Page 96 of From Unwanted to Duchess
But she was tired. Bone-deep tired.
She had just stood up to her father and stepmother and declared her independence. She had just found the strength to say that she would make her own way.
And now James was asking her to what? Forgive him? Trust him again? Give him her heart, when he had already proven he would throw it away the moment he got scared?
She should have been happy. She had yearned for nothing more than for him to come to his senses, but she had to admit thatin this very moment, his words did not touch her. In fact, she longed for nothing more than to be left alone.
“I do not wish to see you right now.”
“Frances,” Aunt Eugenia interjected, a warning in her voice. “He has come to his senses. Surely you will not reject him now.”
“I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and how you’ve stood by me, but you must understand—I am not a plaything to be picked up and put away when it suits you. I’ve already told you this, James,” Frances continued nonetheless.
“So you will not take me back?” he asked, his voice hollow.
“I cannot,” she said. “Please forgive me.”
With that, she turned and left them both standing in the drawing room, pale-faced and stunned, as though lightning had struck directly into the center of the room.
