Page 46 of Bound to the Heartless Duke
She folded her arms and jutted her chin stubbornly. “Why not?”
“Because you’re not mine to want.”
There, he said it.Finally.
As much as his words affected her, she didn’t flinch. She didn’t step back. The only thing she did was hold his gaze like it was all that mattered.
“I’m not anyone’s to want,” she said quietly. “That’s the point.”
The wind shifted, and he took a step toward her before he could stop himself.
“Do you think I want this?” she continued, her voice breaking slightly. “That I lie awake at night, dreaming of Mr. Bailey’s shipping empire and his gossip of a mother? I don’t. But Nathan is unraveling, and I’m the only thing keeping him from breaking apart.”
“I never asked you to be,” Magnus said, his tone somber.
“No. You just stand there and judge me for it.”
That hit its mark. It made him swear under his breath and clench his fists at his sides.
He turned away, wanting to simply return to his solitude, but she wasn’t finished.
“You think it’s easy for me?” she asked. “Watching him pin all his hopes on a man I can barely stand, knowing he’s doing it forme. For theideaof me. Because I’m his one chance to save this place.”
Magnus slowly turned back to her.
“You don’t owe him your future,” he stated.
“No. But I owe him something. I also oweyousomething. I made you a promise—to give you money in order to get back the manor.”
Something fragile hovered between them, and he stepped closer, eyeing her with an intensity that she could feel deep in her bones.
“And what do you owe yourself?” he murmured.
Her eyebrows drew down. She didn’t answer, not with words.
She didn’t know what to say. Or perhaps she did, but she was afraid to voice it. All she did was stare at him.
Magnus moved before he could think. One step, then another, until he was close enough to see the flicker of doubt in her eyes. Close enough to feel her breath.
“Lily,” he whispered.
She swallowed. He was looking at her likethatyet again.
She shook her head and took a step back, breaking whatever spell had held them both.
“I can’t,” she mumbled. “Not if I’m going to do this.”
He nodded slowly, not even trying to change her mind, the space between them suddenly cold. “I know.”
She looked at him for a moment, like she wanted to say more, but in the end, she didn’t.
“I should go,” she sighed. “Nathan’s expecting me.”
Magnus knew that was a lie, but he nodded again without protest. He did not even raise a finger.
Lily turned around slowly and walked away without another word.
Magnus stayed on the hill for a while longer before leaving for town. However, every single second, his mind kept replaying their conversation, his heart pounding like he’d just lost something important.
