Page 84 of You Only Love Twice
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You can do this.You'll be safe now, and no blue blood will ever be able to touch you again....
Adele stared at her pinched expression in the mirror.
The pearls looked wrong.
But they're Grandmother’s, and if there's anyone you want standing at your side today, it's her. Or the memory of her.
She would have wanted to be here on your wedding day.
"My mockery of a wedding day," she whispered, clutching the pearls as if they were strangling her.
Heat flooded Adele's eyes. She couldn't breathe. And her corset was too tight. All she'd wanted was for her sister to be at her side this morning, but her mother wouldn't even allow her that.
I wash my hands of you, Adele. I am done. Once this is over, I expect never to see you darken my door again, do you understand?
Do you understand?the Duke of Malloryn had asked.
Oh, yes, she understood all too well. Adele caught hold of the edge of her old bed, clenching her eyes shut as she put herself back together, piece by piece. After all, it was clear the only person she would ever be able to rely upon was herself.
Slowly, she released the shuddering breath she was holding.You have a heart of ice.
Nerves of steel.
A will of iron.
Nothing could touch her anymore. Not if she didn'tletit touch her. Malloryn might hate her for trapping him like this, but at least she would be safe, and then she could use her pin money to rescue her younger sister, Harriet, from the path her parents had forced her down years ago.
Harriet would never have to go through what Adele had.
No matter what she had to do.
Adele swallowed the burning lump in her throat and opened her eyes, meeting her emotionless gaze in the mirror.
All she needed to do was suffer through this ceremony and she'd finally be free. Malloryn had sworn never to touch her. They would live separate lives.
Harriet would be safe.
And that was when something moved behind her in the reflection.
A wet hand clamped over her mouth, jerking her back against a hard body before she could even scream. Not a hand. A handkerchief. It smelled like— She wanted to gag, but her eyes were fluttering, her lungs caught in a chemical haze. A hint of a pale figure loomed behind her in the reflection, his hair the color of bleached bone.
Adele's knees weakened, her fist flailing helplessly.
Malloryn would probably be relieved.
Because she was fairly certain she wasn't going to make it to her own wedding....
The world vanished around her as Adele's body slumped.
Chapter 18
The Duke of Malloryn stood at the altar, his hands crossed in front of him as he stared directly at the garland of flowers.
"Nervous?" Leo Barrons asked, at his side.
There was no one else he could have asked to stand with him. Malloryn's gaze flickered to his friend, and he arched a brow. "Do I have cause to be nervous?"
