Page 98 of How to Seduce a Duke this Autumn
Only his own.
And Adam was finished with that. All of that.
*
The dowager duchess’seyes raked over Charlene with a mix of scrutiny and contempt, as though she were deciding whether Charlene was a victor or a villain. A warrior or a harlot. Charlene felt the weight of that gaze settle on her like armor too heavy to wear. Her stomach churned, and her cheeks burned like fire. The walls felt too close. She had to leave.
Her hands flew to her shawl draped over the nearby chair. She could hardly see what she was doing for the blur of emotion in her eyes. Her fingers stilled for a moment as Adam’s voice broke through the rising roar in her ears.
“Don’t go.”
She didn’t dare look at him. Her breaths came shallow and quick, her fingers fumbling with the fabric. “I’m ruined,” she said, her voice tight and brittle. “Thoroughly so. I have to go.”
“You bring shame to our family,” the dowager duchess said, breaking the tense silence with words that lashed like a whip.
Charlene froze, shoulders flinching under the coolness of the words. The duchess’s tone hadn’t risen, but its sharpness was unmistakable. It cut deeper than any accusation could have.
The air shifted with the sound of Adam’s steps. He moved in front of her, his imposing figure drawing the heat of her shame to him. His voice filled the room—not loud, but tempered steel.
“Don’t ever speak of her like this again,” he spat with measured intensity before stepping closer to his mother. His jaw tightened, his hands flexing at his sides. “Do you understand me?”
The dowager duchess, for the first time Charlene had seen, faltered. Her eyes went wide, and her head tilted back slightly,as though his words had struck her physically. “Are you,” she stammered, her voice quivering as her gaze darted between them, “are you telling me,mi hijo, that you… she and you?”
Adam didn’t relent. “I’ve asked her to marry me.” His words filled the space, bold and unshakeable. He turned to Charlene, his tone softening but losing none of its resolve. “And if she accepts my hand, I will spend the rest of my life trying to live up to the honor, strength, brilliance, and beauty she brings to this world.” His voice, steady as a vow, made Charlene’s chest ache. “Once you decide,” he continued, his eyes on hers, his gaze alight with something she had never dared imagine for herself, “I’d most humbly hope you’ll tell me your decision.”
Charlene could hear the dowager duchess sucking in a breath to protest, but Adam raised a hand halfway, palm out, a soundless command for silence that the duchess obeyed without a word.
Lowering his hand, his gaze stayed locked on Charlene. “There would be nothing I’d wish more in my life than… than you, Charlene. You make my life worth living. My service to the country has meaning when I know there are people like you in this world.”
Her knees wobbled, and she felt hot tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. His words unraveled her, piece by tender piece, exposing the depths of a love she could have never hoped for.
And then Adam sank to one knee, tilting his head up to look at her. His hand found hers, careful, reverent. Her breath hitched.
“Please,” he said, his voice cracking slightly, his vulnerability laid as bare as if he were unarmed in battle. “Please say yes to me despite the face I share with the devil.”
Charlene drew a trembling breath, her eyes never leaving his as she stepped closer, her voice soft but brimming with emotion.“Adam,” she began, her heart pounding louder than the words leaving her lips. “The face you think you share with the devil… it’s my sanctuary. How could you not see that? Every time I look at you, I only see the man who has fought for me, defended me, and shown me what it means to be truly loved.”
She paused, her hand lifting tentatively to touch his cheek, her fingers grazing the skin as if to commit it to memory. “I know every feature of your face, every line, every curve. Your smile…” She swallowed hard, feeling her voice shake. “It begins on the right, as though even the sun hesitates to rise all at once, afraid to outshine you.” Her chest tightened as she tried to steady herself, her voice growing firmer, though tears shimmered in her eyes. “And your words, Adam. With just a sentence, you can set every part of me alight. No one else has that power. No one else could make me feel like this—with a single look, a single touch. There is no shame I’ve felt, no pain I’ve endured that your love hasn’t been strong enough to banish.” Her hands pressed to his, warm and steady now as her lips curled into a trembling smile. “Do you see now? You’ve given my life a meaning I never thought possible. You’ve made me believe in something I never thought I could have. And that’s why I choose you,” she whispered, tears slipping down her cheeks. “It will be the easiest choice of my life. I would choose you over and over again, in every moment, in every lifetime—for you are my light, Adam. You are my love.”
Her voice cracked on the last word, but she didn’t falter. She gazed into his eyes, her heart full and open, ready to claim the love she had never thought she could deserve. She swallowed back the lump in her throat, her voice trembling with her first word. “Yes.” A smile broke through the tears cascading down her cheeks. Louder this time. “Yes!”
A laugh bubbled out of her, soft at first and then freer, unrestrained. Her hands flew to her mouth, and she shook herhead in amazement. “Yes, Adam,” she said again, her voice strong and sure now. “I would be honored. I would be proud.”
Adam’s face broke into that lopsided smile she loved so dearly. Without hesitation, he rose and pulled her close, his arms wrapping around her as if to shield her from every judgment, every cruel word. Her heart raced wildly, and in that moment, she felt undeniably, irrevocably his. And as for the dowager duchess, well, Charlene would deal with her another day. Today, she chose love.
*
I choose love.
The hotel room felt oppressively quiet despite the ticking of the ormolu clock on the mantel. Charlene held herself upright, though her breath hadn’t fully returned since the dowager duchess’s cutting words. Passed from one brother to the next. The accusation echoed in her mind like the toll of iron bells, unraveling the fragments of her composure. Her fingers curled into the thin fabric of her gloves, nails biting through the silk where she clung to poise as though it were her last defense.
I choose love. From now on, she’d always choose love.
Adam’s voice broke the silence, firm and steady, as though the weight of the moment didn’t slice at him, too.
“Mother, Charlene is coming with me. And once we’re wed, make no mistake, the world shall see her as the Duchess of Rotheworth.”
Charlene’s head lifted at his words, her heart giving an unsteady lurch as anger warred with disbelief in her chest. His mother’s face hardened, flashing imperious disapproval. “Adam,” she said tersely, “there is no need for dramatics. My carriage is just outside. Charlene can depart with some semblance of discretion. It’s the least we can do for her.”
