“Please, my lord.” She struggled to get him to release her arm. “I don’t wish to marry you. I will never love you. I love Tristan.”
A fierce growl rattled through his throat and suddenly, both hands were on her arms as he roughly pressed his body against hers. “I care not aboutlove.Only possession. You will be mine and there is nothing anyone can do about it.”
“Y—y—you are wrong. Tristan promised he’d make things right.” Fear shook through her body.
He cackled a laugh. “Oh, my dear Diana, how wrong you are to put so much trust in a Worthington brother. I can assure you, once Tristan realizes what kind of woman you are, he will turn and run far away from you and your miserable, penniless family.”
“What are you talking about? He knows what kind of woman I am.”
He stared into her eyes for the longest time before a smile snuck across his face. “Am I to believe thatyoudon’t even know what kind of family you have? If any true nobleman learned of your family’s dark secret, I assure you, nobody would look upon you even if you were lying in the gutter and they had to step across you to get to the other side.”
“Lord Hollingsworth, please.” She struggled against him. “You are not making any sense. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Just know this,” he said in a lower voice as he brought his face closer to hers, “once the secret is out, I will be the only man who will want you, and you will be happy that I’m such an understanding husband.”
Behind her, a loud curse tore through the barn, cutting through the air like a whip. She spun around just in time to see Hollingsworth ripped from her side and hit the ground with a heavy thud. Her breath hitched as she took in the scene—Tristan standing over him, fists clenched, muscles taut with barely contained rage. His eyes burned with intensity, a storm brewing behind them, and for a moment, the barn seemed to shrink around them, suffocating in its charged atmosphere.
Diana sobbed with relief, tears blurring her vision as her knees weakened beneath her. He was here.He found her.For a brief, fleeting moment, she allowed herself to believe everything would be all right. But the weight of uncertainty quickly pressed down on her chest. Could she trust that Tristan’s presence would bring the salvation she craved, or would it only plunge them deeper into this mess? Would he be her shield—or the spark that ignited an even greater disaster?
The tension between the two men crackled like dry wood catching flame. Hollingsworth groaned on the floor, rolling to his side, but Tristan didn’t move, his fists still raised as if ready to strike again. His chest rose and fell with labored breaths, his knuckles white from the force of his grip.
“Tristan,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the pounding of her heart. She didn’t know whether she was pleading for him to stop or for him to finish what he’d started.
His eyes met hers. Worry etched his expression. “Are you all right?”
“Y—yes. I thank you for saving me. Again.”
On the ground, Hollingsworth muttered curses as he stood. “You have crossed me for the last time, Worthington.” He aimed his curse toward Tristan as he jumped to his feet.
Tristan glared, his blue eyes as hard as steel. “I told you earlier, I wouldnotlet you marry Diana.”
“And I told you that you don’t have a choice!” Hollingsworth thundered as he rushed forward.
Growling, Tristan punched Hollingsworth in the nose, and the older man fell back to the ground.
She gasped and covered her mouth, but heard other gasps around her. Startled, she swung around to look behind her. Several people from the village had gathered. Embarrassment washed over her. Scandal was about to explode, and this kind of gossip would spread like wildfire.
Hollingsworth’s evil laugh pulled her attention back to him. A trickle of blood dripped from his mouth.
“Lord Tristan, I grow tired of your attitude. This between us will end now.” He swallowed hard. “Better yet, it will end tomorrow morning. At sunrise, I challenge you to a duel at Harvey’s Cliffs. Be there with a second, or your name—and your family’s name—will be reduced to that of cowards.”
Tristan threw a glance over his shoulder at the crowd who was growing larger by the second, and then looked back at Hollingsworth. Tristan pulled his shoulders back and lifted a stubborn chin.
“I accept your challenge.”
“And the winner will have Miss Baldwin as their wife,” Hollingsworth added.
A cold hand wrapped around Diana’s arm. Her mother stood beside her with a face void of color. “We are leavingnow!” she grumbled.
“Yes, Mother.”
Diana turned and looked back at Tristan, her breath catching as her gaze met his. A soft smile curved the corners of his lips, bracketing his face with warmth she hadn’t realized how desperately she needed. He mouthed the words,don’t worry,and in that brief moment, her fears unraveled like thread slipping from a spool. Her heart swelled, bursting with a happiness so pure that it momentarily drowned out the storm of dread that had consumed her all morning.
The silent reassurance gave her the strength she hadn’t known she possessed. With renewed courage, she turned toward her mother, ready to leave and face whatever wrath her father would unleash once he learned of today’s events. The road ahead was steep and uncertain, but Tristan’s promise—unspoken yet deeply understood—gave her the resolve to move forward.
As they walked away, the breeze whispered through her hair, carrying the salty tang of the sea from the nearby cliffs. Harvey’s Cliffs were notorious for duels, their jagged edges stained with the echoes of challenges fought and resolved. But Diana didn’t tremble at the thought. Deep down, she knew Tristan would emerge the victor. He had never failed her before, not when it truly mattered, and her heart told her he never would.
With every step, she clung to that truth: Tristan was her anchor, her constant in a world of shifting tides. And no matter what awaited them beyond those cliffs, she believed she could count on him—always.
