Page 54 of Alone with the Beastly Duke
By now, I am sure that you know not to underestimate me. My influence goes far and wide, and all I have to do is say the word, and the content of this sheet of paper will be in every house in the Ton by dawn tomorrow, all thanks to my connections.
When I left your house the other day, I told you this was far from over. This is what I was talking about. You might wonder what I want from you. Here is what I want: I want you to cut off whatever affair you have with your little lover then come meet me at the river on the outskirts of the town by midnight.
If I do not see you by midnight, then I can assume that you do not care if I release this information and ruin you and your little lover. I am certain that the Ton would not look kindly on the maiden who the Nordic Beast has soiled.
Axel ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
“Goddamit!” he seethed. It was as though a veil covering his eyes all along had suddenly been lifted, and he saw things clearly now.
What have I done?
Seeing Dorothy’s letter had just made him realize that he had been beyond reckless, and now, the person who would get punished for his crimes was the one person that he cared about: Jasmine. Even if Dorothy tried to ruin him, he had nothing left to lose. Jasmine, on the other hand, had so much to lose, and her family would never be able to recover from it if it ever came out that he had touched her.
Axel stared at his hand, callous and rough, a testament to his rough life and the hardship he had endured all his life. Ever since his parents died, he had never been truly happy, and the few times he had been briefly happy, something had happened to ruin his happiness.
Axel briefly wondered if he had been cursed.
His father had met his mother, a Norwegian princess, on one of his many sojourns. They had fallen in love immediately, and growing up with them had been the best part of his life. It all came crashing down when his parents drowned on their journey to Norway to visit his mother’s family. One minute, he had a loving family, and the next minute, he was all alone in the world with all the pressure of taking care of his father’s estate falling on his shoulders. He buried himself in his work, leaving no space for love or affection in his heart. When he met his former wife, however, he was positively smitten by her, and he believed she felt the same way about him.
They began to argue more and more, however, until she told him that she never loved him and ran away. His world had come crashing down then, and he had gone after her, ready to do all it took to get her back. This resulted in her death, and he turned into the sad, brooding man he was until he met Jasmine. And now that he was happy with Jasmine, Dorothy seemed bent on destroying his happiness.
Axel knew what he had to do so that history would not repeat itself. He had to do as Dorothy had said, break things off with Jasmine lest he ruined her the way he had ruined his former wife and caused her to die.
He knew now that he was never meant to be happy, and every attempt to escape this curse would always be futile. Everything and everyone that he cared about seemed to end up getting destroyed. From his parents to his former wife, and now, Jasmine was in danger.
He never wanted Jasmine to suffer a similar fate, and if what it would take to protect Jasmine was for him to stay away from her, then so be it.
Axel rose from his seat, determination set in his eyes. He headed down the stairs toward the library, determined to break things off with Jasmine at this moment. It did not matter that he would hurt her. What mattered more was that she would be safe from him and the curse that seemed to be following him.
His hand had just touched the doorknob of the library when his butler announced the entrance of someone.
“The Earl and Countess of Thornhill!” the butler announced.
Axel groaned as he took his hand off the doorknob. Now, he had to tend to some guests before doing the rather important task ahead of him. He blinked as he mulled over the name that his butler had just announced.
“Thornhill?” he gasped.
The next moment, a middle-aged couple entered his house. Just a look at them confirmed what Axel had suspected. The resemblance between them and Jasmine was uncanny, and he realized immediately that things had just gotten complicated.
“Your Grace,” the man Axel knew as the Earl said.
Axel strode over to them.
“Lord Hudson,” he replied, tipping his hat at them, “Lady Hudson.”
“We received your letter,” the man said, “and we are grateful to you for helping us take care of our Jasmine.”
“Ah, yes,” Axel replied with a smug smile, even though the day’s many events muddled his head.
“Lady Jasmine, of course,” he replied, signaling at his butler. “Kindly fetch me Lady Jasmine, Maxwell.”
The butler disappeared into the library, and Axel regarded Jasmine’s parents.
“I must say that I am surprised to see you here, especially after you sent a letter to Lady Jasmine that you would not be able to come back for her because your carriage broke down,” he commented.
The couple stared at each other in what was evident confusion.
“What? That is impossible,” the Earl said.
