Page 25 of Yours Always (The Enduring Hearts #1)

A somber hush filled the hall, the morning sun casting muted light across the bare floors.

Matthew stood stiffly in the doorway of the sitting room watching Anna and Timothy move through the room like wraiths.

White dust cloths draped over every surface, transforming the once-familiar space into a mausoleum of the life he had once known.

The heavy chime of the mantel clock split the silence.

If he didn’t leave now, he would miss his passage to Scotland, and with it, the chance to bury himself a sea away from everything, and everyone, he couldn’t bear to face.

He opened his mouth to thank his staff, and to bid them a proper goodbye, but suddenly the front door slammed open with a crack that rattled the windows.

Timothy moved to intercept the intruder, but Matthew lifted a hand without looking.

He didn’t need to see who it was, there was only one man who would come barreling into his house like a storm front without knocking.

“Timothy. Anna,” Matthew said quietly. “Please give us the room.” They obeyed, slipping out through the side door just as Benjamin Weston charged in like thunder. There was no calm in him. No measured grace. He was fury incarnate.

“I need you to explain,” Benjamin snapped, fists clenched at his sides, “what exactly was going through your mind the last time you spoke to my sister, and you need to do it fast before I put my fist through your nose.” Matthew turned slowly from the window, and met his gaze square on.

“A broken nose sounds fair,” he said dryly. “I half-expected pistols at dawn.”

Benjamin didn’t laugh. He took a step forward, jaw rigid, eyes ablaze with betrayal.

“Is that why you’re sneaking off to Scotland without telling me?

So you wouldn’t have to face me?” The words cracked like a whip, but beneath the anger, Matthew caught the ache and betrayal, a wound Benjamin couldn’t hide.

This wasn’t only about Sarah, it was about them. About a friendship fraying apart.

Matthew swallowed, throat raw. “I didn’t tell you,” he said hoarsely, “because I knew you would try to stop me.”

“Stop you from what?” Benjamin exploded. “From fighting for your business? Your future? Your life?” He stepped closer, his voice rising. “I would’ve helped you, Matty. We all would have. You didn’t have to carry this alone.”

Matthew flinched. Benjamin’s voice dropped low and ragged. “What I would have stopped you from doing, is breaking Sarah’s heart.” Benjamin said, grief seeping into every word. “You didn’t just walk away from her, Matty, you left her in pieces.”

Matthew turned back to the window, the light had shifted pale and cold across the shrouded furniture.

A home slowly vanishing behind him, one he had already begun to leave behind.

“I had to,” he said finally. “For her sake.” Benjamin let out a bitter, breathless laugh.

“If that is the story you have chosen, by all means keep to it.”

Matthew kept his back turned, he couldn’t look at Benjamin and see the clarity in his eyes.

“It will be easier for her to forget someone she hates.” Benjamin exhaled sharply and stepped forward again.

“You think you are protecting her,” He said, his voice quieter now, “but Grace is right, you’re just afraid. ”

Matthew didn’t respond, he didn’t need to.

The truth hung between them thick and unavoidable.

“You’re afraid she doesn’t love you. That you’d bare your soul and she’d walk away, so you left first.” Benjamin’s voice was still low and steady, but the blow was no less brutal.

“Do you think Sarah would be keeping the Duke waiting if she didn’t love you? ”

Matthew closed his eyes. He saw her face again when she walked away from him in the study. When he’d said the words he couldn’t take back. When she’d stood in the silence he refused to fill. “You’re not the only one hurting,” Benjamin said. “But at least you had a choice.”

Matthew turned, every bone in his body aching.

“I’m not the man she deserves anymore.” Benjamin studied him for a long moment, then he stepped to the sideboard, poured two fingers of brandy, and placed the glass between them.

He poured a second for himself and leaned back against the desk.

“If you’re leaving,” he said, “then leave. But if you come back, if you ever think about coming near her again, you better be ready to fight for her.”

Matthew swallowed hard, the words cutting deep into the hollowed- out places inside him.

“I don’t know what the future holds,” he said, voice raw.

