All Chapters of His Father's Bride : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

61 Chapters

Chapter 20: Propriety

I told myself I would feel better the next morning. By the time I entered the breakfast room, the table had already been laid, and the morning light poured through the tall windows.Lord Rathcliffe sat at the head of the table, reading the newspaper, while Katherine swung her feet beneath her chair with restless impatience.David was in the midst of describing something with great enthusiasm.“And then it slipped straight through the fence and ran—”“Good morning, Mrs. Belle.” I paused just inside the doorway. William sat halfway down the table, a cup of tea in his hand. He inclined his head politely in greeting before returning his attention to the children.The formality of it struck me at once.Mrs. Belle.Not simply Belle, as he had grown accustomed to saying.Not with the quiet familiarity I had come to expect.Just polite. Respectful. Distant.“Good morning,” I replied, forcing my voice into the same calm tone.I took my seat across from him.Lord Rathcliffe lowered his newspaper.

Last Updated : 2026-03-17

Chapter 21: Dangerously close.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Emma said lightly, though her eyes lingered on me with quiet concern as she moved about the room, straightening what did not need straightening. “I have come to believe that Rathcliffe Manor is a place with many,” I replied before I could stop myself. Emma paused mid-motion. "What does that mean?" "Nothing." "That did not sound like nothing.” “It is nothing,” I said quickly, too quickly.She turned then, crossing the room in a few soft steps until she stood before me. Without asking, she took my hands into hers. Her touch was warm, grounding, and far too perceptive. “Belle,” she said gently, searching my face, “you are doing exceptionally well here. Anyone can see that. But these last few days…” She hesitated, her brow creasing. “You have changed. You are quieter. Watchful. As though you are waiting for something to happen.” I forced a small smile. “You imagine things.” “Do I?” she asked, tilting her head slightly. “Or is there something i

Last Updated : 2026-03-18

Chapter 22: Warmth.

The storm showed no sign of easing. Rain battered relentlessly against the carriage, each strike sharp and unyielding, while the wind howled through the trees as though intent on tearing the world apart. The carriage rocked faintly beneath it all, the wheels sunk deep into unforgiving mud. Cold crept in from every seam, damp and insistent, settling into bone. “The coachman has not yet returned.” I kept my voice measured, though it took effort. A shiver betrayed me despite it. Then another. “I think we should go look for him.” “I think not.” William’s voice came from the darkness opposite me, steady and unyielding. He rested his head back against the carriage wall, his features half-lost to shadow. “It is too dangerous for you to go out at this hour. These roads are not safe for you.” There was finality in it. Not unkind—but absolute. Silence followed. It pressed in, thick as the storm itself. I found I had grown tired of these silences—of all the things left unsaid within the

Last Updated : 2026-03-18

Chapter 23: London

London announced itself long before we reached it.The quiet of the countryside gave way to movement—carriages crowding the roads, voices rising in layered conversation, the distant hum of a city already alive with purpose. By the time we crossed into its heart, the air itself felt different. Sharper. Charged.I kept my gaze fixed on the window.And yet—I was aware of him. Entirely.Every shift. Every breath. Every moment his attention drifted—only to return, as though drawn back against his will. We did not speak for the rest of the journey.But the silence between us was no longer empty. It was full of everything that had passed… and everything that had not.The carriage slowed at last, drawing to a stop before the townhouse. Footmen moved quickly, the door opened, and the world rushed back in all at once.“Mrs. Belle,” one of them said, offering his hand. I took it, stepping down carefully. I did not look at William. Not immediately. But as I moved toward the entrance, I felt it—hi

Last Updated : 2026-03-19

Chapter 24: Unrestrained.

The mask sat lightly against my skin.A delicate thing—crafted from fine ivory lace and brushed with threads of gold, its edges curling into intricate patterns that framed my eyes just enough to make me feel hidden. Transformed.I studied my reflection one last time before turning as the door opened behind me. Emma walked in.“A gift,” she said. She held them out to me—golden hairpins, slender and elegant, shaped like delicate vines. At their tips, ruby stones gleamed—deep, rich, and almost too vivid beneath the candlelight. “From who?” I asked. “Lord Rathcliffe,” she said. “He said it is for your first season, and he hopes you will wear them tonight.” I hesitated only briefly before taking them.They were beautiful and I was stunned that he had gifted them to me. I slipped them carefully into the twists of my hair, securing them at the back where the rubies nestled against the dark strands. “I shall thank him,” I said, moving to leave the room quicky. My gown fell in soft layer

Last Updated : 2026-03-20

Chapter 25: William.

