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“What doyouwant?” Herbert asked, his expression drawn and unfriendly.

“Is Lady Selina here?” Richard asked hopefully.

“I fail to see how that information will be of use to you. I believe you might have taken the wrong turn on your way home.”

“I do know the way back to my house. Thank you,” he said with a smile, pushing down the irritation that rose in his chest. “I am here to see Lady Selina. Could you please inform her of my presence?”

“I fail to see why you would be at the home of an unmarried woman who you swore you could never marry,” Herbert said with a cruel twist of his lips. “I believe you have done enough damage. Go home, Your Grace. Do not return here again.”

He remained at the door, effectively preventing Richard from entering the house.

Being a duke meant that all doors in the kingdom were open to Richard, but at this moment, the Wilkins’ mansion front door was the most important one.

“I cannot leave until I have completed my mission here.”

“And what might that be? You have hurt my sister deeply. What more do you want?” Herbert asked, his eyes flashing with rage.

In his anger, Richard could also see the pain the younger man felt, witnessing his sister’s heartache, and at that moment, the guilt struck him anew.

“Please stay away from my sister,” Herbert said in a firm tone.

Richard was about to argue but was halted by the sound of Selina’s voice. She had probably heard their altercation and had decided to intervene.

“Herbert, please,” she said.

Looking up to where she stood at the top of the stairs with the poise of queen, he was entranced once more. Her dark hair fell over skin that glittered with health. She was still the beauty that haunted his dreams. The woman who he was hopelessly and madly in love with.

Well, she was still the same, except she was not quite the same. Her bright, vibrant energy was missing.

There was a stillness to her, as if she was far away, even though she stood right there with them in the flesh.

“Thank you, Herbert, but I can handle it from here,” she said softly, ignoring the mutinous look that Herbert gave her.

In a matter of moments, her brother had gone back into the house, and they were left alone.

“How are you?” Richard asked, for a lack of something to say.

“How do you think I am faring?” she shot back, facing him squarely.

He looked closely at her, and suddenly he was able to see the toll heartbreak had taken on her. She was still beautiful, but her eyes were empty, entirely lacking the mischievous light he had fallen in love with.

In its place was a cool look that was a testament to how jaded she was becoming. Her face was drawn and pale, as if she had fallen sick or had spent a lot of time crying.

He had done this. He had turned a beautiful, spirited young woman into a shell of herself simply because of his cowardice. He wondered how he would start to make this right, but he had to try, both for her sake and his.

“I am sorry, Selina,” he began haltingly. “I am sorry that I threw away our love simply because I was afraid of the unknown. I love you so much I can barely breathe without you by my side. I promise to spend my life with you, apologizing for my mistakes while loving you. I am no longer going to be a coward. I am willing to embrace this journey no matter where it takes us, so long as I have you by my side. Please, marry me?”

He could feel her thawing with each word he said; it was there in the tension that left her shoulders and in the subtle trembling of her hands as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

The last part caused her head to jerk up, her eyes searching his. Fragile hope bloomed in those green depths. But just as soon as the hope appeared, it disappeared, replaced by a wary look. His heart broke that he had turned her into this wary woman who was now afraid to trust easily.

“Why have you changed your mind about marriage? I thought you were firmly averse to it.”

“I am not averse to marrying you, my love. It is you I want to be with for the rest of my life. If you will have me.”

He held firmly to the hope in his heart that she didn’t decide to turn her back on him.

At first, her expression remained blank, then tears gathered in her eyes, spilling over her cheeks. Her hands tightened into fists by her sides. She raised one of them and punched his arm again and again until she was sobbing in earnest.