“You’re mistaken.”
“Am I? Because at the opera, you were so besotted with her that you…” He stopped, shook his head. “Never mind. The point is that you love her. Obviously. Painfully obviously. So, what I don’t understand is why you’re sitting here drinking yourself into a stupor instead of being with her.”
“Because it’s better this way,” Morgan said, his voice flat as he signaled for more drink.
“Better for whom?”
“For both of us.”
“That’s a lie and you know it.” Ambrose leaned forward, his expression intense. “Talk to me, Morgan. What are you so afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid?—”
“Don’t.” Ambrose’s voice was sharp. “Don’t insult my intelligence. You’re terrified. I can see it. So, tell me what happened.”
The whiskey arrived. He drank half of it before speaking.
“When Whitfield had that blade to her throat,” he said quietly, “I realized how much power she has over me. How completely she’s undone every defense I’ve ever built. I would have died for her in that moment. Would have done anything, and I mean anything, to keep her safe.”
“That’s what love is, Morgan.”
“That’s whatweaknessis, damn it!” Morgan’s voice turned bitter. “I swore I’d never let myself be that vulnerable again.Never give someone that much power over me. And yet here I am, so consumed by her that the thought of losing her is unbearable. So I…” He stopped, took another slug. “I ended it. Before she could.”
Ambrose stared at him for a long moment. Then he laughed, a sharp, incredulous sound that ticked Morgan off.
“You’re a hypocrite.”
Morgan’s head snapped up. “Excuse me?”
“A hypocrite,” Ambrose repeated. “Do you remember what you said to me when I was about to let Imogen go? When I was convinced that our marriage was just a business arrangement and nothing more?”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“You told me I was an idiot. You told me I was throwing away the best thing that ever happened to me out of fear.” Ambrose’s eyes were hard. “Sound familiar?”
“The situations are completely different!”
“How? How are they different, Morgan? Because from where I’m sitting, you’re making the exact same mistake I almost made. You’re pushing away the woman you love because you’re terrified of being hurt.”
“I’m trying to protect her!” Morgan’s voice rose. “Don’t you understand? The way I feel about her, it’s not healthy. It’s obsessive. Consuming. When I thought she might die, I-I—” He broke off, shaking his head. “I can’t live like that.”
“So instead, you destroyed it yourself.”
“Better that than?—”
“Better than what?” Ambrose demanded. “Better than taking the risk? Better than trusting that maybe, just maybe, this time it will be different? That she’s different?”
“She’s not different. Women always leave.”
“One woman left you, Morgan.One. And she wasn’t worth your grief then, and she’s certainly not worth destroying your marriage now.”
Morgan slumped in his chair. “You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it to me. Make me understand why you’re willing to throw away a woman who loves you, who’s stood by you, who’s braver than anyone I’ve ever met. All because Cecilia was too shallow to see what she had.”
“This isn’t about Cecilia?—”
“Isn’t it? Because it sounds to me like you’re punishing Eliza for Cecilia’s sins. And that’s not fair, Morgan. Not to Eliza, and not to yourself.”
