AllFreeNovel
Share Us
‘Princess,’ he murmured.
Where was she? And why did she feel so disconnected from reality? What had happened and how long had she been sleeping?
‘You’re going to be okay,’ he said, his voice rough with purpose. ‘And the baby too.’
The baby?
The only reason he wanted her.
The sharp blast of reality ripped through the fog and she blinked furiously, trying to stop the cruel memories flooding back, but it was already too late.
She looked away from him, the tears welling up now misting her view of the beautifully appointed bedroom.
She’d run, like the coward she’d always been. And he’d rescued her. She pressed her hand to her belly.
Her baby was safe. The baby she’d almost accidentally killed.
I can’t marry you.
It was what she wanted to say. But the words refused to be released from her throat. The guilt and sadness were suddenly too much to bear. The tears flowed freely down her cheeks.
She had ruined everything. Perhaps this was a fitting punishment—that she would have to marry him now and live for the rest of her life loving him and knowing he could never love her in return.
Juno forced herself to look into his eyes, absorb his dishevelled appearance and the heavy beard.
She loved him, and she would marry him. And maybe one day he could learn to love her in return.
The silence seemed heavy as Leo took her hand and squeezed it in his.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she said.
At exactly the same time as Leo murmured, ‘You must forgive me.’
He frowned then smiled, but it was a smile with no humour in it, only regret. The same regret that had wrapped around her heart.
‘I can’t imagine what you would have to be sorry for, Princess,’ he said, the use of the endearment piercing her heart.
So many things.
‘I’m sorry for swapping places with my sister,’ she said, knowing the list was endless. ‘I’m sorry for running. I’m sorry for putting our baby’s life in danger,’ she said, her heart so heavy it was hard to talk. ‘I’m sorry for trapping you into a marriage you can’t possibly want.’
The crease on his forehead deepened, the smile flatlining. ‘Why would you think that?’ he said, as if it weren’t perfectly obvious.
‘You don’t love me, Leo. But you’
re being forced to marry me because of the baby and—’
‘Don’t.’ He pressed a thumb to her lips to silence the rush of confession. ‘Don’t apologise for something that is lacking in me, not you.’
‘I don’t... I don’t understand,’ she said.
But instead of explaining, he lifted her hand, threaded his fingers through hers, and slowly brought her hand to his lips, pressing his mouth against the skin.
The prickle of sensation, the ripple of hope was almost more than she could bear. She could see the shadows under his eyes as he moved into the light. Why was it so much harder to face the truth of their situation knowing that he cared for her, just not enough? He stroked her knuckles with his thumb, finally lowering her hand and raising his gaze to meet hers.
What she saw there shocked her to her core.
This wasn’t regret, or sadness, it was pain.
