Chapter 22

"HENRY, I NEED A BREAK. My head is about to explode."

He laughed. "Fine, fine." He also needed a break anyway.

Magnolia stood from her chair and walked to the window to stretch her legs. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the bright afternoon sun.

"I wish we could have had this class outside. The weather is divine."

"You are right, but I don't think you would have been able to focus as much as you did here."

Magnolia's eyes caught a carriage by the back gate with a coachman walking to it. She had not seen either before.

"Henry?" she called.

"Yes, Your Grace."

"Does the duke have any guests?" she asked.

Henry stiffened. Thankfully, Magnolia was still looking out of the window, so she did not catch his reaction.

"Not that I know of." Henry tried his best to keep his voice as normal as possible, but he was unsuccessful.

Magnolia's suspicions were confirmed when the carriage came to full view, and she saw the royal crest on its side. Without a word she stormed out of the library.

"My lady," Henry called as he tried to catch up with her.

'He has the audacity to invite the princess here. My Gods, please help me control these feelings, I might hurt someone. Please give me the strength I need.' Magnolia prayed as her heart beat faster and faster.

She reached Daniel's office and pushed the doors wide open. But what she found was worse than what she had imagined. She was not ready for it.

"Well, hello dear," Serena greeted her.

Daniel's heart broke when he met Magnolia's eyes, for a moment. They looked betrayed and pained, but the emotions disappeared right away.

Magnolia walked in and Henry followed with an apologetic look to his friend.

"What is going on here?" Her voice was unnaturally calm.

"The duke needed my help, so he invited me here," Serena answered with a devilish smile.

"Is that so?" Magnolia smiled back at Serena as she slowly made her way to the chair beside her and sat.

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly. There was a sense of malice in the air but neither Daniel nor Henry could tell whether it was emanating from Serena or from Magnolia.

"Lady Lasen is the only one who knows the most about your family, so I invited her to get some information," Daniel told Magnolia, but her eyes were focused on the woman.

"For the right price of course. The duke is a very generous man. You are a very lucky woman, dear."

'Dear?'

To her surprise, Magnolia was not afraid of Serena at all. Maybe it was because of the events that have unfolded in the past few weeks. Or because of her efforts to detach herself from her feelings. Or maybe it was because she was not a child anymore and not alone with Serena.

Magnolia felt a fire of rage growing inside her. She trembled because she did not think she could control it. The feeling was somewhat familiar to Magnolia but also somewhat foreign.

Serena mistook her shivering for fear, though. She grinned. "You know how cheap the baron was," she uttered. "He even bargained when we were negotiating the marriage deal."

Daniel clenched the arms of his chair. He wanted to snatch and tear this woman's throat. Henry noticed the duke's state. He had to think of something, and fast.

"I know it was hard on you," Serena continued. "But look at you now, a duchess. Who would have thought my dear Magnolia would be married to the strongest man in the kingdom only second to the king." Serena threw her hands in the air. "To be honest, Your Grace, I do not understand what you see in her."

"I will not allow–"

"Call me dear one more time and I will rip your tongue out." Magnolia's voice was strange even to her. Everyone in the room was shocked, there was an extended chilling silence.

Serena was the first one to recover. "Don't be silly, Magnolia. What are you saying?" She shifted in her chair. "And here I was thinking I could be a grandmother to little Geoffrey–"

In a brisk move, Magnolia's right hand was squeezing Serena's throat.

"Magnolia." Daniel was already standing. "Calm down."

"You should listen to your husband." Serena grinned, almost enjoying the pain. "What happened to you? You used to be so obedient."

Magnolia's hand tightened and Serena started gasping for air. She tried to loosen the grip with her fingers, but Magnolia grabbed her right hand and crushed it against the chair's arm with her shoe.

Something broke with a crack, and a choked sound of pain came out of Serena's lips. Magnolia took the woman's other trembling hand and twisted it in the air.

Henry was frozen in front of the scene, lips apart and eyes wide. It was quite a sight, with Magnolia's foot on the chair arm crushing Serena's hand and her hand in the air squeezing her arm while choking her, the woman could not even move. But what Henry couldn't look away from was Magnolia's eyes. They were empty, emotionless, and very dangerous.

"If you ever utter my son's name again, I swear on his life that I will shred you to pieces and feed you to the dogs. Do you understand me, Serena?" Serena nodded frantically as she reached her limit. But Magnolia's hand was still squeezing.

Suddenly, she felt something cold on her arm, Daniel's hand.

"If you do not stop, she will die," he said with a calm voice.

It took Magnolia a moment, then she turned to him and allowed him to pull her away from the half dead woman.

Serena fell to the floor, coughing unstoppably and drawing in as much air as possible. She held her arm close to her chest. It was a darkening purple color now.

Daniel guided Magnolia away from Serena. She seemed in a daze.

"Henry, please escort Lady Lasen out and pay her five thousand gold coins for her trouble."

"Yes, Your Grace." Henry helped the shaken woman stand and took her out of the office.

The duke was silent for a long time as he observed Magnolia struggling with what had just happened. He of all people understood when something triggered the darkness inside. He just did not expect to see that happen to his wife.

"Are you alright?" he asked with a gentle voice.

Magnolia turned around as if she had just remembered that he was there. "I–I am not sure." Her face was pale.

"Come, have a seat." He took her hand and guided her to the settee. "Do you want some water?"

"Yes, please."

Daniel poured her a glass and handed it to her as he sat next to her. She took a sip then put the glass on the table.

"I still don't understand what happened," she confessed. "I almost killed her. I could feel her life slip through my fingers." She stared at her hand. "I wanted to kill her," she breathed.

"Shh, thinking about it will only make you more miserable. Trust me." Magnolia eyed him for a moment then nodded. "I am sorry I did not tell you that I was meeting her. I was worried she would have the same effect on you as she did at the palace."

"I thought it was the princess," she mumbled.

"The princess? Why would…" Daniel paused. "Magnolia, look at me." She did. "There is nothing between me and the princess, never was, and never will be. It is one-sided and I have no interest in her."

"I saw you at the dinner party," she argued.

"What you saw was her throwing herself at me, like she has always done, but what you didn't see was me pushing her away and rejecting her. I told her that she must stop acting like a spoiled child. I told her that I will not allow her behavior anymore because I am a married man now, and I love my wife."

Magnolia blinked at him a few times. "What did you say?" She thought she had misheard.

Her reaction made him smile. "I said." Daniel took her chin in his fingers. "I love you." He took a deep breath in. "I think part of me did since the very first time I locked eyes with you in that forest." He brought her face closer to his. "I cannot resist it anymore, so this is my confession."

He gently captured her lips and poured every word he had just said, every emotion he had had for the past few weeks into his kiss.