A few years later...
"You've never learned etiquette, yet you have become so refined and elegant," she told him, a small smile playing on her lips.
Standing under the shade of a single tree, Lucian kept his posture straight as her head found his shoulder. His eyes kept watch on their surroundings, finding her actions too brazen. "It is the company I keep," he answered, controlling his smile just enough to appear aloof. After years of trying to belong, his words also came out composed, "Your grace has rubbed off on me."
"Is that so?" she laughed, "I have been trying to rub on you for years."
He flushed bright red at her innuendo, bursting his act. She had always been a naughty girl, "Celine."
She looked away, her smile disappearing, "Well, it's about time we end this charade, don't you think so? Our acting is great, but we shouldn't abuse our luck."
"Celine…?"
"It's getting annoying," she said, "Practicing my seduction techniques on you was fun, but I'll need to use them on another man soon. You're not actually supposed to believe there's anything between us. How delusional can you be, honestly."
He blinked, unable to comprehend what he had just heard, "Pardon me?"
"You are not the only one with plans for the future," she told him, her words sharp like daggers, "I can't let my father's power and connections go to waste, can I? I have a lot to gain if I marry the right man, and a lot to lose if I marry the wrong one."
"But you said─"
"I lied."
He stared at her, eyes wide in utter disbelief.
She scoffed at his reaction, "My future lies with someone wealthy and powerful, someone who can protect me. There are many other options for the future Duchess, some that don't involve a lowly gardener."
He had spent years dreaming of a future where they were together, and in a few seconds, those dreams had crumbled to dust.
"This must be a joke," he said, forcing a smile on his lips, cupping her face, "Is someone threatening you? Is something forcing you to say these things?"
"No," she slapped his hands away, showing a fed up expression, "I've always been a liar. You've always been the idiot that believed everything I told you."
"Celine," he whispered, taking a step closer. God, what was happening to her?
"Guards!" she shouted. "Guards! Help!"
"Celine!" Lucian raised his voice, catching her by the wrist and spinning her around to face him, "Are you out of your mind?!Stop scaring me," he begged, bringing her palm to his cheek, "What's wrong?"
"Touch me again, and I'll have you whipped!" she yanked her hand away, her tone full of disgust and her gaze cold and unfeeling. "Guards!" she called again."Hurry and get this lowlife away from me!"
He flinched, her words feeling like physical blows. Even worse, sounds of hurried footsteps approached them. He would be hanged for touching a noble lady without her consent, but at that moment, he didn't care. He couldn't let her go away.
Getting on his knees, he pleaded, "Celine, please. Don't do this to me." When she turned around and started walking, he latched onto her ankle, "Please, Celine," he whispered her name like a prayer, "I'll do anything for you, anything. Please, tell them it's not what it looks like. Please, ugh-!"
Her shoe came down on his head, her heel digging into his skull, "How dare you call me by my name, you lowly rat! Do you want to frame me for whoring around with a gardener?!"
Two guards hurried over, taking hold of his arms and yanking him up to his feet.
Lucian's golden eyes, now dull and lifeless, stared blankly at Celine, as if seeing her for the first time.
The blood on his forehead had turned his blond hair crimson. The liquid trickled down his face like tears. It was as though his body was bleeding from the same wounds that had been inflicted on his heart, revealing the raw pain that lay within.