William’s POV... The earliest thing I remember of my father is not his kindness. It is the way he looked at me. Not as one looks upon a child—not with wonder, nor pride, nor even expectation.As though I were already something to be used.A piece on a board he controlled with quiet, unerring precision. Even then—before I understood the language of power, before I knew what it meant to be shaped—I felt it. That subtle distance. That careful calculation behind his gaze, as if he were measuring not who I was, but what I might become… and how best I might serve him when I did.My mother had been different.Entirely.Where he was rigid, she was soft. Where he was deliberate, she was effortless. And where his presence filled a room with tension, hers filled it with something lighter—something that made breathing easier.When she smiled at me, it was never with expectation.It was something gentler than that. Something unguarded.As though I were already enough.And in those moments—brief,

Last Updated : 2026-03-21

Chapter 26: Desires.

The carriage rolled to a stop outside the manor. Before the footman could properly assist me, I had already pushed the door open and stepped down, my movements quick—almost unsteady. The cool night air did little to calm the heat still burning beneath my skin.I walked inside without looking back.“Belle,” Emma’s voice reached me the moment I crossed the threshold.“You’re back.” There was a pause, her eyes drifting past me toward the open door, searching. “Where is Lord Rathcliffe?”“He is still at the ball. I was feeling unwell,” I replied quickly.Too quickly.I did not give her time to question it. I moved past her, my steps hurried as I made my way up the staircase. “Belle—” But I did not stop.I reached my room and shut the door behind me harder than intended. The sound echoed through the space, sharp and final.Silence followed.I stood there for a moment, my hand still resting against the door, my breathing uneven. My heart had not slowed.Not from the moment he had kissed

Last Updated : 2026-03-21

Chapter 27: Shortage of honey.

The word assaulted seemed to echo long after it was spoken. It did not merely linger—it settled. It sank into the very walls of the room, heavy and suffocating, as though the air itself had thickened around us. I felt it press against my chest, tight and unrelenting, until each breath I drew came shallow and deliberate. The silence that followed was not empty. It was charged—strained beneath the weight of implication, and accusation.“A complaint?” Lord Rathcliffe repeated.His tone remained even, controlled as always, but there was something sharper beneath it now—something edged, like steel concealed beneath velvet. It was the kind of voice that did not need to rise to command attention. Lady Penbury did not so much as glance in his direction. Her gaze remained fixed on me—cool, assessing, unwavering. There was no warmth in it, no doubt. Only quiet calculation.“He claims that he was struck,” she said. Her voice was smooth. “Quite forcefully, I might add.”My pulse quickened, sudd

Last Updated : 2026-03-22

Chapter 28: My Husband.

The drawing room was bathed in soft afternoon light, the tall windows filtering the sun into something gentler—muted gold that settled across the pale walls and polished furnishings. It was the kind of light that softened edges, that made everything appear more refined than it truly was. Even the silence felt curated. The faint scent of bergamot lingered in the air, delicate yet unmistakable, curling through the space like an invisible thread. It clung to the porcelain, the upholstery, the very fabric of the room itself—intentional, composed. Lady Ashbourne seemed to have thrived in such spaces. She stood beside the tea service with effortless poise, her movements precise without ever appearing rigid. The silver teapot gleamed beneath her hand as she tilted it just so, pouring the amber liquid into my cup with practiced elegance. “Just a touch more?” she asked, her tone gentle—almost indulgent, as though she were offering something far more significant than tea. I nodded, thoug

Last Updated : 2026-03-24

Chapter 29: As wicked as some would suggest.

The light was sharper than it had any right to be, slipping through the curtains in pale, unforgiving streaks that made the room feel smaller than it had the night before. I had not slept—not properly. My thoughts had refused to quiet, circling endlessly between the journal, William’s expression, and the weight of everything we had stepped into. And now— There was something else. A soft knock sounded at the door. Not hurried. Not hesitant. Familiar. “Belle?” Emma’s voice followed, gentle but edged with something I could not immediately place. “Are you awake?” I closed my eyes briefly, steadying myself before rising. “Yes,” I called. “You may come in.” The door opened slowly. Emma stepped inside, closing it carefully behind her. She did not move further into the room right away, her hand lingering on the handle for just a moment longer than usual. Something was wrong. “Is everything alright?” I asked, watching her more closely now. She turned to face me fully.There wa

Last Updated : 2026-03-25

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP