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“What’s wrong?” he whispered into her hair and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

Emily took a deep breath, then leaned away from him, just enough to look him in the eye. “I just spoke to Bernard,” she murmured weakly.

“Bernard?" Tyrone’s entire body tensed. That dandy she was just talking to was her former fiancé? “Did he upset you?”

She nodded. “He did.”

For a moment, all he could see was red. He wanted to find Bernard and rip his limbs off for upsetting his wife. One by one. But as the red cleared, he stared into his wife’s vulnerable eyes. She needed him more. “What did he say?”

She looked him squarely in the eyes. “He asked me to run away with him.”

All the insecurities within him screamed for him to ask her what she’d answered. A part of him wanted to inquire whether she’d agreed. But another part, not the jealous and insane part, the part that in the past few weeks had come to trust his wife and respect her, stayed calm. That same part of him prompted him to kiss her forehead. “Shall we go home, then?”

Her lips curled into a smile, illuminating the entire ballroom in the warm glow. “We shall.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

The morning after the ball, Emily woke up in her bed, alone again, a solitary leather box lying on the pillow beside her. Last night had been like a magical tale. She’d danced with her husband, he’d held her in his arms in front of the crowded ball, and then they’d made love for hours when they got home.

But with the morning light, it seemed like nothing had changed.

Emily scrambled off the bed, wrapped a dressing gown over her nightgown, picked up the leather box, and flew into her husband’s study.

Stopping a foot away from his desk, she asked, “What is this?”

Alec turned to his left and only then did Emily notice a man sitting there, taking notes. She covered herself tightly with the dressing gown, feeling quite foolish.

“You are free to go, Louis,” Alec barked. He waited patiently while the man collected his papers and walked away.

When the door finally closed behind the poor man, Alec squinted at the box in Emily's hand. “I believe it’s an emerald choker. You do not like emeralds. Is that it?”

He looked so serious, it took Emily all her strength not to laugh. “No, I am asking what does this mean?”

“It’s a gift,” he said simply.

“I realize that. But what for? For a night spent in my embrace?”

He frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“You keep me at arm’s length. You come to me only at night or when you need a moment of pleasure and then reward me with these gifts.'' She threw the box onto the armchair. “I thought we made a step forward in our relationship.”

He rubbed his forehead. “What are you talking about? Am I mistreating you in some way?”

“You’re treating me like a mistress!”

Alec leaned against his chair, steepling his hands on his chest. “What would you know about being treated like a mistress?”

“I know that men spend their passion with a mistress, give her a shiny bauble, and then leave.”

“Are you saying the jewelry I leave you is not worthy of a duchess?”

She frowned, more confused than before. “I am saying I do not want this jewelry!”

“What is it you want then?” he asked.

“I want you to treat me as your wife!”

He threw up his hands. “You are my wife!”