24 What if I want to love you?

Édouard returned home in the evening. He freshened up and removed the tunic. Charles knocked on the door and informed Édouard that the Duchess was waiting for him for the evening tea in the drawing room. 

Édouard was surprised to hear that Charlotte was waiting for him. He has put on a white silk shirt, frilled and embroidered at the neck and wrists. He had earlier unbuttoned the few top buttons of his shirt and forgotten to button them up. 

As he reached the drawing room, he saw that Charlotte was indeed present. A smile crept on his lips, and she tilted her head to look at him. She stood up, and he walked over to her. 

"Good evening," Charlotte said, dropping the honorifics. Her eyes fell on the part of the naked chest that was peeking out of the shirt. 

"Good evening," Édouard said, looking around the table. He took a seat across from Charlotte. A servant came forward to serve the tea when Charlotte told her to leave as she would do that. Édouard gestured to the servant to leave. 

Charlotte gave the tea to Édouard. He recalled how she made him drink salty tea in her house. He brought the cup closer and then took a sip. It was a normal tea, and it made him smile. She made the tea with her hands. It was enough to flutter his heart when Charlotte asked him to eat cookies too. 

"I baked them," she informed him. 

Édouard hummed and picked up one cookie to taste. As he took a bite and ate it, it melted his insides. "Your hands are indeed magical. I can feel your compassion while you baked these cookies," Édouard said, and asked her to drink tea before it got cold. She nodded and they both silently had their tea with cookies as snacks. 

After the servant cleaned the table and took away the tea set on the tray, Édouard and Charlotte again remained alone in the room. Édouard had realized that his wife had something to say to him, but she was hesitant. 

"Speak." When Édouard said this, Charlotte peered into his eyes, pondering if he knew something was on her mind. "Tell me what's going on in your head?" he asked. 

"Why did His Excellency fire my elder brother Hayden from his job?" She asked. 

"Because he opposed my decision instead of reflecting on his mistake," Édouard replied. 

"Can His Excellency not forgive my brother?" she requested. 

"No." Édouard refused and leaned his back on the sofa rest. 

"But he didn't do anything wrong," Charlotte said. 

"He should not have hurt you with his words. I don't tolerate such behavior," Édouard stated. Charlotte was astonished to hear him. "They fool you. Don't think that your brothers are good," he advised her. 

"In His Excellency's eyes, everyone is evil," Charlotte said with annoyance. 

"You know me well, Charlotte," Édouard said with a grin. 

 Charlotte knitted her brows and decided to leave. She stood up when Édouard also got up. He quickly negotiated the distance between them and stopped in front of her. 

Charlotte lifted her head to look at him. "What happened?" She asked. 

"When you have some work from me, you talk sweetly; when you get angry with me, you talk like an angry bird. This is wrong," Édouard complained to her. He lifted her chin and their eyes locked with each other. 

"Don't you think you should talk more with your husband and get to know him?" Édouard's eyes lingered on her lips. She wore a light pink shade of lip color. He wanted to feel them once, but that wasn't possible in their current situation. 

"I don't have to know him," Charlotte said, and yanked his hand away. She turned her back to him to go from the other side when he grasped her wrist. Her back hit his chest and she stopped blinking. 

She felt Édouard's lips near her left ear and her fingers curled. Her breath hitched when Édouard's other hand firmly wrapped around her belly, thus holding her tightly in her place. 

"Charlotte, you smell like roses," Édouard said as he inhaled her scent. His hand on her wrist gradually moved up to rest on her shoulder. The next moment, he twirled her and they were now facing each other. 

Charlotte wasn't ready for this side of Édouard. "I heard from Charles that you talked a lot with the servants around you," he said. 

"Then?" Charlotte asked, not showing him she was nervous inside. 

"You were confused to find that I wasn't involved with any woman. Will you like it if I have another woman? Will you like to see that I'm loving her?" Édouard questioned her. 

"I will be happy if His Excellency sees another woman," Charlotte said with a joyful tone. "If His Excellency has trouble finding another woman, I can find her for him," she stated with a bright smile. 

"Then?" Édouard asked. 

"Then His Excellency will fall in love with her and have kids," Charlotte said. 

"What if I don't want it to happen?" Édouard asked. "What if I want to love you and have kids with you only? Have you ever thought about how I feel about you?" He was a little hurt because Charlotte didn't understand him.

She furrowed her brows together and lowered her eyes. His deep, intense gaze was making her nervous, and she wanted to hide somewhere. She knew that she said wrong. But she was so into her first husband. Mathieu was still in her heart and...

Her thoughts paused when Édouard almost grabbed her face for a kiss. She wasn't ready for it, and she didn't even have time to stop him. However, to her surprise, he didn't kiss her. Their lips were merely an inch away, and his breath was brushing her lips. 

"Even if you select thousands of women for me, I will not be able to love any of them. For me, you are my wife, whom I want to love and dedicate my entire life to. I respect you a lot, Charlotte, and I don't want to hurt you either by showing my possessive side to you," Édouard said while peering into her eyes.

~~~~~

Thank you Jp_reader for the first GT on the story. I'm glad that you always support my work 😊.