Page 120 of Bound By the Duke

Aurelia let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, then gently withdrew her hand. She crossed her arms, leaning back against the pillows. Her eyes darted away from Percival, cold in their dismissal.

It was back. The sting of rejection. The memory of him watching her walk away from him without a word. Without a plea for her to stay.

Now he wanted to talk?

“Why?” His voice broke the silence. It was rough, hoarse, as if he’d been holding back too much for far too long. “Why would you go there without guards? Without anyone? Do you have any idea what could’ve happened?”

She turned her head slowly toward him, disbelief flickering in her gaze. Was he being serious? He was actually accusing her.

“Why would you leave the house without an escort?” he pressed. “Were you not aware of the dangers? Aurelia, you could have?—”

That was it.

She had had enough.

“You did not seem to care about any of those things when I was leaving, Percival.” She rolled her eyes.

The words landed like a blade straight through his chest.

He froze, blinking once. Her accusation stripped him bare. As if her voice had teeth and they had just sunk deep.

She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stop the shivers racking her body. But Percival, when he took a deep breath and looked at her again…

God, the look on his face.

He wasn’t fighting her. He wasn’t posturing or explaining. He was just… wrecked.

“You’re right,” he conceded with a sigh. “You’re right to be angry.”

Her heart stuttered at how easily the words left him. He wasn’t defending himself. He was surrendering.

“I should’ve stopped you,” he continued. “I should’ve fought for you. But I was—” He swallowed, his voice cracking again. “I was a coward. I thought if I kept my distance, it would protect you. Protect us both. But all I did was hurt you. I let you leave with your heart broken, and I didn’t come after you.”

His eyes closed briefly, as though he were ashamed to speak the truth aloud.

“You were hurt because of me. All of this happened because of me.”

Aurelia wanted to keep silent. Wanted to let him suffer a little longer. Her pride demanded it.

But the way his broad shoulders hunched, the way his hands trembled as he tried to keep them steady, melted the armor she had so carefully wrapped around herself.

“I am fine,” she said softly. “The physician’s already seen to me. It’s only a bruise. I’ll be all right.”

But her words didn’t soothe him. His chest was still heaving, his hands still trembling.

She couldn’t stand it anymore. With effort, she sat up, ignoring the dull ache at the back of her skull, and leaned forward. And then, without a word, she wrapped her arms around him.

He froze with shock. For a brief moment, he did not move, as though he couldn’t quite believe she would show him such grace.

But then, slowly, his arms came around her, pulling her into him. Not roughly, not desperately, but carefully and achingly, as though she were made of glass.

And once he held her, he could not let go. He buried his face in her neck. His breath was warm and unsteady against her skin.

When he finally spoke, his words were muffled and raw. “I’m terrified, Aurelia,” he whispered. “I keep thinking, what if I’d been too late? What if you’d been taken from me and I never saw you again? I could never survive it.”

She pulled back just enough to look at him, her brow furrowed. “Why, Percival? Why do you always blame yourself?”

There was the question she had been meaning to ask him all this time.