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He turned to face her, watching her features become stricken with fear. “I will thank you only once, Mother. You have opened my eyes to the many things I had been unaware of. Father’s love for you, his heartbreak, and all the wicked things you’ve done to the both of us. Now, it will not pain me to say that I do not plan on speaking to you again.”
“Stephen, surely you are not serious!” she gasped. When he failed to respond, she hurried over to him. For the first time in his life, Stephen watched desperation fill his proud mother’s eyes. “Surely you know that everything I did, I did for you! I truly believed that the Dowager Duchess of Fernridge was the lady you were truly meant to be with.”
“Do not pretend you care about my feelings when you did all that you did. You only cared about her riches!”
“Stephen, please!” she grasped her hand, her eyes pleading.
Stephen pulled away. Though his heart broke at the sadness on her face, he knew it was what needed to be done. “You may live out the rest of your days in the countryside. With only one servant. I hope that teaches you a little about greed.”
“Stephen!”
But he was walking away, blocking out her desperate pleas. A nagging thought wondered if she was begging not to be spurned by him, or if she was begging to keep the luxurious lifestyle she was accustomed to. Stephen shoved that thought to the back of his head. There was no use focusing on it.
He left her in the drawing room, knowing that she would not come out and embarrass herself in front of the servants. Not faltering for a moment, he made his way back to his carriage and only let out a breath when he was safely alone.
He had turned his back to a parent once again. Stephen wondered if, this time, he had truly done the right thing.
