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A crowd of reporters was already waiting outside the courtroom, and they clamored to get to the duke upon sighting him. However, Rathe had his security with him and no one was able to come close.
Inside the courtroom, Rathe’s face remained stoic throughout the proceedings. The only time his expression changed was when the case was adjourned and he and Camilla came face to face.
The other woman asked bitterly, “You’re really going to let me go to jail after so many years of friendship?”
“I’m not the reason you’re in cuffs,” Rathe said coldly. “It’s your own actions—-”
“That’s a lie,” Camilla snapped. “This is all because ofher!”
Rathe looked fit to kill her. “You don’t even have the right to speak her name—-”
Camilla spit on him, and gasps could be heard all over the place at what she had done. “What a hypocrite you are. Aren’t you the same person who agreed to marry me because you couldn’t wait to get rid of her?”
Cut.
Mary almost pressed Stop until she saw the next scene, which revealed Rathe back in his limousine, tossing back a shot of whisky.
It was so unlike him to turn to liquor that Mary found herself resting back on her haunches, her gaze glued to the screen.
Only when Rathe was done with his drink did he face the camera once more. “That time...before the party...Camilla proposed a fake engagement to help me convince Mary to leave me.”
Hearing the words made Mary feel sick.
“And I...” He laughed hollowly. “I accepted. Because that time, I thought I was doing what was right. I thought that by cutting all ties between us, it would make things better for my mother, and it would allow Mary to find someone who deserved her more.”
Rathe’s gaze strayed back at the glass on the table, its emptiness seemingly a reflection of how he considered his life was now. “Maybe, there is a person who deserve you more, but...” He looked up, and his lips twisted. “I want a chance, anyway. Give me a chance to love you.”
****
Another episode showedRathe with the other Pussketeers getting together in New York, and a tense moment came up when Yanna Kastein asked to speak to the duke in private.
The wife of the Dutch billionaire was clearly nervous, wringing her hands as she waited for Rathe to join her. “I’m sorry,” she blurted out the moment they were alone.
Rathe was bemused. “Whatever it is, you’re forgiven.” A ghost of a smile curved on his lips. “Anything to remove that little frown on your face. If your husband sees it, I’m afraid he’s going to thump me, thinking I made you cry.”
She shook her head vehemently. “No. He knows about this. We’ve discussed it, and he’s let me...I told him I wanted to apologize to you in person.” She took a deep breath. “You see...I’ve heard troubling things about Camilla Daughtry when Constantijin and I visited you two in England, but I...I chose not to tell either of you about it. I wasn’t sure if you’d believe me.”
Rathe was quiet for a moment before saying grimly, “You’d probably be right. I was a...much harder man then.”
Yanna bit her lip as she tried her best to hold her tears back. “I’m just really sorry. I feel like if I had said something, maybe Mary wouldn’t be...”
“It’s not your fault, Yanna.” Rathe drew her close for a brief, comforting hug. When they parted, he said flatly, “All that’s happening now, it’smypenance. It’s my punishment.”
Cut.
The next was a distant shot of the Dutch couple, Yanna crying in her husband’s arms. Their murmured voices were hard to catch, but subtitles had been provided.
“I just wish there was a way for me to tell Mary how much he loves her.”
****
With each episode,Mary was careful to skip to the next one when it was Rathe’s turn to say the final goodbyes. But when she reached the last episode, she couldn’t help herself, and she went back to the very first one.
Rathe was in the balcony once more, holding a ring out, his voice hoarse as he said, “If you come back to me, little pearl, I’d like to beg for your forgiveness. And if you choose to forgive me, then I’d like to ask you one day for your hand in marriage. It would be my honor to have you as my wife.”
And every episode, it was the same, Rathe having his own private moment wherever he had the time to shoot his final goodbye.
“These days, I find it a compliment when people compare what we...had...to what my parents have. They love each other, and that’s a good thing.” Rathe smiled at the camera, but the pain was evident in his eyes as he said, “I love you, Mary.” He patted his pocket. “And I always have your ring with me.”
