Page 80 of His Scarred Duchess
She watched his rigid posture, the tension in his shoulders. “Is it? Because from where I’m standing, it seems very much in the present.”
He whirled to face her, his eyes stormy. “What do you want from me, Adeline? A detailed account of every interaction I’ve ever had with Joanna? Every mistake I’ve made?”
“I want honesty!” she cried, her composure cracking. “I want to know that when something’s troubling you, you’ll come to me. That you’ll let me in.”
Edmund’s laugh was harsh. “Let you in? To what end? So you can use it against me later? So you can leave when you realize what a broken mess you’ve married?”
Adeline recoiled as if slapped. “Is that what you think of me? That I’d use your vulnerabilities against you?”
“It’s what people do,” he growled. “They get close, they learn your weaknesses, and then they strike.”
“I’m not ‘people,’ Edmund,” Adeline said, her voice soft but firm. “I’m your wife.”
He turned away again, his shoulders hunched. “A wife of convenience.”
The words stung, but Adeline pressed on. “Is that all I am to you? A convenient arrangement?”
Edmund’s silence was deafening.
Adeline’s heart raced, fear and hope warring within her. She took a deep breath, gathering her courage. “Edmund, look at me.”
He turned back slowly, his face a mask of careful indifference.
“Could you ever love me?” The words tumbled out before she could stop them.
Edmund’s eyes widened, a flicker of something—panic or longing?—crossing his face before it smoothed into blankness once more.
“Love is a fool’s game, Adeline,” he stated, his voice cold. “I thought you were more sensible than that.”
Adeline felt as though the floor had dropped out from beneath her. She stumbled back a step, her hand flying to her scarred cheek.
“I see,” she whispered. “You can’t even bring yourself to say it, can you? That the very sight of me disgusts you.”
Edmund’s brow furrowed. “What? Adeline, that’s not—it’s not about your scars at all.”
“Then what is it about?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, hope and fear warring in her eyes.
Edmund opened his mouth and then closed it again, fumbling for the right words. The silence stretched on, his face a battlefield of warring emotions.
Adeline waited, her heart in her throat. But no explanation came.
Finally, she nodded, a sad smile tugging at her lips. “I see. I’m going to retire to my room.”
She turned to leave, her vision blurring with unshed tears.
“Adeline, wait!” Edmund called, a note of desperation creeping into his voice.
She paused at the door, her hand on the knob. “What is it, Your Grace?”
Hearing his title seemed to knock the wind out of him. He opened his mouth again, but then he shook his head.
Adeline hung her head in resignation. “Goodnight, Edmund.”
The door clicked shut behind her with a finality that echoed in the room.
Edmund stood frozen, staring at the space she had occupied moments ago. His chest ached, a physical pain that threatened to overwhelm him.
Go after her, a voice in his head screamed.Tell her the truth. Tell her you’re falling in love with her.
