Chapter Twenty-Six #2
She paused, her hand lifting tentatively to touch his cheek, her fingers grazing the skin as if to commit it to memory.
“I know every feature of your face, every line, every curve. Your smile…” She swallowed hard, feeling her voice shake.
“It begins on the right, as though even the sun hesitates to rise all at once, afraid to outshine you.” Her chest tightened as she tried to steady herself, her voice growing firmer, though tears shimmered in her eyes.
“And your words, Adam. With just a sentence, you can set every part of me alight. No one else has that power. No one else could make me feel like this—with a single look, a single touch. There is no shame I’ve felt, no pain I’ve endured that your love hasn’t been strong enough to banish.
” Her hands pressed to his, warm and steady now as her lips curled into a trembling smile.
“Do you see now? You’ve given my life a meaning I never thought possible.
You’ve made me believe in something I never thought I could have.
And that’s why I choose you,” she whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks.
“It will be the easiest choice of my life. I would choose you over and over again, in every moment, in every lifetime—for you are my light, Adam. You are my love.”
Her voice cracked on the last word, but she didn’t falter.
She gazed into his eyes, her heart full and open, ready to claim the love she had never thought she could deserve.
She swallowed back the lump in her throat, her voice trembling with her first word.
“Yes.” A smile broke through the tears cascading down her cheeks. Louder this time. “Yes!”
A laugh bubbled out of her, soft at first and then freer, unrestrained. Her hands flew to her mouth, and she shook her head in amazement. “Yes, Adam,” she said again, her voice strong and sure now. “I would be honored. I would be proud.”
Adam’s face broke into that lopsided smile she loved so dearly.
Without hesitation, he rose and pulled her close, his arms wrapping around her as if to shield her from every judgment, every cruel word.
Her heart raced wildly, and in that moment, she felt undeniably, irrevocably his.
And as for the dowager duchess, well, Charlene would deal with her another day. Today, she chose love.
*
I choose love.
The hotel room felt oppressively quiet despite the ticking of the ormolu clock on the mantel.
Charlene held herself upright, though her breath hadn’t fully returned since the dowager duchess’s cutting words.
Passed from one brother to the next. The accusation echoed in her mind like the toll of iron bells, unraveling the fragments of her composure.
Her fingers curled into the thin fabric of her gloves, nails biting through the silk where she clung to poise as though it were her last defense.
I choose love. From now on, she’d always choose love.
Adam’s voice broke the silence, firm and steady, as though the weight of the moment didn’t slice at him, too.
“Mother, Charlene is coming with me. And once we’re wed, make no mistake, the world shall see her as the Duchess of Rotheworth.”
Charlene’s head lifted at his words, her heart giving an unsteady lurch as anger warred with disbelief in her chest. His mother’s face hardened, flashing imperious disapproval.
“Adam,” she said tersely, “there is no need for dramatics. My carriage is just outside. Charlene can depart with some semblance of discretion. It’s the least we can do for her. ”
Adam turned to face her, his brow heavy with the kind of unbending determination that could move mountains.
“I will not hide her. I will not insult her dignity by suggesting she skulk away like some scandalous footnote. Charlene is under my protection, and by my honor, she will walk beside me—not behind me.”
Every word landed like a whispered vow in Charlene’s ears, and though her heart ached with gratitude, shame coiled deeper inside her.
Adam’s mother wasn’t entirely wrong; hadn’t she spent weeks doubting herself, questioning whether she had merely fallen into Adam’s arms as nothing more than a remedy to his brother’s rejection?
Her gaze flickered to Adam, his eyes fierce and infinitely steady as he held his ground.
He had never looked at her as though she were lesser. He had never made her feel unworthy.
Everyone else, however, had.
“I’m not certain this is wise,” Charlene managed in a thick voice. “You’ve given me your heart, Adam. Must you stake your very reputation?” She tried to sound resolute, but the tremble broke through. “There are other ways.”
His expression softened, though his determination did not.
Stepping closer, he took her gloved hand in his, his thumb pressing reassuringly over her knuckles.
“Yes, Charlene. I must. Because none of it matters without you. They can think what they wish, but I know what kind of man I am with you, and I will not yield to their judgment.” His gaze searched hers, offering her a choice rather than demanding allegiance.
