Page 42 of Bound to the Heartless Duke (Regency Beasts #4)

O nce back within the familiar walls of Blackmore Manor, the storm that had followed from the carriage seemed to pause. However, the atmosphere was still far from peaceful.

Nathan stood just beyond the threshold of the grand entrance hall. There was a mud stain on the hem of his trousers, his lips were cracked, and desperation flickered in his bloodshot eyes.

He had never been to Blackmore Manor. For all his bravado and recklessness, he looked no more than a boy who had run too far into the woods and only just realized he’d lost his way.

And then he did something that surprised them both—he dropped to his knees.

That made both Lily and Magnus pause and look down at him.

“I was wrong,” he said hoarsely, not looking at either of them. “I see that now. I—I’m sorry, Lily. I never wanted this. I swear it.”

Lily stood a few feet away, unmoved, her arms crossed tightly over her chest like she was holding herself together.

Even if she wanted to address him, she wasn’t exactly sure where to start.

She lifted her chin, her eyes shimmering. Not with tears, not yet, but with everything she had buried for too long.

“You never wanted this?” Her voice was quiet, dangerous. “You gambled away Medlin Manor in a drunken haze and vanished, while I had to barter away my future to save what was left of our family name. But of course, you never wanted this.”

Nathan looked up at her, startled.

“You think I wanted to be like this?” he snapped. “I didn’t choose it, Lily. I was born into ruin, just like you.”

“No,” she whispered, shaking her head before stepping forward. “That’s where you’re wrong. I may have been born into ruin, but I chose to rise from it.”

He blinked, confused. Or perhaps realizing how intelligent his sister had become, that he had been too focused on his recklessness to notice.

“And do you know why I did?” she went on, her voice trembling with rising emotion. “Because I had no one else. Because the one person who was supposed to look out for me— you —was too busy chasing cards and drink to see what I needed. Or worse, you saw and you simply didn’t care.”

Nathan stood up slowly, his expression hardening. “That’s not fai?—”

“Isn’t it?” she cut in, her eyes flashing. “You spent years belittling me. Every time I tried to be responsible, to build something from the ashes you left, you called me childish. Foolish. Do you have any idea what that did to me?”

He blinked again, at a loss for words. It was as though she had heard his thoughts and had reconstructed them as a harsh reality.

“Lily…”

“No, let me speak,” she insisted, her voice rising.

“You talk about ruin, about our father’s debts, but you forget that I carried them too.

I carried you. While you were squandering what little we had left, I was holding our world together with nothing but stubbornness and a hope that maybe, just maybe, you’d wake up one day and realize you weren’t the only one grieving. ” Her voice cracked on the last word.

Nathan lowered his gaze, his jaw tightening.

“You say you’re sorry,” she whispered, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. “But if you truly were, you’d take responsibility. Not just grovel.”

“Even if I wanted to, I can’t pay him back,” Nathan muttered, nodding toward Magnus, who had stood silently the whole time, his arms folded across his chest. “You know that.”

“Then you’ll work until you can,” Lily declared, her voice hardening. “Because I won’t let you crawl through life making excuses for your mistakes. Not anymore. You’ll repay every last cent to my husband.”

Nathan scoffed. All of a sudden, his apologetic side seemed to have vanished. Almost.

“How? Shall I go work in the coal pits? Or perhaps sell off my soul? You’re dreaming, Lily.”

“That’s enough.” Magnus’s voice cut clean through the rising storm.

Nathan turned to him, only for Magnus to step forward with quiet command, his eyes cold.

“I’ve already spoken to a few associates in the Colonies,” Magnus said. “They have a post in the Indies. You’ll be given food, lodgings, and a salary. And every month they’ll keep a portion of your salary until you fully repay your debt to me.”

Nathan gaped at him. “You can’t be serious.” He shook his head, already pacing to and fro.

“I’ve never been more serious.” Magnus’s lips curled into a smirk that was devoid of humor.

“But I’m your brother-in-law!”

Magnus’s jaw flexed, before he raised an eyebrow. “And…?”

“It’s your duty to help me!” Nathan protested, his voice rising. “I’m Lily’s blood.”

Magnus’s eyes narrowed on him. “No. It is your duty to honor the name you were born into, not to bleed your sister dry for the sake of your pride. You mistake marriage for charity, Lord Medlin.”

Lily’s breath hitched at that, because beneath his clipped tone and stoic expression, she could feel it—his fury, his care, his conviction.

Nathan stared between them, disbelief giving way to something akin to grief. “You’d send me away.”

“You’re lucky,” Magnus said flatly, “that I didn’t send you to the authorities.”

That shut Nathan up.

Not giving a damn whether he would still come up with a response or not, Magnus turned to Lily and held out his hand.

He did not speak, but she immediately understood that he wanted her to come along. She didn’t hesitate, reaching out to accept his hand. When their fingers met and locked, they began to walk away.

Nathan immediately stepped forward. “So that’s it then?” he cried after them.

Magnus didn’t bother to respond.

But Lily paused, just at the edge of the hall. She turned back one last time.

“You have one chance, Nathan. Don’t waste it.”

The couple walked through the halls hand in hand, but it felt like something more. Something final, yet new. Like shedding old skin that neither of them knew they still wore.

Lily leaned her head against Magnus’s shoulder for a moment as they rounded a corner. The silence between them wasn’t awkward now. If anything, it was reverent.

Magnus could feel it in the way her thumb rubbed idle circles on the back of his hand, the way her breathing synced with his as if their bodies already knew how to find the same rhythm.

