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“And why did you choose me, husband? Out of all the eligible women, why me?”

Hector’s eyes darkened, and he leaned closer. Her eyes widened, and the paleness of her cheeks made him smile. He moved away slightly before she choked with embarrassment.

“As I told you the day we met, I do not owe you an explanation, Juliet. But if you must know, it is a matter of duty. There are…reasons far beyond what you can see.”

Juliet’s heart raced at his closeness; the intensity of his gaze and his ferocious masculinity were heady and overwhelming. His muscles flexed and bulged in his arm as he held onto the frame of the carriage window. She wanted to push him for more, to try to understand this man she had married, but something in his eyes warned her against pushing the questions she had etched into her mind.

“Duty,” she repeated softly although she couldn’t remove the sadness accompanying her statement. “Is that all I am to you?”

Hector leaned back. “For now, yes. Duty and obligation. Do not expect more from me and I will not demand anything from you.”

“How noble.” She turned away from him, filling her sight with the passing scenery instead.

Juliet supposed this was her life now, permanently yoked to a man who wanted nothing from her and demanded that void be respected and reciprocated.

Hector broke the silence with a grunt. The conversation had taken a turn he had not expected. He meant to tell his wife not to feel unduly overburdened by her new duties. She didn’t want the marriage, and neither did he.

“If you follow my rules, you will quickly see it will be easier for everyone.”

“Why did you choose me then?” Juliet asked again, her voice steady despite her racing heart.

She assumed that if he desperately didn’t want anything to do with her, then her questionable past had to be the reason for his rejection. “I’m obviously a scandalous pick. Why hurt your reputation like that?”

Hector’s gaze was cold. “Stop making me repeat myself; I don’t care about my reputation. I have dealt enough damage to it myself.”

Juliet leaned forward, her eyes narrowing. “So, I was an incidental choice?”

Hector’s jaw tightened. “I am done with your questions.”

Her frustration bubbled over.

“My whole life has been turned upside down because of you. The least you could do is tell me why!”

He leaned in, his face inches from hers. “You talk back a lot for a girl who used to live in a nunnery.”

“Maybe that’s because I’ve learned to fend for myself,” Juliet shot back, not backing down.

Her husband’s eyes flickered with something she couldn’t quite pinpoint. Amusement? Respect? She wasn’t sure.

“Is that so?” he murmured, his voice softer, almost teasing.

Their faces were so close now that Juliet could feel his breath on her skin.

“If you’ve truly learned to fend for yourself,” he growled softly, his eyes burning with intensity as he closed the distance between them, “then you’ll know to stay away from me.”

“And why is that?”

“Because an innocent lady like you couldn’t handle me, Duchess.”

“What if I’m not as innocent as you think?” she retorted.

For a moment, the tension between them grew into something else entirely. Hector’s eyes dropped to her lips, and Juliet’s pulse quickened as he stared at her mouth. It was as if the air aroundthem had thickened, charged with an attraction neither could deny.

As their faces drew closer, the carriage suddenly stopped, jerking them apart.

The coachman’s voice came from outside, “My apologies, Your Graces.”

Juliet exhaled sharply and righted herself, trying to steady her rapidly pounding heart. Hector pulled back into his own seat, his expression once again a mask of indifference.