Only from the flames. Not the searing truth.
‘The man you feared you were when we first met, that is who you’ll become. But I will not be there to see it.’
‘We aren’t finished,’ he declared in his most lordly and commanding tone as he heard her begin to walk away. ‘If you truly wish to leave, I will make arrangements and keep you safe. You are not to disappear, and I’ll instruct the others that Mellors is not to be allowed within a mile of my land.’
‘You should tell the others the truth, then,’ she said flatly. ‘They deserve as much.’
Liam nodded. There was a moment, the tiniest sliver of a second, when he knew he could make this right. When he could go after her, and fix everything he had just shattered into a million pieces. Only the man who could, would be the man Rebecca had thought he was.
And I can never be that man.
He heard her footsteps, the click of the door, and he closed his eyes.
If you do have power here, help me protect her, Hal...
Rebecca barely even saw the others as she passed them, making their way upstairs to be told her sorry tale. She might have told them herself, only... She didn’t have it in her. She bemoaned the loss of the numbness; it was far better than this crushing devastation that left her hollow. It was beyond grief, beyond heartbreak, beyond anything she’d ever felt before.
Just make it to your rooms. Then you can fall apart.
She wasn’t entirely sure what she’d expected when Liam had dragged her back. Perhaps a calm, somewhat rational conversation, during which he’d realise there were no choices left for either of them. She had to leave. He had to let her go.
Perhaps, yes, somewhere in the love-addled, still-hopeful part of her heart, she’d dreamt there might be a way for them to be...together always. Happy. Instead, she’d got...
My entire world razed.
Bracing herself with a hand to the wall, Rebecca stopped for a moment, forcing herself to breathe through the pain that nearly doubled her over. Everything she’d been so sure of, everything she had believed Liam to be, had been a lie. And, goddamn it all, if she didn’t still love him, with every last piece of herself.
It would be so much easier if I didn’t. I wish I’d never come here. I wish I’d never set eyes on Thornhallow Hall.
Sniffling, wiping her eyes furiously, refusing to be broken by this—any of this—she forced herself to move.
Just keep moving, always, she told herself ceaselessly as she made it through the final steps to her rooms, where she could finally make a plan.
‘Well, this certainly is a delightful surprise,’ came the voice Rebecca had prayed never to hear again as she closed the door to her office. It chilled her to the bone, and her stomach turned. ‘I couldn’t believe it when I discovered where you’d ended up. You’ve led me on quite the merry chase, my dear.’
Rebecca crushed every single emotion within herself, determined to show him none of it, stood proud, and met his gaze.
There he was, her prince, as dangerous and handsome as ever. Tall and lithe, fine-featured, his appearance was effortlessly but carefully curated. From the perfectly tailored pantaloons, waistcoat and jacket, to the crisp, immaculate linen shirt and intricate cravat. From the tousled yet exquisite strawberry blond curls and immaculately shaved skin, to the selection of little rings on the long, delicate and expertly manicured fingers.
Francis hadn’t aged a day. He still had the youthful, innocent air which concealed his dark spirit. Once, he’d reminded her of a fairy; now he reminded her of a fox. The way his mouth curled in a perpetual sneer and his pale green eyes swept across every inch of her, calculating, full of terrible intent... Once, she’d been charmed by the innocent facade. Now she saw only the rancid soul beneath.
Arms crossed, he was lounging in her chair, his lazy, nonchalant manner in no way dissimulating the ready tension in his body. She knew she could run, scream, call out to the others, but she also knew this was her battle, and hers alone to fight.
And now I have the courage to.
What she’d found here, in Liam’s arms, even despite all she knew of him now, what they had shared gave her the fortitude to face anything.
I will tremble before you no more.
‘I am not your dear,my lord,’ Rebecca retorted coldly. ‘Nor shall I ever be. I suggest you leave the same way you slithered in here.’
‘Now, now, is that the way to greet an old friend?’ Francis drawled. ‘Besides, I’ll be on my way shortly, with no one the wiser, once we’ve had a little chat.’
‘Please do not tarry on my account.’
‘I will have what I came for.’
‘And what is that?’
