“I would not spend too much time pondering over it.”
Penelope could not believe what she was hearing. Alexander was acting as though he did not have a heart.
“You are abandoning me,” she said, her mouth forged into a permanent frown. “This is what you are doing. You are discarding me after you have extracted your use from me, and now that I am a liability, you are simply getting rid of it.”
Her words were harsh, but it was what she felt. She had anticipated a few hard days, even weeks. But never could she had predicted that Alexander would ever try to send her away.
“It’s the only way,” Alexander muttered under his breath. He did not dare meet her gaze.
“No!” Penelope’s hands trembled at her sides. “I am your wife. Your daughter’s stepmother. This is my home, too. You cannot simply send me away like an unwanted guest.”
“But it is my call to do so,” he said, firmly establishing his place as the head of the house. “You’ve always known what this marriage was about, and what shape it could take.”
Penelope did not know what to say, only that something inside her was screaming at her to tell him that this was not how she wished for things to turn out.
That she had fallen for him hopelessly and he was only hurting her beyond belief by sending her away like this.
But she restrained herself. Now, of all things, was not the time to make admissions that were so sensitive.
“I really hate to disappoint you,” Alexander continued, oblivious to what was going on inside her head. “But the decision has been made, and I am not looking for any kinds of negotiations on it.”
“Yes, you have made that very clear now,” Her breath left her in a shaky exhale. “You’re truly sending me away.”
“I must.”
A single tear slid down her cheek before she could stop it. She brushed it away angrily.
“And what about Odette? Are you sending me away from her, too?”
“She will understand in time.”
“She’s a child!” Penelope cried. “She’s already lost her mother. Now, you’re taking me from her, too?”
“She won’t lose you,” Alexander said hoarsely. “You may visit her. Write to her. But you won’t live here anymore.”
Penelope pressed a hand to her chest, as if she could physically hold the pieces of her breaking heart together.
“Alexander.” She got up from her place at the table and stepped closer, reaching for him. “Please. Don’t do this.”
“I’ve made my decision,” He dodged her attempt to touch him.
Penelope’s hand fell uselessly to her side, and then her blush deepened. Rejection, that was what she was feeling.
“Then I suppose I have no say in the matter.”
“You can decide where you go,” he said hollowly. “That’s all I can give you.”
“I do not know how you could be so gracious to give me that privilege,” Penelope’s lips twisted bitterly.
“I’ll have the carriage prepared by midday.” There was a flicker of emotion on his face but at this point, Penelope was not sure whether it was pain or something else. And frankly, she was too exhausted to try.
She swallowed hard, blinking back another wave of tears.
“I do not need to stay in any of your properties. I will stay with Isadora for a few days. Until I decide what to do next.”
“As you wish,” Alexander nodded stiffly.
A part of her still wished he would do something to stop her, but it was not coming. His words felt like a final blow.