He paused when he spotted Mrs. Gunther at the end of the hall, holding a candle and a ledger, her brow furrowed in that way only long-serving housekeepers could manage.

“Mrs. Gunther,” he said, gently releasing Lily’s hand, “see to it that Nathan is washed, dressed in something presentable, and fed a proper meal. He is to board the morning ship, so have someone accompany him and make sure he gets on it.”

Mrs. Gunther nodded crisply. “With pleasure, Your Grace.”

“Thank you,” Magnus said.

Then, without a backward glance, he took Lily’s hand again and resumed their walk. But before they disappeared around another corner, Lily turned her head and gave a smile to the elderly woman, who had become more like a mother to her in such a short period of time.

Magnus led her to her chambers, and they stood at the door for a moment. The light from the candles in the corridor flickered across her face, the golden hue bringing out the color of her eyes.

“Well then,” he said, a bit stiffly, as if he had more to say. “Goodnight.”

Lily curled her hand around the doorknob, but she didn’t turn it. Just like him, as if she had more to say.

Where was the fun in stepping inside if he wouldn’t come along?

She took a deep breath and turned around just as he stepped away. “That’s it?” she asked softly.

He turned to look at her, blinking slowly. “Should it not be?”

Her lips curled into a smile. “You’ve just decided to send my brother to the end of the world, lectured him like a righteous archangel, and now you mean to walk away with nothing but a goodnight ?”

Magnus arched an eyebrow. “Would you prefer a soliloquy?”

“I’d settle for a promise,” she murmured, rolling her eyes.

He tilted his head to the side, his expression sobering, before he stepped back toward her. “Of what?”

“That you won’t vanish again.”

His chest rose slowly with a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. His gaze flicked to her mouth and back to her eyes.

“I won’t,” he said after a long beat. “I promise. You’ll never regret being my wife, Lily.”

She gave a soft, teasing smile. “It’s a little late for regret, don’t you think?”

He smirked. “Then perhaps it’s time to consider gratitude instead.”

She turned toward her door then, laughing quietly. “Goodnight, Magnus.”

But just as she made to open the door, she thought of another thing. When she turned around this time, he was still standing there, watching her.

She let go of the doorknob and stepped closer to him. Just an inch. Then another. “Did you mean it?”

His voice lowered. “Mean what?”

Her gaze held his, lit by something deeper than hope. “That b eyond responsibility you felt towards me as your wife, you cared for me.”

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he closed the gap between them until their bodies were only a breath apart.

Then, he leaned in, slowly, deliberately, and pressed a kiss to the curve of her neck, just beneath her ear. She gasped softly reacting to his caress. He loved how responsive she was to him and the thought had his body awakening with desire for her.He felt the way her pulse jumped beneath his lips.

When he pulled back, his voice was gravelly against her skin.

“Yes,” he said. “It is sbecause I care for you that I intend to fulfil my responsibility to you and my responsibility is to ensure I am deserving of you.”

Her breath hitched at those words.

She didn’t respond, not with words. Instead, she turned to open the door, before backing into her room slowly, step by step, her eyes never leaving his.

And her husband followed.

By the time she reached the center of the room, the door had swung shut behind him.

The air had shifted, grown charged. It was obvious. The world outside could have fallen to ruin, and neither would’ve noticed.

Magnus moved closer before reaching out and gently tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering a bit too long. Lily leaned her head to his touch, caught in the strange, beautiful storm between them.

“I love you, Lily,” he confessed, his voice raw, real . “I love you so much. So much that it’s suffocating, yet it’s the best feeling I have ever felt.”

Her lips parted. There had been no warning. She had not even been expecting that.

“God help me, I think I’ve loved you from the moment you accused me of wanting nothing more than the manor and still looked at me like I was something you didn’t know what to name.

” He stepped closer, their chests almost touching.

“I’ve spent years building walls. Years of convincing myself that love was a weakness.

That duty was safer. Predictable. Clean.

But then you came along and made everything messy. ”

She smiled through sudden tears. Tears she had not realized had started falling until one slipped to her mouth.

“You made me want things I had buried. You made me want you. Need you.”

Lily lifted trembling hands to cup his face. “I wanted to hate you,” she whispered. “You made that very easy, you know.”

He laughed softly. One of those rare laughs of his. “Yes, I know.”

“But I didn’t,” she said. “Because from the very start, you made me feel seen. And infuriated. And… alive.” Her voice cracked. “And then you made me feel alone again, when you pulled away.”

“I was afraid,” he admitted quietly. “Of loving you and losing you. Of not being enough for you. Of ruining you.”

“And yet,” she said, blinking back more tears, “here you are. My ruin. My salvation. My stubborn, impossible, wonderful husband.”

Magnus yanked her into his arms and buried his face in her neck.

“I love you,” she repeated, the words muffled against his chest. “I love you so much, I can hardly breathe.”

He pulled back just enough to look at her. Her cheeks were wet now, but she was smiling. Glowing.

And then he kissed her. Not like before. Not with hunger or desperation. But slowly. Deeply. With the certainty of a man who had found the one thing he had never thought he could have.

Their lips met again and again, with soft sighs and breathless moans, until he scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bed.

There was no urgency or chaos. Just two people who had fought the world to find each other. Two people who were finally winning.

Wrapped in his arms, Lily whispered against his skin, “You were right.”

“About what?” he murmured, his teeth taking turns nipping her fingers.

“It wasn’t duty that brought love.”

He kissed her temple.

“It was love all along.”