Chapter 21

The next morning I realised something. Something very important that I had forgotten among the ruckus of the dukes outbursts. It was actually Naomi who caught me.

"What exactly are you doing here?" She gave me an incredulous that confused me during my usual cycle of cleaning up the table.

"Working as usual?", I frowned at her.

Was I supposed to not be doing that?

Naomi gave me a shocked face as she turned to me and the longer I stared at it the more unsettled I became.

"Angela?" She hinted.

"Angela?…" I furrowed my brows.

And then it hit me.

"What's the date?!", My hands went to my mouth in surprise as Naomi sighed in dismay.

"It's today. So hurry and get ready!"

It was the wedding! The wedding! And I forgot!

The only thing that kept me calm was that it six in the morning and Angela's wedding was at the same time this evening. I had left everything at her house which meant I had to get there, but there's no way anyone would be able to take me!

"God if I hadn't been stupid enough to forget my sister wedding of all things", I cursed as I rushed down the stairs. Trying to get down fast yet quiet to not wake anyone.

A horse! I could borrow a horse from the stable boy… but I don't even know the way!

Just as I thought that I heard a call from behind me. It sounded like Naomi, so I turned back immediately and like a fool I missed a step.

I met Naomis eyes as I began to fall, unable to catch my bearings as horror filled my body. If I fell from this high there would be no way I could live and if I did I would be crippled!

I shut my eyes and felt my body fall, but I didn't hit the ground. Arms circled around me and a solid chest met my face. A scent of familiar musk met my nose and I turned to the person holding me.

I froze at the red eyes that stared down at me.

A sense of deja vu washed over me and I felt fear rise in me at his reaction.

"You like falling?" He gave me a smirk.

"No…" I was at a loss for words.

He wasn't angry?

He was… amused?

"I find that hard to believe", he laughed pulling away from me, but keeping an arm around me as if he didn't trust me to not fall. I noticed his fancy clothes and how the colour matched the dress Angela chose for me.

"Thank you, Master", I was usually calm around the young master or good at faking it at least, but today I couldn't hide my embarrassment at all.

"Today I'm not your master. Today I am your plus one", he didn't look at me and somehow didn't seem to feel disgusted at all by his words.

Wouldn't he usually sneer?

"There's no need to force yourself to do this, master. If you feel at all unsure then please don't"-

"Angela is as much your sister as she is mine. After all, we might've married had my mother not died".

My eyes widened at the piece of information I had never known of. Angela and the duke? I suddenly recalled mother and the duchess fawning over Cain and Angela holding hands. But I never recalled a marriage proposal…

"I hadn't known…" I felt a bit stupid for not noticing.

"Of course. Mother intended it to be a surprise but I told her I had no interest in Angela", he seemed chatty today.

"You don't?" I somehow found that hard to believe.

His gaze finally met mine and a strange smile. One that seemed full of mischief gleamed on his face.

"Not once".

"You must've at some point, though. There's no way you felt no attraction to her", i beloved what I said, but the duke didn't stop smiling and it made me feel as if I was missing something so very obvious.

"I never once looked twice at her".

His words made me recall a rumour that questioned his sexual preferences. One about his love for men and another about his preference for older women.

The only older woman around him would be his mother… and my.. mother? No- no that can't be it!

"I see. Was there any reason why?" I asked nervously.

We began making our way to the carriage as I waited for him to answer.

"I had my eyes on someone else", he said in a nostalgic voice. His face looked like he was somewhere else, a place he truly enjoyed. He must've recalled lovely memory of them.

Yet, like a fool I couldn't help spoiling the moment.

"A- A woman?"

His face froze as he turned to me. Whatever sweet dream he was having was crashed by me. And he was not happy about it.

"Say that again? I think I misheard", he said with a smile that could murder, we neared the carriage and somehow I thought jumping in might cause him to forget what I had just said.

"I mean- um- a moment! Was it only for a moment?"

Gahhh!!! What was I saying? There's no way he'd buy it.

However, in contrast to my thoughts he sat down and seemed to think about it. The carriage made a start causing his hair to tousle slightly in the rays from the dawning sun.

"I think it was moment. But it felt like forever", his melancholic answer made me feel a strange awe.

To think he fell in love…

I looked back on my life. I hadn't loved anybody at a young age. I knew I very much loved Cain, but it wasn't a romantic love. Something more platonic.

But what I felt for Justin…

My eyes met with the dukes as I felt the usual flutter in my stomach when thinking about Justin. I felt my cheeks warm in embarrassment at the memories, but before I could compose myself he noticed.

His eyes bore into me in a way that made it seem as if he knew what went on in my mind. My heart beat slowly became louder and louder until I could feel my blood pulsate around my body.

Did he… know?

Could he tell?

Was it obvious?

"And what of you?" His words felt like a lightning bolt.

"Pardon?"

"Did you… ever have someone special when you were young?" I felt the blood rushing to my head at his words and had to force myself to rationalise his words.

I had been raised to always doubt a nobles words. No matter how kind or sincere. A noble was not to be trusted. Word would fly around about how someone had been beheaded after drunkenly laughing with a noble and then word would get round that the very noble who ordered his beheading had been the one to get him drunk.

That was our world.

So why did I even think about it so seriously?

I only had someone like that now, but maybe I had always liked Justin? Maybe it was a pure childhood love?

I knew that wasn't the case.

Because back then I didn't like Justin much at all. I actually disliked him at one point. I had thought his interests in speaking with me lied with my sister and it would infuriate me when he spoke to me in her presence and ignored her as if he couldn't care less about her.

I only realised that hadn't been the case at all when I fell asleep black and blue in the stables and woke up bandaged up on his bed. It was the most surreal moment of my life to wake up to a boy not much older than myself cleaning my bandages with such careful tenderness.

I didn't trust him even more after that.

Nobody had ever cared for me like that outside of the duchess, Cain and mother. People would usually turn a blind eye to such an unfortunate sight so I couldn't help but be sceptical. But… as time went on he grew on me. He became someone who could never be replaced.

"No. I've never once liked anyone specially and I never plan to", I turned to the greenery outside. It would be a while before we reached her house.

I heard him click his tongue and tensed up.