Page 54 of Healing the Duke's Desires
“Don’t you think that your family wants you to be happy?” she said, her eyes brimming with tears and her voice quavering, on the verge of breaking. “What is so wrong in two people finding solace, finding love in each other?”
“Sometimes duty is stronger than love, Emily.” He sighed.
She felt as if he was giving her the same answer over and over again, only saying it in different words every time. It was a rehearsed answer, while the truthful one was buried deep inside his heart. That was where she wanted to reach him, but with the thorny walls he had built up around him, she was unable to.
She couldn’t look at him any longer, feeling vulnerable and exposed. Emotions running high, she turned from him and fled the gazebo, her silken gown rustling as she raced through the verdant bushes down a path lit by the moonlight. She didn’t have to turn around to know he was following her.
The moonlight illuminated the path ahead, leading Emily to a nearby lake. She stood at its edge, chest heaving as she fought tears. Alexander approached cautiously, his own turmoil evident in his expression. He reached out and gently took her hand, a silent plea in his eyes.
But Emily, overwhelmed by her emotions and his inability to choose her over his duty, pulled away from his touch as if it scorched her. Tears streamed down her face. She wasn’t trying to hide them, to wipe them.
Let him see,a little voice inside of her said tenderly.He has seen all of you. Your love, your desire. All that is left is for him to see your pain.
“No, Alexander!” she cried, the agony tearing at her heart. “I can’t bear this uncertainty any longer! You are denying yourself happiness and, selfishly, condemning me to the same.”
His rejection was like a knife to her heart, and no matter what he said now, he would not be able to ease her misery. The depth of their love was undeniable, but the weight of his duty and the ghost of his late wife loomed over them like a shadow, casting doubt on their future.
“I’m not condemning you,” he tried to explain, but she was deaf to his words. “I am trying to save you the heartache, Emily. Please understand that.”
“Save me the heartache?” she scoffed incredulously, the salty taste of tears on her lips as she spoke. She shook her head as she continued speaking. “You can’t save me from heartache, Alexander. What I feel now is exactly that, and it is already too much to bear.”
As the words hung heavy in the moonlit air, the depth of their love and the torment of their situation were painfully clear. Alexander’s intentions were born of a deep sense of duty, but Emily’s heart was already entwined with his, and the ache of their love was a heartache they both shared.
She clutched her chest, as if trying to physically ease the anguish within her. The love she felt for Alexander was a relentless ache, a beautiful agony that threatened to consume her.
“I am so sorry that I have caused you pain, Emily,” he said softly, his voice down to a whisper. He was standing behind her, and she dared not turn around to face him. She feared that she would refuse to listen to a single word that passed through his lips, instead cupping his face and kissing him into oblivion, until they both forgot about the world, about their duties, about anything but the two of them.
“Please, believe me that this was the last thing I wanted to do,” he continued, and she silently cursed him for having the most melodious voice she had ever heard.
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to find some semblance of solace. “Words mean nothing when your actions stand in such stark contrast. Your love for me is undeniable, yet you push me away. You say you don’t mean to hurt me, yet that is exactly what you are doing.”
He didn’t say anything to that, although she longed to hear him speak. The night hung heavy around Emily, its velvety darkness mirroring the depths of her pain. The moonlight, once serene and beautiful, now seemed like a haunting presence, casting long shadows that danced eerily around her.
She glanced up at the lake. It seemed to mirror her turbulent emotions, its surface rippling with an unsettling restlessness. The air was still, but it carried the echoes of their argument, each word a sharp blade that had cut through her heart. The rustling leaves and distant sounds of the night creatures added to the somber symphony of her despair.
She closed her eyes, allowing the night’s chilly breeze to envelop her into its embrace. She was desperate to bridge the emotional chasm that stood between them, but she knew it was an impossible feat.
With her eyes closed, she felt the touch of his hand on her arms. His cologne swirled inside her mind, drawing her in with magnetic force. It took all of her conscious effort to turn around and pull away from his touch with a frustrated motion.
In her haste to remain physically away from him, she lost her balance, stumbling backward toward the edge of the lake. The ground beneath her feet gave way and, with a cry of utter surprise, she tumbled into the water.
Chapter 31
As Emily struggled in the dark water, Alexander’s heart clenched with a profound sense ofdéjà vu. The silvery moonlight, which had once been serene, now cast eerie shadows reminiscent of haunting memories that kept him up at night, that clawed at his mind and soul relentlessly.
In an instant, the image of his late wife, Amelia, flashed before his eyes—the same shock, the same struggle, the same helplessness. It was a memory that had haunted him for years, and now, with Emily in the dark, murky waters before him, it felt like history repeating itself.
He felt frozen in time and space. Fear gripped him like a pair of iron shackles, binding him in place and rendering him unable to move. His lips parted in a futile effort to call out to Emily, but that wouldn’t do much. He doubted she would even be able to hear him from the sound of the water around her and the drumming of her petrified heart.
She needed him, and he couldn’t move a single muscle in his body. His mind screamed in agony. His soul oozed through his fingers, aching to get out. His heart palpitated with the strength of a thousand horses, all to break him free from this spell. Anguish and determination swelled up inside of him, finally overriding his hesitation.
Without a second thought, Alexander jumped into the lake after Emily, his strong arms propelling him through the cold, dark water. His mind raced with the urgency of the moment, and he reached out for her, determined to pull her to safety.
The water enveloped them both, chilling and disorienting, but his love for Emily and the haunting specter of his past fueled his determination. He found her in the murky depths and, with every ounce of his strength, fought to bring her back to the surface.
All at once, a disorienting haze seemed to descend upon him. His vision blurred, and in the darkness, indistinct shapes and figures appeared, swirling like shadows around them.
His heart pounded in his chest as he desperately tried to make out the faces and forms that loomed in the obscurity, but it was as if they were spectral apparitions, elusive and inscrutable. The voices of these phantom figures murmured incoherently, their presence adding to the surreal and unsettling nature of the moment.
