Page 6 of Worst Duke Ever

“You mean the Montrose family business scandal and my friend’s betrothed.”He stated both incidents with disdain but he saved an especially derisive tone for the word betrothed.

“Yes.They were your friends.How could you do that to them?You destroyed them both in different ways.”

He scoffed.“I saved them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing.There’s nothing to say about that.”

Who was this man that she was dancing with?Charming and saccharine.Yet mysterious.Did the devil have a soft spot?It couldn’t be.No.Certainly not.Last night had been life changing for her, not for him.

It was laughable that she would think she found the chink in his armor.Without a doubt, there was no Achilles' heel on the devil.

Chapter 6

“Shouldn’tyoumeetwithmy father first?”Seraphina stared at him with her pale blue eyes framed with dark wisps that he wanted to tuck behind her ear.Standing in her parlor the morning after the ball, he knew what she expected.A call.A request.A blessing.A proposal.That was the plan.

Was.

He didn’t think it possible, but he had found his conscience.And wasn’t that just a shot to the gut.After having sex with Seraphina, he should marry her.That was the honorable thing to do.And now that he wanted to do the honorable thing by her, he also knew that trapping her into marriage with him—a villain in theton’s eyes—would not be honorable.But what was honor anyway?He had to stand by his decisions.

She could, and should, do much better than him.

“No.I won’t be meeting with your father.”

Ire flickered in her eyes.“What do you mean?”she asked before pursing her lips.

“I’m not going to ask him for your hand.Wait.Before you start to argue with me, you’re free.I’ve absolved your father’s debt.”

Her body was equally rigid and confused.With a small shake of her head, her brows clung to each other as she said, “What do you mean?”

“It’s done.You owe me nothing.You can live life as you did before this whole debacle.”He turned to leave.

“You think I paid the debt, is that it then?You got what you wanted?”Her voice shook with rage.

“No.It’s not like that.”But how could he explain when that was exactly what it looked like.God, he hated himself even more for that fact.But he was damned if he made her marry him, and he was damned if he let her go.Better to let her go and be angry at him.

“I have to go,” he gritted out.

“Wait.”Her hand clasped his forearm.“That wasn’t the deal.”

“No.It wasn’t.”He schooled his face into a stoic expression, offering her nothing.He had no place offering her the few pieces of his heart he had found.She deserved more than that.Better than him.

“We had an arrangement, Sebastian.”He had to leave now before he did something stupid.Why had he even showed up here?He should have just sent her his decision by missive.He could have done so discreetly.

With his back to her, he spoke through a clamped jaw.“The arrangement is void, Seraphina.”

She scoffed at him.Scoffed.If that didn’t grate on his nerves like a rusty knife.

“What changed?”she demanded.

“Nothing.”He would take it to his grave.Like so many things.

“What.Changed.”The words were spoken like punches.“I deserve to know.”

“The arrangement was ridiculous.”

“It was not—”

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