Page 81 of The Duke Who Claimed Her

She knew that he was just saying what he thought he needed to say. As she knew that she ought to have accepted his words because they were kind and right and meant the world to her. But she also knew that such a thing would do them no favors.

Arabella had spent much time of late thinking about her relationship with Caspian. It was confusing, and that was because she had thought it went against the very thing that she believed she wanted more than anything.

To be her own person, to have her own agency, to not rely on others. Was that not the entire point of her marriage? That she had needed Caspian to save her should not have only frustrated her but also angered her.

And yet, I do not care.

What Arabella really wanted, and this was what she came to understand as she looked at her husband, was a marriage. Plain and simple. Growing up, she had always assumed marriage to be unequal, with the wife subservient to the husband. For that reason, she had never much liked the idea of such a thing.

Such a way of being was not what she had with Caspian.

With Caspian, she was her own woman, but that did not mean she would never rely on him and need him. Yes, he had saved her today, but that did not take away her power. He saved her because he loved her, not because he owned her, and when the time came that he might need to be saved also, she would be there.

“You do not need to apologize, Caspian…” Arabella let the pistol in her hands fall to the dirt, and with that free hand, she reached up and cupped his face. “You did nothing wrong.”

“I allowed this to⁠—”

“No,” she cut him off with force. “You allowed nothing, nor did I. This was nobody’s fault but my fathers, and to blame anyone else would be to give him a free pass. Is that what you want?”

“Of course not.”

“He did this…” She smiled through the darkness as she held his face. “But you were the one who saved me. That is what I choose to focus on, and that is why I love you.”

He caught his breath when she said those words, and she felt his body turn rigid. Arabella’s eyes widened because she realized then that they had never said those words to one another.

A beat passed between them… A moment where she worried that he would retreat or deny his feelings. But then, he smiled, breathed out, and she knew what he was going to say before the words left his lips.

“As I love you, Arabella. I might have denied it, I might have refused it, but as tonight has proven, I love you more than words can describe. And while I know how much you hate to need rescuing, in this one instance, I hope you do not mind.”

She laughed. “You rescued me because you loved me, Caspian. That is the difference. You did not do it to prove something or to own me. That is why I love you.”

“You are so strong, Arabella. I love that about you. But more than that, I love how you give me strength.”

“That is why we work so well together.”

He chuckled. “You know of my father and my upbringing. You know why I was so resistant to this. But tonight made me realize that I am not him, nor was I ever. And I would have never understood that about myself if not for you.”

She smiled as she accepted his words.

And for a few seconds, they simply looked upon one another. It was dark outside that cabin; she could barely see him, but she felt him. She felt his eyes. She felt his heart. She felt his love for her as if it were blinding.

This marriage was not about control, but a partnership. And as he had her heart, she now had his.

“So…” she began softly, still holding his eyes. “What now?”

“Now? We return home. We start our lives together properly. I want to be a good husband to you and a good father to Timothy. I want to prove once and for all that I can be that.”

“Good. But first…” Her eyes flicked to his lips, and Caspian grinned.

“Ah, I almost forgot. Remind me, what happens in all the stories where the prince rescues the princess?”

She dropped her face. “I would not know, as I never read them. Besides, such a circumstance does not really apply here. And do not dare suggest it.”

His hand went to her waist. “I suggest nothing. But as I am yours, you are mine, Arabella. Do not forget that.”

“You had better prove it then,” she said.

“Do not tell me what to do.”