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“I did tell you from the beginning that this was how things would be, remember? I never lied to you.”

“And that is supposed to make me feel better?”

“It is simply a fact.”

“Yes, well,” she scoffed. “I will remind myself of that each time I am forced to remember that you have no desire to start a family with me. Hopefully, it will keep me warm.”

He frowned. “So, you do wish to start a family?”

“I did not—” She stopped and took a deep breath to gather herself. “The truth is that up until a week ago, I did not even consider it an option. The way that we were with one another…” She scoffed. “Why would I? But this last week, Frederick…” She turned and looked at him, sadness plain on her face. “Everything has changed. I know that this marriage has grown into something that we did not foresee, and a part of me was hoping that we would grow with it.”

“We will…” He sat up now, wanting to reach for her still. But he knew if he did that, he would be at her mercy, for he needed to keep his emotions in check if he was to get through this. “There is no reason we cannot. The fact that we are here right now…” He indicated their naked state on the sofa. “Does that not tell you how far we have come?”

“And it is as far as we will come,” she insisted. “For what else is there after this? If not a child, then what?”

“We have Amelia.”

She grimaced. “And I love her, I do. Only… well, she is your daughter, not mine.”

That hit Frederick a little harder than he had expected. He leaned back, taken by surprise, his cool façade dropping instantly. While it might not have been that shocking of a comment, it was a little too real, speaking to the true nature of what this marriage really was.

“She is our daughter,” he said coldly.

“And would she not like a brother or another sister? Would that not be fair to her?”

“Do not use Amelia as a bargaining chip. This is not about her.”

“You are the one who has made it as such,” she shot back, her anger rising again. “You are the one who has made this… this rule, with her at the center.”

“This has nothing to do with Amelia.”

“What, then?” She fixed him with a glare. “Since the day you told me of your… your ridiculous rule, what you have not done isprovided me with a reason why.” She raised an eyebrow. “So, tell me, why? Why do you not wish to start a family with me? Give me a damn reason.”

Frederick’s lip twitched again, his anger returning. “It is not so simple to explain.”

“It is,” she snarled. “You just don’t want to. Either that or you don’t care to. Whatever it is, the result is the same.”

“You won’t understand.”

“Better that than having nothing to understand at all. Tell me, Frederick. Make me understand.” Her expression softened, and her eyes turned pleading. “Please. After everything we have been through, I have a right to know.”

How could he possibly explain it? How could he make her see? The reason for all of this, it brought back memories that had Frederick wanting to stand up and storm out of the room, grab a chair and throw it against the wall.

A worse memory he could not imagine, a worse time in his life he could not fathom to have existed. It made him feel pathetic and weak in ways he did not enjoy, and the idea of explaining it to Hannah, of putting himself out there like that…

But he had to tell her, he had no other option. He just prayed it would be enough and that she would not judge him for it.

“You wish to know the reason?” he asked, looking down as if from shame.

“Tell me.” She took his hand and held it to her chest. “Please. If there is a reason, I must know it.”

He breathed in deeply to calm his racing heart, to stop himself from shaking and sweating. This was not a conversation he wished to have but one that had to happen.

“As you know,” he began solemnly, his voice soft with regret. “I was married once before. It was a marriage arranged by my father, a man who I would have done anything for. Raised as I was, I knew my role in the family and was happy to take it.” He scoffed bitterly. “As ridiculous as it now sounds, I was proud to do it. I even thought”—his stomach churned—“that despite not knowing the woman whom I was set to wed, we might learn to love one another with time.”

Hannah did not speak, even though he could see the obvious question on her lips.Did you?she wished to ask.Learn to love one another?

“Typically, my wife did not wish to marry me either. But while I had made my peace with it, willing to do what it took to make the marriage work, she was the opposite in every regard. She hated me…” The words tumbled off his tongue like poison. “Reviled me. Wished me dead.”