The Duke’s Sinful Bride (Vows of Sin #5)

Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

“ Y e do not have to be dramatic about it. I was simply occupied,” Killian said, his voice low and controlled, as though they were discussing a trivial matter like the weather.

Yvette’s breath hitched. Her hands clenched at her sides.

“Dramatic?” she echoed, her voice rising in disbelief. “You do not think your behavior was disrespectful, but you think I am being dramatic?”

A tightness settled in her chest, a bitter knot forming with every word he spoke. How could he stand there and act as though everything was normal? He had left, without a word, without a thought of the promise he’d made her.

She stepped forward, her voice sharp as a whip.

“You don’t think this is disrespectful? You promised me you would meet me in the drawing room, Killian. And yet, you decide to leave the house without even informing me. Is that how you show respect for me?”

Her chest heaved with the anger coursing through her, but she continued, not giving him the chance to respond.

“Do you think I am just supposed to accept that? To remain silent, as though nothing happened?” she asked.

Killian raised an eyebrow, a flicker of annoyance crossing his face, but there was no apology in his eyes.

“It is none of yer concern where I go,” he said, his tone clipped and cold. “This is a marriage of convenience, Yvette. Our personal lives, our actions, they belong to us. Not to each other.”

Her eyes widened, as though he had struck her.

“None of my concern?” she repeated in disbelief. “This is not about being in your business, Killian. This is about respect. About common decency!”

She took a step toward him, her voice trembling with anger, but her words scathing.

“You were supposed to be there, but instead, you chose to leave without a single word. And now you do not even care enough to apologize. Can’t you see how wrong that is?”

A brief flash of frustration darkened his eyes, but he stood his ground.

“I had an urgent matter to attend to. It was far more important than whatever it is ye had to say.”

Yvette’s stomach twisted. She had expected him to say something like that. Expected him to brush her off as if she were nothing but an inconvenience.

She squared her shoulders, trying to push down the hurt she could no longer contain.

“Oh, it makes perfect sense now, Killian,” she said, her voice trembling with quiet fury. “So, whatever this business of yours is, it is far more important than your daughter.”

Her words grew colder, her heart turning to ice.

“What? My daugh?—”

“If you can treat your own daughter like that, then I suppose there is nothing stopping you from treating me the same way.”

She had tried to ignore the deep ache in her chest—the ache that reminded her that theirs was a marriage of convenience and nothing more. But now, she could feel it pressing in on her, suffocating her, making everything feel that much emptier.

Killian’s jaw clenched, his eyes flashing with something darker now. But it was fleeting, just a brief moment before he took a step toward her.

“Yvette, what are you?—”

“No,” she cut him off sharply, her voice almost a hiss. She turned her back on him, her body rigid as she took a few steps toward the bed. “I have heard enough.”

She could feel the weight of his gaze on her as she moved away, but she refused to look back. Not when she was so angry, so hurt by his actions, and his dismissal of her feelings.

“I need to sleep now,” she said quietly, her voice trembling with barely contained emotion. “Please leave my room, Your Grace.”

There was a long pause, and for a moment, she wondered if he might argue with her again. But he didn’t.

Instead, there was a soft rustling, the faint sound of his boots retreating across the floor.

When she heard the door close behind him, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.

The following morning, Killian tried to approach Yvette during breakfast, but was met with her cold silence the moment he entered the room. She didn’t even look up as he sat down at the table, her focus entirely on her meal, as if he were a ghost.

He cleared his throat, his tone deliberate and controlled. “May I speak to ye, Duchess?”

She didn’t reply, not even a glance. Her hand moved carefully, pushing the food around on her plate without actually eating.

Her refusal to acknowledge him irritated him, but he kept his composure.

Recalling Yvette’s mention of Maisie during their argument, Killian’s sharp gaze shifted to the little girl, who seemed unusually quiet, picking at her food also.

Normally, Maisie was full of life and energy at the breakfast table. But today, there was a dullness to her demeanor.

“What were you up to yesterday?” Killian asked, his voice firm but not unkind.

Maisie hesitated for a moment, casting a furtive glance at Yvette before responding.

“I… I had a surprise for you, Papa. The Duchess said we could show it to you together, but you didn’t come when you said you would.”

The guilt rose briefly in Killian’s chest, and he tried to mask any indication of it on his face with his usual stoic expression. He knew he’d failed to keep his promise, and now he saw how that had affected his daughter.

Killian turned to Yvette, his voice carrying an edge of command. “I was busy. But ye can show yer surprise to me now, if ye’d like.”

Yvette sighed softly, her dissatisfaction evident.

The sound caused Killian’s jaw to tighten, though he kept his gaze fixed firmly on her.

Her disapproval was clear. He didn’t want to let her disdain distract him from his daughter, but the situation was beginning to get under his skin.

“Do not worry, Papa. The surprise has been ruined.” Maisie told him, a little frown on her face as she jumped down from her chair and ran toward the stairs.

“I hope this makes you happy,” Yvette finally spoke, but she didn’t award Killian with no chance to respond as she stood up, pushing her chair back with sharp precision, her demeanor still distant.

She hadn’t eaten much, and the tension between them hung heavily in the air.

