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Stephen sighed, his body feeling light all of a sudden. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to keep the pieces of himself that seemed to be falling apart. “Let me at least ask you this...did Father truly have an affair?”
“I am unsure,” his mother said with a shrug. Her casualness was angering him. “I never asked him about it. If he was having an affair, I was in no position to judge him, though my reputation was on the line as a result. It is never a good feeling to be at an event while everyone whispers about your husband’s infidelity.”
“You were the one who dishonored your marriage in the first place!” Stephen shouted.
His mother did not flinch at his bark. If anything, she seemed to be prepared for it, and she lifted her chin, meeting his eyes. “If you wish to have an affair with this Lady Belle, then so be it, Stephen. But do soafteryou have married, and the Dowager Duchess bears your heir. Not before.”
“I will not marry Serena, Mother. No matter what you say, you will not convince me of such an action.”
“Goodness!” she cracked, sudden rage shining through. “Will you truly see this Dukedom falls to ruins, Stephen? What will happen when we no longer have any money to our name?”
“That will not happen,” Stephen said. “Once the accountant is finished sorting through the books, I will—”
“Those books do not matter, Stephen. We are already nearing bankruptcy. Without the Dowager Duchess’ money, we will have nothing! I spent and I spent until everything was gone and now it is time for you to do what you should to ensure that we at least have the money to keep this manor running.”
The lady before him was a stranger. Stephen staggered backwards, unable to come to terms with everything she’d just told him. “I cannot believe this.”
“The Dowager Duchess of Fernridge inherited a fortune from her late husband. She will be able to save us from this bankruptcy.”
“It doesn’t matter.” All he could do was refuse. Like clockwork, Stephen shook his head, latching on to that simple piece of familiarity. While his world spun around him, he would at least make sure she knew that what she wanted would never happen. “I do not care about money and I most certainly do not care about Serena. I will not marry her, Mother and that is final.”
“Will you truly be so foolish?,” she hissed. “I have already promised your hand.”
Stephen narrowed his eyes at her. He didn’t know what to feel in that moment, so he focused on the only thing that made sense. His mortification and his anger, even though he knew what she said did not matter in the end. “Leave.”
The Dowager Duchess to a step closer. “Stephen, you need to trust me. I am your mother. I know what is best for you—”
“Leave!”
The Dowager Duchess, to her credit, did not flinch. Her lips pulled back into a tight line, but she retreated back to the door. “You need time to think on it, I see. I will come to see you later.”
With that said, she left the study, closing the door behind her with a resounding click. A wave of silence descended on him as he didn’t know what to think.
The first thing that came to his head was the way he had shouted at his father. The things he had said to him, how he had denounced their relationship and how he had stated that he never wanted to see him again. Stephen had been driven by his protectiveness over his mother, the sadness of seeing her focus all her attention on shopping and material things to overcome the loneliness she felt from her husband’s distance. When, all this time, she was the one who had been the problem.
Father, I’m so sorry.
A single tear slid down his face as he collapsed into a chair. He’d said such awful things, stayed far from the family while only being in contact with his mother. Had been too far to say his goodbyes to his father who had only been trying to come to terms with his wife’s lack of love. Guilt impaled him, ripping him to shreds.
He couldn’t feel the anger anymore. It was all too much to handle at once. Stephen rested his head on the back of the chair, looked up at the ceiling and let the tears roll down the side of his face.
