not do anything to harm anyone, let alone your wife,” she assured.
Axel laughed bitterly. “Maybe you do not know me as much as you think you do,” he said.
Jasmine smiled. “I admit that I may not know a lot about you. Why then do you not tell me what really happened when she died? Maybe that would tell me the kind of man you really are.”
Axel shook his head.
“I…I cannot. You would think the worst of me,” he said and for the first time in a while, he could feel raw fear.
If he told her what had transpired the night his former wife tried to leave him, she would forever see him as the beast he was.
“I would never think the worst of you, Axel,” she said, placing a palm on his and her other hand on his shoulder.