“Come with me,” he said simply, the plea and conviction entwined in every word.
“Wait,” the duchess said to Charlene.
“David? Is this true? Did he try to hurt you?”
“He did hurt me,” Charlene said softly. “But you’ll have to ask your son that yourself. What type of person he is.”
Her eyes suddenly widened. “If that is true, how have I not seen this before? I have always been able to tell when my sons lie.”
“Perhaps,” Charlene added, her whole body cold and drained. “You didn’t want to see the lie.”
“No, I—”
“Yes,” Charlene interrupted, her throat tightened painfully.
Adam chose her. He had always chosen her.
And though the world’s whispers might follow them, they would face them together.
But now, she had to protect him. Stand up for him.
Choose him. Again. “If you had looked closely, you would have seen your son, Adam, had been in pain.”
“His father—”
“Passed, yes, but even so. Do not claim ignorance if you cannot stand firmly behind your reasoning. No one expected you to know the truth since Adam had done his best to protect you from it, but admit when you are wrong, when you have been duped, and have some more faith in your son.”
They got dressed quickly and Charlene took Adam’s hand then. “Lead the way.”
He nodded. “Let’s go home before my brother finds us here.”
By the time they reached the townhouse, Charlene’s anxiety had settled into a tenuous peace.
Even the smallest distance between them had only seemed to heighten the ache of their mutual devotion.
Adam guided her inside with a steadying touch, but the tableau waiting for them in the parlor dashed his calm entirely.
Charlene came up short.
David sat sprawled in a chair by the cold hearth, though his disheveled state undercut his lazy nonchalance.
Beside him, or more accurately on his lap of all places, sat Miss Martin, her face flushed to a vivid scarlet.
Her hair tumbled from its complicated coiffure, a sharp contrast to the rigid embarrassment she barely masked.
Charlene’s steps faltered, but Adam didn’t hesitate. “Well, David,” he said coolly, his voice like a blade unsheathing, “what a completely vexing and yet expected sight. I expect you at least have the grace to explain yourself.”
David merely smirked, quick as a fox, firing back, “Oh, you’re one to talk of propriety, dear brother,” he said, deliberately slow.
“Dragging Charlene to a hotel to complete her ruination and then to parade her right under the family’s nose?
How gallant.” He gestured dismissively to Charlene, his eyes glinting with malice.
“A shame she had to settle for second-best before she caught a better prize.”
Adam’s chest burned. “You dare say that to me. I’m the duke.”
“I could be the duke.”
Charlene wanted to box the man’s ears at that statement.
“Enough!” Adam’s voice lashed like a whip as he took a step toward his twin.
Charlene sensed the raw protectiveness spilling into the cold space between them. Adam’s presence loomed, commanding the room.
“You will not speak of Charlene in such a way again.”
“Adam…” What was Miss Martin doing with David? Something didn’t feel right.
Adam turned back, his face softening like the first light of dawn. “I won’t have you doubt even for a second where I stand,” he said gently before looking back to David, his ire rekindling.
He had misunderstood, but how to explain to him about the dread sprouting in the pit of her stomach?
“You are in my house,” Adam ground out. “You’ve lived off the title long enough, and I won’t have you disgrace it further. Have your scandal if you wish it, David. But you will not poison my name and title. Charlene will join our family as she deserves, with honor and dignity.”
My heart.
For the second time that day, and the first time facing David since that nightmarish incident, despite her growing unease, Charlene found her voice steady, her touch light as her hand grazed Adam’s arm.
“Adam,” she whispered, meeting his gaze.
“It’s enough. You’ve already given me everything I could ask for. ”
He shook his head, lowering his voice for her ears alone. “Not everything. Not yet.” His eyes burned with quiet promise. “But I will.”
And just like that, the weight of all her doubts began to lift.
And then Miss Martin shifted and cleared her throat. “There’s something you ought to know.”
*
The air in the room felt thick, suffocating even, as Adam faced the woman who had inserted herself into his family with sly smiles and toxic laughter. Miss Martin tilted her head, a curl slipping from its pins as she dragged the moment out, lips forming words meant to cut deeper than daggers.