To my surprise, my heart ached. My fists fell into the blanket as I searched for an explanation. “Then why? I thought youloved me!”
“I do!” Derrick cried softly. He quickly sat down on the bed and grabbed my hands. “Serafina, you are more precious than gold. You are the song in my heart, the air inmy lungs—!”
I yanked my hands out of his grip. “You did not answermy question.”
“I do not know how it happened, Serafina,” Derrick pleaded. “I was dancing with Brietta like I was obligated to and then suddenly I was possessed with an overwhelming urge to…” His throat bobbed as he choked. His lip trembled only once. “I…I had no control over myown body.”
I leaned away from him. “Did you and Brietta get together and make sure your stories matched? I did not believe the enchantment excuse with her and I am certainly not about to believe itfrom you!”
Derrick gripped his knees. “I swear, Serafina. She confessed she had a strong attraction to me while we were dancing and we were worried how that attraction could ruin the plan. Then the brute fell and ruined my ballroom. Once I was sure you were all right, Brietta and I ducked into the sitting room to address the problem before it got worse. But then…the problem got worse. Before I even fully realized what was happening, my father burst into the room and dragged me out in frontof everyone.”
His timeline added up from what I could remember, but I kept my arms tightly folded. “And thatwas it?”
“That was it,” Derrick replied desperately. “I…I know you deserve a better explanation. I wish I could…I wish I had…but everything wasa blur.”
I looked down at the blankets. He had no reason to lie to me. He had looked so sad and confused as his father yanked him around the ballroom after theincident—just as he appeared as he sat onmy mattress.
Blame floated through the air like a raven’s feather—not knowing on whose shoulder to land and whose actions to condemn—but I knew for certain my Midnight would have neverhurt me.
I met his shining blue eyes again. “I believe you, Derrick. Brietta did say that it happenedvery fast.”
Derrick furrowed his brow. “It was notthatfast, was it? I cannot remember…anyof it.”
The question burst out of me before I could process what he had said. “Do youlove her?”
He did not hesitate for amoment. “No.”
I dropped my arms. My voice broke and revealed how disgustingly weak and vulnerable I was. “Why did you chooseher, then?”
Derrick absent-mindedly gripped the blanket underneath him. “My world crumbled when Bloodstone selected you. I tried to kill him, but a man’s selection is sacred—no one has the power to change a selection after it is made. Noteven me.”
His knuckles turned white as he tightened his grip. He let out a shaking breath. “Regardless, I had to make a choice. Brietta is your best friend, so I married her knowing she would annul the marriage if it meanthelping you.”
Brietta and I had stood before the magic mirrors when she asked how she could repay me for helping her into her dress. Derrick must have heardevery word.
I picked at a loose thread on the blanket in my lap. “You also knew she owed me. After what happened with your sister and yourgrandmother’s dress.”
Derrick’s eyes widened and he quickly looked awayfrom me.
I let out a short laugh, cutting the suffocating tension. “The mirrors are enchanted, Derrick. I know yousaw everything.”
Derrick shook his head in response, still refusing to meet my eye. I still did not know what the alleged curse was, but it had to be bad if even Derrick was afraid. “I also know the mirrors are cursed, so you cannot speakof them.”
Derrick looked back at me with a look of disgusted surprise. “Bloodstone is an even bigger fool than I thought. I cannot believe hetold you.”
I smiled with what little pride I had left. “He did not tell me, I figuredit out.”
“Well, congratulations,” he said flatly. “You are the first woman in the Dukedom to ever know about them. They are averywell-guarded secret, forobvious reasons.”
“Oh, please,” I scoffed. “I do not think any woman would be surprised to learn the suitors all wanted to see the brides intheir undergarments.”
Derrick’s brow furrowed. “That is not the reason. You girls come out into the Presentation with all this makeup and jewelry and big hair that we cannot even really see who you are. Theyou-know-whatslet us see your true selves before we make the biggest choice of our lives. It is just to keepthings fair.”
“I do not think you want to hear my opinion of what ‘fair’ is.”
“Look, I know you are angry with me.” He looked at me again and suddenly I was trapped in the deep sea of his shining eyes. “And you have every right to be. Whether I was in full control of my actions or not, I…Ibetrayed you.”
Derrick’s head dropped into his hands, his hair falling around him like a curtain. “I cannot believe I did this. A thousand apologies would not be enough. You musthate me.”
