All Chapters of A LADY FOR A DUKE : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

That love wasn’t something he could give. That it was easier to be angry with his father and the brother he’d never really known. Easier to blame them than to think it was something in himself. Something that meant they could never love him. He would never know the answer to that now, though. They were gone. You have to let them go.The pain fractured inside him, and for some reason all he could see was Anna in the bathroom the night of the gala. Anna standing tall and fierce. The light that filled her as she’d told him she loved him. The tears on her cheeks and the pain in her eyes as he’d told her he didn’t want it.Let your parents go. Hold on to her instead. He froze, every part of him going quiet and still. She had given him everything. She had never turned him away. Never told him that she had nothing for him. She had opened her heart, had let him give her all his anger and his pain. Had given him hers, too, without hesitation… Nothing about her had caused him pain except her lo

“You’re wrong,” he argued. “I’ve made plenty of commitments and if you’d just listen—”She interrupted him. “No, Cedric. You avoid it, so you never have to bother.” She shook her head. “That’s not how I want to live my life.”“Anna, don’t go.” Three words that sounded as though they’d been forced from his throat. It was too little, too late.“Anna…”“Goodbye, Cedric.” She told him, and walked away. _____________Two days later, Cedric was still stunned.No one had ever told him off the way Anna had. No one had ever been so right about him. He’d wanted to argue with her, to refute everything she’d said to him, but she’d pegged him perfectly.It was a hell of a thing when you got a wake-up call from the woman you loved and she was telling you that you didn’t deserve her. Even worse, he thought, when she was right. Anna had made him take a good, hard look at himself and Cedric hadn’t liked what he’d seen. He’d wanted to go to her house that night. To face her down, admit that everything

An hour later, Anna was curled up on her couch feeling sorry for herself when a knock at the door sounded. Her head snapped up. She knew without even looking out the window that it was Cedric. She seemed to be able to sense his presence. Even when she didn’t want to.But she couldn’t hide from him forever. She’d had a couple of days to cry and wallow in her misery. Now it was time to reclaim her life. This was her house. And she wasn’t going to give it up because she’d made the mistake of loving a man who was incapable of loving her back. It didn't matter what he said. He didn't love her… She refused to believe it because she didn't trust him. Hopefully, soon he'd get tired of staying at Haerton like he usually did, then he'd go back to the city and leave her alone. She ran her fingers under her eyes, wiping away any stray teardrops, then checked her reflection in the closest mirror. Her hair was a mess, she wasn’t wearing makeup and she looked like exactly what she was. A woman who’

Cedric’s own heart ached at the misery in her voice and at the knowledge that he’d caused her so much pain. But he could fix that. He would make it his personal mission to see to it that she never cried again.“No more tears, Anna. You’re killing me.”“I can’t seem to stop,” she admitted, lifting her gaze to look at him again.“God, I love you so much.” He cupped her face in his palms and let his gaze move over her features hungrily. Like a man starved and finally given a feast, he couldn’t seem to get his fill of her. “I swear I’ll never make you cry again.”She actually laughed at that. “Oh, Cedric, you can’t make that kind of promise.”The tightness in his chest eased a little. She wasn’t trying to escape from him anymore. She wasn’t trying to push him away. That was a start, anyway.“I will promise it, though.” He met her gaze and held it. “Believe me, Anna. I will spend the rest of my life trying to make you smile. Making sure you never doubt again how much I love you.”She chewe

His face was buried in her hair, her cheek against his chest feeling every breath he took as his heart hammered against her. His elusive scent she had chased for months filled her nostrils, and he was all she needed, everything she needed. “Mrs Blackwood,” The doctor was back, an unwelcome intrusion, and Anna stiffened, but still Cedric held her...still she clung on. “Perhaps given the circumstances…” the doctor droned on, utterly oblivious to the moment he'd just interrupted, impervious to the mounting tension in the room “... home might be the best place for you. I'd prefer if we let the drip finish, though, so we can ensure that you're adequately hydrated, and I want you back here tomorrow to have that blood pressure checked.”“Thank you,” Anna croaked, finally getting herself together and letting go of Cedric. “Naturally, as I said before, you won't be driving home”“I'll take her home,” Cedric’s voice was supremely calm, while Anna was barely able to find hers. “How long till