“But if I come back, if I have anything left to offer her and she is not already married, I will tell her everything.” Benjamin lifted a brow.

“Assuming she doesn’t run you down with her horse first.” Matthew barked a dry, broken laugh. “That would be no less than I deserve.”

Benjamin pushed off the desk and clapped a hand to his shoulder, the gesture full of everything neither of them could say aloud. “Write to me when you land,” he said. Matthew nodded. “You take care of her,” he managed. Benjamin’s voice was quiet, steady and certain. “Always.”

__________________________

A somber hush filled the morning parlor, early afternoon light muted through the gauzy curtains. Sarah sat stiffly on the edge of the settee, her hands folded tight in her lap. She’d been staring at the cold fireplace for so long that the crack of the door opening startled her.

Benjamin slipped inside, shutting the door softly behind him. His usual easy manner was gone; he moved like a man walking on thin ice, cautious and careful. He crossed the room and sank into the chair opposite her, resting his elbows on his knees. “Lizzy,” he said quietly. “Talk to me.”

She lifted her chin, but her gaze stayed fixed on the cold hearth. “There is nothing to say.” Benjamin huffed a quiet, bitter laugh. “That’s not true, and we both know it.” Her throat tightened. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not.” His voice was rougher now, frustration edging into the words.

“Matthew is gone, and you have been sitting here like the world has ended. You can not keep pretending that he means nothing to you.” She flinched, her hands clenching tighter.

“He made his choice.” Benjamin stood, pacing a short line before the window. “Maybe he thought it was for the best.”

“For whom?” The words spilled from her, sharper than she intended. “He walked away, Ben. He didn’t even say a proper goodbye. He just….left.” He turned, his expression pained. “Maybe he thought he was giving you a chance at the life you deserve.”

Her breath hitched. The words, spoken softly and without malice, cut deeper than any accusation.

“You mean the Duke,” she whispered, her voice trembling.

Benjamin hesitated. “I am not saying you should marry him. But if you are going to, don’t let it be because you think it is your only option, or because you think it’ll make Matthew regret the choices he made. ”

“I’m not,” she said too quickly, but even as the denial left her lips, it sounded thin.

She stood abruptly, crossing to the window, her fingers knotting in the sheer curtains.

“I am going to do it because it is the right thing. The sensible thing.” Ben’s voice softened behind her. “Sensible doesn’t mean happy, Lizzy.”

She closed her eyes, fighting the sting of tears. “Everyone doesn’t get a happy ending, Benjamin. Not everyone is as lucky as you and Grace.” She turned, her face pale, her shoulders squared with brittle resolve. “Matthew made his choice, and now I am making mine.”

Benjamin’s mouth tightened, but he didn’t argue. He crossed to her, hesitating before placing a hand on her shoulder. “Just promise me you are not doing this to run away from what you really want.” She shook her head, her voice a thin whisper. “I don’t know what I want anymore.”

“Then wait. Just wait a little longer. Let things settle.”

“I can’t,” she said, the finality in her voice stopping him cold.

“If I wait too long, I will only make it harder. I’ll start to hope, and I can’t do that, Ben.

Not again.” For a long moment, he stood there, the weight of unspoken grief and understanding passing between them.

Finally, he let his hand fall, stepping back.

“I will stand by you, whatever you decide,” he said softly. “But just know—whatever you think, whatever he said or didn’t say—Matthew has always loved you.” Her lips trembled, but she drew herself up, her voice flat and distant. “It doesn’t matter.”

Benjamin nodded once, the motion slow and heavy. “I won’t speak of it again. But if you need me, if you need anything at all, know that I am always here for you.” She turned back to the window, the sunlight catching her profile, pale and resolute. “I know.”

Benjamin lingered a moment longer, then left her in the quiet room, the door clicking softly shut behind him. Once she was alone, Sarah pressed her forehead to the cool glass, her breath fogging the pane. Her pulse thrummed in her throat, her thoughts tangled and sharp.

“I don’t know if I can do this…” she whispered, though whether she meant letting him go or facing the future without him, she wsan’t quite sure.