She smiled and lifted her hands to cradle his face, then leaned in and kissed him softly. She sensed the faintest tension in him at her words, yet whatever doubt lingered quickly faded as he kissed her back.
***
Evelyne hadn’t realized how much she’d needed that conversation with Alaric until it happened. She had entered his estate feeling vulnerable, her heart weighed down by worry for Cillian’s fragile state and the hovering fear of what Ivan had done to her. But by the time she left, those emotions had transformed into something entirely different: comfort, admiration, and a deep sense of connection.
Engaged.
The word echoed in her mind, almost foreign in its reality. Had this truly happened? It felt like a dream that had unfolded so effortlessly and perfectly that she feared she might wake to find it stolen away. The way Alaric kissed her felt like a dance, as if they knew instinctively where to step, turn, and move together in perfect harmony. So she had said yes—because he was her friend, because his touch felt right, and because, at that moment, she couldn’t imagine saying anything else.
He’d asked if he could speak with her father, and she readily agreed, offering him a smile that felt as natural as breathing.Of course.In truth, she was relieved that Alaric would be the one to break the news to her parents—far better than her enduring her mother’s inevitable shrieks of excitement or the stiff nod of approval from her father.
Tomorrow night at the ball, they would be seen together for the first time as an engaged couple. But the thought did not fill her with fear. Society would talk, and whispers would follow them through the ballroom like a shadow, but she would endure it, because it washimshe would be tied to. No one else.
And if nothing else, this would undoubtedly keep Ivan Bavrick from so much as looking her way. He was a vile creature, but with Alaric at her side, she could finally put him behind her, a chapter she would never have to revisit. She only hoped he would have the decency to avoid the gathering entirely.
Alaric walked her to the carriage, his fingers lingering on hers just before she stepped inside. “I’ll come to your estate later this evening and speak with your father.”
Evelyne only nodded, her heart so full she could barely find words. It was a necessary formality, a meeting between men, like a business arrangement in some ways. But she refused to let that notion dim the quiet elation swelling inside her. She didn’t care about its propriety. All she cared about was him.
She could hardly contain her smile on the ride home, warmth still tingling along her skin where his lips had touched her. The world outside the carriage seemed brighter and lighter, as if it had been caught up in the magic of this moment. She was completely smitten, like a starry-eyed fool in a romantic tale.
The second she stepped into her chambers, Seraphine took one look at her face, at the flush in her cheeks and the unmistakable glow in her eyes, and she knew.
“You have news,” she murmured. “Good news.”
Evelyne’s throat tightened, her joy spilling over as she took her dearest companion’s hands.
“Yes,” she whispered, then let out a breathless laugh. “Yes, I do.”
Tears shimmered in Seraphine’s eyes before she embraced Evelyne, holding her as tightly as a mother might. Evelyne closed her eyes, resting against her, absorbing the quiet, unconditional love in the gesture. It was a moment she had never had with her mother, a moment she had never dared to expect.
She cherished it.
“He’s a fine man, dear,” Seraphine whispered, brushing back a loose strand of Evelyne’s hair. “I am so very happy for you.”
And as Evelyne clutched her handmaid’s hands, she realized she had never been happier herself.
Chapter 15
“It’s done. She said yes to the proposal.”
Alaric’s voice was calm, even as anger curled around each word like a snake tightening its grip. He was disgusted with himself. Absolutely disgusted.
That kiss had torn him apart. He had never felt anything so consuming. The way her lips molded against his, the way his hands ached to trace every delicate curve of her—he had wanted her in an almost unbearable way. And yet, he fought against it, wrestled with himself even as every fiber of his being urged him to give in.
The moment he’d caught her watching him inside his study, her eyes dark with meaning and her lower lip caught between her teeth, he had felt himself unravel. The look in her eyes had roused something in him beyond reason, and he’d been scarcely aware of moving until he found himself before her. She hadn’t drawn back. She wanted him just as much.
But after that world-altering kiss, after he had torn himself away from her intoxicating warmth, she smiled and spoke the words that sent ice through his veins. 'I’d like nothing more than to marry my truest friend.'
The moment those words left her lips, his body stiffened as a violent flood of guilt consumed him.Friend.That was what she saw him as—her closest, most trusted friend. And yet he had betrayed her in the cruelest way, not by deceit of the heart, but by omission of the truth. Evelyne had no idea this marriage had been arranged. She had no idea their parentshad planned this before she had a choice. But he did. And he had merely stood before her and kissed her, letting her believe this was her decision to make.
“Good,” his father said, barely looking up from the map he was studying. A glance. That was all he gave. As if his son’s marriage, his son’s entire future, were nothing more than a task to be noted and dismissed.
Maybe that was the path Alaric needed to take: do as his father had done, silence his heart, and make peace with the life laid out before him. He was to wed a beautiful woman, and that ought to have been enough.
Shouldn’t it?
“I will inform Lord Duskwood tonight,” Alaric continued. “And we will be seen together for the first time tomorrow.”
