Chapter 29

CHAPTER 29

G emma’s steps echoed down the silent hallway as she made her way back to the house, her heart a confusing blend of anger, shame, and bitter disappointment.

She felt the walls closing in on her, suffocating her with reminders of her mistakes, her trust once again misplaced. She was resolved. There was nothing left for her here. Not Frederick, not his kind-hearted grandmother, not even the fleeting peace she had thought she’d found.

As she entered the house, a footman approached her, bowing slightly. “Lady Treston and Miss Elizabeth are resting in their chambers, miss. The Duchess asked that I ensure their comfort.”

Gemma simply nodded, barely hearing him. She didn’t want to see her mother or Elizabeth, and she didn’t want to see Vivian. She could only imagine the pity and confusion on the Duchess’ face, and she wasn’t ready to confront it.

She made her way to a small alcove by the stairs, intending to collect her thoughts, when she heard a gentle yet concerned voice behind her.

“Gemma,” Vivian’s voice was soft and filled with worry laced her tone. “I know you are hurt, but will you not talk to me? Please, darling, do not shut yourself away.”

Gemma clenched her fists, her nails biting into her palms. Shame burned in her chest; she was behaving terribly toward Vivian, who had shown her nothing but kindness since the day they met. But it was difficult to believe in kindness when everything felt so twisted, like another trap waiting to spring.

“I will be leaving tomorrow,” she said quietly, unable to meet Vivian’s gaze. Her voice was calm, but the resolve in her tone was unmistakable.

Vivian’s face fell, her mouth slightly agape. “Leaving? With that…that horrible woman who calls herself your mother?” she asked in disbelief. “After everything she has put you through? Gemma, you deserve far better than that.”

Gemma shook her head, barely holding back her frustration. “Where else am I to go?” Her voice shook as she turned, finally looking at her. “I have no friends and no family. There is nowhere else for me to go.”

The pain she saw in Vivian’s eyes was almost unbearable. Gemma wanted nothing more than to accept the warmth the older woman offered, but she pushed the thought away. She couldn’t afford to let herself get drawn in, only to be cast aside once more.

“Gemma, you are wrong,” Vivian said softly, the hurt plain in her voice. “You are not alone. I am here for you. I thought you understood that.”

“Please, Your Grace,” Gemma replied, her voice wavering as she tried to remain composed. “It is best for everyone. You have done more than enough for me, and I will only bring more trouble to your doorstep if I stay.”

The tension in the air thickened as heavy footsteps approached. Frederick’s tall frame appeared in the doorway, his expression shifting from curiosity to unsettled confusion.

“Going somewhere, are we?” he asked, his voice laced with irritation and incredulity.

Gemma’s throat tightened and her cheeks flushed with anger. She forced herself to remain steady, ignoring the way her chest ached at the mere sight of him.

“Yes,” she replied curtly, keeping her tone clipped. “With my mother. Tomorrow.”

Frederick’s brows furrowed, and a muscle in his cheek twitched as he absorbed her words. “And why,” he asked, his voice icy, “would you want to leave with her? She treats you like nothing more than a burden.”

“Because I am a burden,” Gemma snapped, feeling her own words like daggers in her heart. “It appears I am a burden to everyone.”

Frederick’s gaze eased momentarily, but then his eyes grew hard again, his tone biting.

“You have friends here, Gemma,” he insisted, stepping closer, his gaze intense. “Why must you always make everything so difficult?”

His words were the last straw. Anger boiled over, mingling with the hurt and betrayal that had festered inside her since she had walked through the door and seen her mother sitting there.

“ I am being difficult?” she scoffed, her voice shaking with anger. “You had no right to contact my mother without telling me. You went behind my back, as if you knew what was best for me, as if I was incapable of making my own choices.”

He took a step back, clearly taken aback by her words. “I only wanted to help you,” he said in a defensive, pleading voice.

“ Help me?” She laughed, a bitter, humorless sound. “By bringing back the one person who has caused me more pain than anyone else in my life? If you had truly desired to help, you would not have invited her to waltz back into my life.”

Frederick’s expression darkened, his gaze hardening as he fought to keep his composure. “Perhaps if you were less stubborn, you would see that I did this for your own good. You may not like it, but facing her…”

“Oh, how noble of you!” she mocked, her voice trembling with fury. “Is that what this is to you, Frederick? Some grand act of charity? To give me what you think I need, regardless of what I actually want?”

Vivian stepped forward, her hand outstretched. “Gemma, please, let us not…”

But Gemma couldn’t stop herself, her anger spilling over like a torrential river breaking through a dam. She looked back at Frederick, her gaze cold and wounded. “You do not understand a thing about me. You did this because you wanted me to go, did you not? Admit it, Frederick. You only reached out to her to get rid of me.”

His face twisted, the words clearly cutting deep. “That is not true, Gemma, and you know it,” he said, his tone almost desperate. But she didn’t relent, her voice thick with disdain.

“Do I?” she shot back, her eyes flashing with hurt. “You have done nothing but push me away from the moment I arrived here. Do you think I did not see it? You do not know what you want, Frederick, except, apparently, to be rid of me. Congratulations, you have won. I am leaving tomorrow at first light.”

His face fell, his brows knitting as though her words had dealt him a physical blow he hadn’t anticipated. “That is not what I wanted,” he murmured, his voice pained.

Gemma’s bitter laughter filled the silence. “You do not even know what you want, Frederick. But I will tell you what you have made clear to me. You wanted me gone, and I will not inconvenience you any longer.”

The Dowager Duchess reached out, her voice overflowing with worry and sorrow. “Gemma, please do not leave like this. Do not let your mother…”

But Gemma shook her head, unable to bear any more betrayal. She turned back to Frederick, her anger flaring again as a final, unforgivable thought struck her.

“Who knows?” she said, her voice filled with venom. “Maybe you will go as far as trying to bribe her to take me away. It would not be the first time you tried to buy my freedom with a sack of coin.”

Frederick’s face went pale, his mouth parting in shock as shame clouded his gaze. He didn’t say a word, only looked at her, silenced by the gravity of her accusation.

Without another glance at him, she turned on her heel and stormed out, her steps echoing through the hall. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest, but she forced herself to keep going, refusing to look back, even though she heard Vivian calling after her.

When she reached the footman at the front door, her voice was steely and unyielding. “Have my belongings sent from the Duchess’ estate. I will be departing with my mother tomorrow morning.”

The footman nodded, taken aback by the determination in her voice, but Gemma didn’t wait for a response. She swept past him, her head held high, unwilling to let anyone see the cracks that were beginning to form in her cold facade.

Feeling the late afternoon air chill her skin, she could no longer ignore the painful ache in her heart, and the undeniable truth that pressed down on her.

Once again, she was alone.