CHAPTER SIXTEEN“Trust the wait. Embrace the uncertainty. Enjoy the beauty of becoming.”MANDY HALEGUINEVEREI could hardly concentrate on what my mama was saying, it was like I wasn't in the shop anymore but back at the duke's manor. I was thinking about if it was proper to ask him why he had stopped getting dresses for her and if it had any relation to meeting me nine years ago, there was no way it was just a minor coincidence and I knew there was no way it was because he had fallen in love with me then. Had he been watching me this whole time? Had he been watching my family...was that how he found out about my dad and his silly deal with the cosa nostra. If it was then I was going to call off the wedding, because it literally meant I am something he needs for his dead wife. I did not know how I knew that but if he had been watching me this whole time... I was never going to go through with the marriage, damn my father and whatever consequences there was.I could feel a throbbing i
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN“They behave in accordance with what the contrast principle would suggest; sell the suit first, because when it comes time to look at sweaters, even expensive ones, their prices will not seem as high in comparison”ROBERT B. CIALDINITHE DUKEIt was like I was watching a tug of war. There was something wrong with the way Henry and Guinevere were smiling like they knew each other but I could feel the silent tension between them. The way Guinevere had her body in a rigid position and the way Henry was trying so hard to not glare at her.When she had come in to say hello the first time, he had looked at her and it was like they had been suspended in a bubble. Henry had held her had for a while and although I just wanted to observe everything play out, it was when Guinevere had begun to shake that I knew I had to break up anything that was happening but there was something wrong with the way Guinevere had whipped around to look at me and for that brief moment, she had lo
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN“The universe doesn’t give you what you ask for with your thoughts; it gives you what you demand with your actions”DR. STEVE MARABOLIGUINEVEREI lay on my bed and thought about how the duke had not responded to my questions, he had run away. It was strange, the visit of his friend and the fact that he was trying so hard to get away from everything I had to ask him showed that there was something wrong. I had reacted to his friend in a way I would never have dreamed of reacting to a stranger and it was like I even hated him, why?There was no way they would going to tell me what was going on, I needed to find out myself but how was I going to do that. These questions kept me awake most of the night. My mama had arrived in the dead of the night and began setting up; she had forced me to sleep with the words that I needed my beauty sleep as the bride and she was not going to allow me be awake helping out so I could have eye bags at the end of the day. I had laughed at
CHAPTER NINETEEN“Faith makes all things possible. Love makes all things easy”DWIGHT MOODYTHE DUKEShe was beautiful... I watched her walk with her papa at her side, glowing and I could only think about how utterly stunning she was. Her face flushed with excitement and her eyes portraying the mixed emotions she was feeling made me want to make everything right for her.I stood up straighter where I was by the makeshift Altar and cleared my throat. Henry's eyes met mine knowingly, he could see I was beating myself up. I did not want to be here getting married, I wanted to know how she was connected to my wife.I felt guilty, I felt I was dishonoring the memory of Katherine by getting married to another woman but I knew she would understand if she knew the intent behind the marriage. I cleared my head and steadied my breathing as she approached me, innocent and smiling. She has no idea what she was getting herself into by getting married to me. She would soon enough and would hate me
CHAPTER TWENTY“We do not know all the answers. If we knew all the answers, we would be bored, wouldn’t we? We keep looking, searching, trying, to get more knowledge.JACK LALANNEGUINEVEREHe was nowhere in sight and I know this because I have tried searching with my eyes while I smiled at the guests wishing me good luck with my marriage. I was not expecting this much people and I believe the duke wasn't too. This was my father's way of paying the duke back for the insult at dinner, by inviting all of his friends and the ton to my wedding without as much as informing me or my husband. He was now my husband and even as I thought it, I could hardly believe it had finally happened. I was finally bound to this man forever. Form the look on my mama’s face, it was obvious that she too was not expecting this much guests and the way she greeted the steady trickle still coming in confirmed my suspicions, my father had acted alone on this.I continued my search for the duke, maybe he had excus
CHAPTER TWENTY ONETHE DUKE“Wild nights, wild nights! Were I with thee, wild nights should be. Our luxury! Futile- the winds. To a heart in port- done with the compass- done with the chart! Rowing in Eden. Ah, the sea! Might I moor- tonight in thee!”EMILY DICKINSONShe was waiting when I came into her bedchambers, I had had no intention of doing what I was about to do but I could not stop thinking about her and how she looked absolutely stunning in that wedding gown. I wanted to touch her, taste her; it was like a virus that I wanted to get rid of right now. I alluded that to the fact that she looked like Katherine hence the attraction but one could not always deceive oneself; she was Guinevere through and through and I wanted her even at that. I wanted the innocence she could offer me, the solace of something sweet and her unbearable alluring scent, I wanted it all and so I walked to her room marveling at how determined I was to take her.Her eyes flew up to mine as I entered; she
CHAPTER TWENTY TWOGUINEVERE“And in that moment I wean, we were… infinite”My eyes fluttered open, closed and then opened again, they felt very heavy. I stretched lazily with the blanket over my body before i realized the absence of my clothes.I gasped and drew the blanket closer, my eyes darting around, searching for the duke, the events of the previous night going through my mind. How he had touched me and how much I had enjoyed it.I blushed deeply, reaching into my thighs, his fingers had performed magic and I had climaxed, weak from the exertion, he had not penetrated me.I got up and opened the curtains, my heart bursting with love. The air smelled even fresher and I could feel my veins pumping blood vigorously, I inhaled deeply and walked gloriously naked into the bathroom.As I washed, I could still feel the way his hands had trailed my body, touching and awakening senses in my body I had no idea existed. I sighed dramatically, I was happy and it had been nothing like my mam
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE“One of the hardest lessons in life is letting go. Whether it’s guilt, anger, love, loss of betrayal. Change is never easy, we fight to hold on and we fight to let go. If you have been hurt until it breaks your soul in pieces, your perspective in life will definitely change and no one and nothing in this world could ever hurt you again”MAREEZ REYESTHE DUKEThere was something wrong with the way she had dashed out of the dining room and the way she had looked at me like I had done something eternally wrong. I wanted to go to after her but it was so obvious she wanted to be alone and so I excused her, watching her back. There was something wrong and I had no idea what it was.I had woken up this morning in hunger; I needed to taste blood, it had been so long. I did not just need to taste any kind of blood, I wanted hers.After spending the night with her; her scent teasing my nostrils, tempting me and luring me to take her, to sink my fangs into her throat. I trie