Her eyes met his briefly before she turned away, heading in the same direction as Maisie.

The subtle, defiant set of her shoulders made it clear she wasn’t finished with him, but she wasn’t going to make it easy.

Killian’s gaze followed her as she left the room, his mind racing.

He understood why she was angry, though he couldn’t bring himself to fully regret his actions. His priorities lay with the estate and his duties; these things always came first.

Still, Yvette’s coldness stung more than he cared to admit.

She was supposed to be his wife—respectable, dutiful—but somehow, it was starting to feel as though she wasn’t playing her part.

A flicker of irritation danced in his chest, but he pushed it down. He didn’t have time for petty arguments.

He returned to his study, determined to focus on the estate matters, but Yvette’s refusal to speak to him, the anger in her eyes, and her retreat from his presence haunted him. He wasn’t used to being ignored, dismissed.

His responsibility for his actions weighed heavily on him, but he wasn’t one to apologize without resolve. If Yvette wanted him to come to her, to fix things between them, he’d make it clear that he was in control of this situation.

However, after an hour of futile attempts to concentrate on paperwork, his mind continued to drift back to Yvette. He’d had enough of the silence. It wasn’t about her playing games or holding grudges. He simply couldn’t let this distance between them fester.

Standing abruptly, Killian strode toward the door of his study, determined to make things right in his own way.

Yvette had made it clear she was upset, but he wasn’t going to let her dictate the pace.

Yvette was finally starting to relax in the solitude of her drawing room.

The soft rustle of pages as she flipped through her book, the warmth of the tea she sipped gently, and the comfort of her quiet space allowed her to forget, if only for a moment, the tension of the previous night.

She had given herself permission to find peace in this rare moment of calm. Her fingers lightly touched the pages of her book as she read, but the intrusion of a door creaking open shattered that fragile serenity.

“Enter,” she called softly.

She glanced up, expecting perhaps one of the staff, but instead her gaze locked with Killian’s.

“Your Grace,” she said curtly.

He stood there—his tall, commanding presence filling the doorway— and for a moment, Yvette’s heart skipped before she quickly masked it with a scowl.

“Duchess.”

He stepped into the room with the grace and confidence of a man accustomed to commanding attention without even trying.

Her fingers clenched the book tightly, and she placed the bookmark in, as if the act could shield her from the emotions she didn’t want to confront.

“I shall give you privacy,” she said and rose quickly.

She had no interest in being in the same room as him—not after how he had behaved the previous evening.

However, as she moved past him, his strong hand shot out and grabbed her arm, halting her movement with a force that could not be ignored.

“Stay. Do not leave on my account,” he said, his tone low, with a certain softness to it.

“If you want to use the room, you can. I’ll leave, so I do not disturb you, considering you’re so busy,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

The words fell like daggers, intended to remind him of his earlier disregard for her and Maisie.

Killian closed his eyes for a brief moment, perhaps in an attempt to regain his composure, before opening them again, his gaze sharper than ever.

“Stop,” he commanded in a low voice, the edge of frustration clear.

“Stop what? Being dramatic?” Yvette shot back, narrowing her eyes at him, challenging him, daring him to say something more.

Her emotions were raw, and she couldn’t help the harshness in her words. She wanted him to understand just how much his absence had affected her—and Maisie.

Killian’s eyes darkened with frustration and something else—regret, maybe. His voice softened, though his tone was still firm.

“I apologize for my behavior yesterday. There was an urgent matter at the site, and it could only be resolved by my presence. I did not expect the matter to escalate as it did.”

Yvette’s chest tightened as she heard the apology. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes with a hardness that matched his.

“That is all I wanted to hear from you last night,” she said quietly, her voice steady. “An apology. Not for me—for Maisie. She cried when you didn’t show up. She was heartbroken.”

The words stung her as much as they did him. She had wanted him to see the effect of his actions, but now, standing before him, she felt conflicted.

Killian’s expression softened just a fraction, his thumb lightly rubbing against her arm in a slow, circular motion.

Yvette froze, the touch unsettling in its intimacy. She wanted to pull away, to maintain her distance, but something about his silent apology kept her rooted to the spot.

“I apologize,” he said again, his voice rough, the apology more genuine this time but still burdened by his pride. “I should have been there. For her. For both of ye.”

Yvette took a slow breath, her irritation and hurt mixing with something she wasn’t ready to admit.

“I… accept your apology,” she said, her tone neutral, though a flicker of something vulnerable flashed in her eyes. “But you should make it up to Maisie. She needs to know that she matters to you.”

Killian nodded, his gaze unyielding yet tinged with something softer. “I will,” he promised, his voice low and determined. “I will make it right with her.”

Yvette met his gaze, searching his face for any sign that he truly understood the weight of his actions.

For a brief moment, the walls she had built around her softened, but only a little.

As Killian turned to leave, he paused at the door, his hand resting on the knob. He glanced back at Yvette.

“I shall see to it,” he promised again, his voice a bit gruffer now, as though the weight of responsibility had finally settled on his shoulders.

Yvette nodded, her expression unreadable.

“Good,” she replied, but her heart betrayed her, hoping that he meant it. For Maisie’s sake, and perhaps for hers as well.