“No, no, no,” she whispered as she saw Gideon’s face darken.
Face to face with his brother, Gideon was succumbing to fury.
“You threaten her life for your petty game, and now you think you can run away?” he hissed.
“Get out of the way!” Aaron commanded.
“I starved because of you!” Gideon roared.
“No!” Catherine screamed.
“I lost everything because of you!” Aaron cried.
“Stop fighting each other!” Catherine yelled.
But the brothers were not seeing the real world or the present day. The confrontation was too much for them. Aaron moved first, running towards Gideon, who sprinted to meet his brother head-on.
The two men clashed. Brutally.
Fists struck, bodies slammed against the rotten beams of the mill.
“Stop!” Catherine screamed, her voice ringing high.
They did not hear. She staggered to the window’s edge, climbing onto the sill.
“Stop, or I will end this myself!”
Both men froze, their arms wrapped around each other, seeking the hold that would best the other. Horror dawned on Gideon’s face.
He knows I have the strength of will to do it.
Catherine stood poised over the drop.
Gideon was the first to relent. His hands fell to his sides, his breath ragged.
Aaron, seething, seized the cane Meredith had abandoned and struck Gideon across the temple.
Gideon fell, blood darkening his brow and spilling down his face. Aaron stood over him, cane raised, face contorted into an animalistic snarl. Gideon’s eyes never left Catherine. He did not get up. He did not fight. Had Aaron wished to kill him, he would not have fought back.
Catherine’s heart was breaking.
“Aaron, forget the competition. Forget winning. Go after Meredith! Win her back and be happy. This war between you will destroy everything!”
Gideon’s voice came hoarse from the ground.
“Aaron. You win, brother. I told you, take the dukedom. I will sign whatever you wish. I will begin again with nothing but honesty this time.” He looked up at Catherine, “Come with me. I can offer nothing but myself, without secrets, without walls.”
She looked down at him, battered, bloodied, but utterly true in that moment.
“I will,” she rasped. “I will, Gideon.”
“I will be Duke?” Aaron asked, his voice becoming small, childlike.
“As God as my witness. Upon my honor,” Gideon murmured.
“A Dukedom, or… Meredith.”
The cane slipped from his hand.
