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As much as she did not quite like that her younger sister lied frequently, she could not deny the fact that the lie was rather convincing.

“I am afraid that lie cannot hold for long. If you do not leave after a while, Papa might send a letter to your husband,” Ava cautioned.

She was right. Their father would get suspicious after a while, and Evelin’s lies would be exposed when he decided to send her husband a letter.

“Does this truly mean I can never stay here for long?” Eveline asked, saddened by the realization.

She never wanted to return to her husband’s estate—a place where she had experienced the biggest happiness and yet the biggest heartbreak.

Moreover, if she returned there, she would be all alone, with no husband and no family. She shuddered at the thought.

She had been incredibly lonely in the first few weeks of her marriage before she had asked William to eat dinner with her.

She knew now that if she were to return there, she would go back to being a lonely duchess. Except, now, William would not even be in the castle.

“We do not need to worry ourselves about Papa just yet,” Ava said, pulling Eveline out of her reverie. “He went on a trip, and he will not return for a while. By the time he comes back, we would have known what to do.”

That lightened Eveline’s spirits. At least, for a while, she would not have to worry about her father’s arrival.

CHAPTER 25

William’s estate in Bath was smaller, and yet it seemed even lonelier than his castle. He took another swig of his whiskey and shivered as it burned its way down his throat.

This was what he needed—a distraction from his life, a distraction from the fact that he had caused the one person he cared about the most so much pain.

It had been three days since he had arrived at Bath, and at first, he had been all too happy to be away, in a place where he could be all alone, save for the few servants there.

However, by the end of his first day in Bath, all he could think of was his wife and how terribly he missed her.

That was when he turned to alcohol, as that was the only thing that pushed Eveline out of his mind—at least for a brief moment.

He rose to his feet and staggered just a little, unable to keep his balance. He felt odd as he made to walk out of his study, his whiskey cup still in hand.

He knew he had to be careful. After all, he was excessively drunk. He took one tentative step after the other as the room spun around him.

He started when a dark figure suddenly stepped in front of him.

“Eveline?” he whispered as he held out his hand to touch her.

He was disappointed when he only touched the wall.

He slowly realized that the dark figure was nothing but his own shadow. Yet, he could not help but smile at the thought of Eveline.

Would it not be just perfect if his wife appeared right in front of him and he told her his deepest thoughts?

William imagined for a moment that she had appeared right in front of him. He held out his arms and imagined pulling her in an embrace.

“Eveline!” he murmured. “I know that I have hurt you. But it is the only way.”

He laughed hysterically as he imagined her asking him why he had done that.

“It is the only way, Eveline,” he said. “It is the only way that I can protect you and myself.”

For a moment, William came to his senses. He realized just how foolish he must have looked, running away from his home and his wife to hide out in Bath, while he imagined he was talking to the same wife.

“I suppose my father was right,” he muttered to himself. “I truly am not a man.”

He lifted his cup to his lips only to notice that it was empty. He decided then that what he needed was more alcohol. After all, if he were drunk enough, he would not even remember Eveline.