The carriage came to a stop and she quickly disembarked, willing herself not to look back.
The pain in her heart spread to fill her chest until it grew heavy with devastation. She could not muster enough strength to even remove her dress, sparing it no thought before she sank to the floor, her frame wracked by sobs.
What might have hurt the most was the duke’s blatant disregard of her. He did not care to listen to anything she had said, to understand her perspective.
Because at the end of the day, his relationship with her and Cecil had simply been a ruse to gain the upper hand. When it came down to it, he did not care for either of them and the realization of that was equal to getting hit in the chest. She felt hopeless and lost, unsure of what to do next.
Even worse, she felt alone.
Godric watched her leave quietly, ignoring the hollow echo of his chest at her swift departure because he recognized that this was for the best.
Ultimately, it was preferable that their paths diverge henceforth, so as not to complicate things even further,
But as he began his own journey home, remorse had begun to rear its head in him.
Truthfully, Gregory Wightman was the reason he had befriended Cecil. It had been easy to recall that they had been somewhat amicable as children and easier still to remind Cecil of the fleeting connection they had shared and to have used it to start a real friendship.
And truthfully, it was real to Godric. He might have done it to grow close enough to Gregory, but he had found real companionship with Cecil. They had bonded quickly and grownclose enough that the other boy had begun to feel… a little like family to Godric.
And truthfully, he wasn’t as full of conviction about Gregory guilt as his uncle was. He knew there was still work to be done to achieve certainty, but needless to say, it was time to put an end to this foolish entanglement.
Godric had known from the start that nothing good would come from their mingling together. He had made a grave mistake by giving her hope that there was more to him than what she saw on the surface. He had been careless as well, letting her in when his darkness would only corrupt her light.
And that is why he had only been partially honest with her. If he had told her everything, she would have wanted to stay by his side. The next few days are going to be dangerous, and he needed to make sure that on no account would Nora be caught in the crossfires.
It was better to put some distance between them, otherwise she could be used against him.
Dante was waiting for him when Godric arrived home and the duke said nothing to him until they were behind the locked door of his study.
“Is everything in place?” the duke questioned tiredly.
“Yes, Your Grace. We have been able to track that man’s whereabouts and there are a handful of men watching closely to ensure that he doesn’t slip away.” Dante assured with a curt nod.
“Good. We are at a crucial phase now and it is important that we keep our guard up. Things have gotten even more dangerous and I need to keep the number of people who might be put at risk as small as possible.” Godric instructed.
“As you wish, Your Grace,” the man said, hesitating slightly before he asked, “Are you sure about this? Your uncle will be upset if he knew that you were going about things this way.”
“He is precisely the reason why I have decided to take more matters into my hands. I do not want us to make a mistake that would add to the difficulties we have already face. Our lives are already quite difficult now and I cannot imagine what it would be like if things grew even worse,” Godric sighed tiredly.
He did not know when things became so complicated, when he had more people to keep in his good graces. But suddenly, he had grown to appreciate the years he had spent as a social recluse. Those days and nights when all he had were the demons of his past haunting him.
Now that he had gotten a taste of the light, he had gotten greedy and his actions had nearly snuffed it out completely.
It was his responsibility to preserve those that he had used. It was the least he could do.
“I understand, Your Grace. The final preparations have begun, and I will let you know when they are ready, so that you may proceed with your plans.”
“Excellent. You may go.”
As Dante walked away, Godric’s eyes drifted to the painting on the wall, his heart suddenly feeling hollow. He was tired of all of this, of living a life filled with demands and expectations that went beyond the provision of sustenance. It was as though he had been pouring out his soul little by little, for years now and he barely had anything left.
“I do not know if I am on the right path, mother,” he whispered tiredly. “I just want it all to be over. As I bring you peace, I can only hope that I am able to find it as well.:”
When Nora was eighteen, she had read a book about a girl whose great love had betrayed her terribly. And in response, the girl had fallen ill with grief, refusing to eat or sleep.
And at the time, Nora’s young mind had never seen anything more foolish. She could not fathom being lied to and betrayed and still holding onto the love and affection she had, along with the hurt she had been given unjustly.
But now, she understood that love could not vanish overnight. She had learned the hard way that the betrayal was not enoughto simply erase every bit of the feelings she had for Godric. Especially because his betrayal had not been so clear cut.
