The Duke's Unwanted Second Wife

”No, he couldn’t,” Damian answered. ”Investigation is going on. The work was too clean. I suspected August. It was all too strange. August suddenly appeared somewhere in Varos. Then, he provided the Frost Lily to you while rolling out his conditions. None of this could be a coincidence.”

Damian’s brows furrowed deeply as he processed her words. The mention of the motorcar incident added a layer of complexity he hadn’t fully reconciled with August’s blunt threats.

”Let’s step out. We might disturb Roman,” she suggested softly.

They walked quietly out of the nursery and headed toward the Duke’s chambers. Once they reached the privacy of the bedroom, Eilika turned to him.

”You seem convinced of Prince August’s guilt, but I suspect his motivations are rooted in deep-seated grievances rather than a simple desire to kill. He is clearly upset with me for breaking my promise, but we need to understand the full picture. We must find out exactly what Liliana meant to him.”

She paused, her expression turning urgent. ”The King is returning to the capital tomorrow morning with Prince Sylvian and August. We need to find a way to speak with August before they arrive and the palace protocol tightens.”

”I don’t want you to go anywhere near him,” Damian stated firmly. ”I will go and talk to him myself. You should head to bed.”

”Don’t go alone. Besides, I won’t be able to sleep until I know what the two of you discussed,” Eilika answered, her voice steady.

”There are things... incidents that I don’t wish for you to hear. Liliana was my first wife and... I don’t know, but the history is complicated.”

”I understand,” she responded. ”Then you and August should speak privately. But please, keep in mind not to raise a hand against him. From what I’ve seen, you are a calm person who doesn’t let anger cloud his judgment. Maintain that composure.”

”Thank you for your understanding. I truly mean it,” he whispered back. ”Go before August goes to bed.”

Damian gave a small hum of acknowledgment before turning and walking away, his footsteps echoing faintly down the hallway.

Eilika sat on the edge of the large bed, the silence of the chamber pressing in on her. She reached up to remove her necklace and lowered it in her lap. Staring at it, and smiled recalling how Damian gifted her.

”I don’t want to believe that his first love cheated on him,” she murmured to herself. ”And I certainly don’t think she had Roman with Prince August. But it’s difficult to trust humans. I hope Damian finds the truth.”

~~~~~

August’s head rested heavily against the headboard, his gaze fixed on the pocket watch held loosely in his palm. The rhythmic ticking was the only sound in the room until a knock at the door broke his concentration.

”Who is here at this hour?” he murmured to himself, making no move to answer.

”August, are you asleep? I would like to speak with you,” Damian’s voice came through.

August closed the watch with a click. He didn’t move to open the door, his eyes narrowing in the dim light. He got down from the bed and unlocked the door from inside.

Damian stood with a fierce gaze as he stared August down.

”I expected Eilika to come and apologize to me,” August remarked, his eyes darting past Damian to search the shadows of the corridor.

”She won’t be apologizing, because she said nothing wrong,” Damian replied coldly. ”Now, shall we talk?”

Without waiting for an invitation, Damian stepped firmly into the room. August shut the door with a sharp thud and turned to face him.

”How did Liliana know you?” Damian demanded, getting straight to the point.

”Her grandmother lived in the region where I was banished,” August replied, leaning back against the doorframe with feigned nonchalance.

”And you sent her my way just to punish me? How could you have known I would fall in love with her?” Damian’s voice hardened as he stepped closer. ”August, do not attempt to lie. It will only make things worse for everyone involved.”

August snickered, a cold, mocking sound. ”You are married to another, yet you still can’t stop thinking about your first wife. Tell me, Damian, why did you kill her?”

Damian’s brow furrowed instantly, his posture stiffening. ”That is a blatant and baseless accusation.”

”No, it isn’t. You killed her,” August countered harshly, his voice rising with bitterness. ”Why didn’t you terminate her pregnancy and save her? You chose to save the child over her life, and now, here you are, starting a new life with Eilika as if nothing happened. I must say, you are utterly shameless and pathetic.”

”Liliana did not want to terminate the pregnancy,” Damian answered, his voice low but remarkably steady, refusing to let August’s rage break his composure. ”I begged her to choose her own life, but she refused to listen.”

”Will you tell me the truth now? Did she truly cheat on me?” Damian asked, his voice strained. ”You lied about Roman, didn’t you? He has my eyes. And Liliana... you lied about her as well, right?”

”No,” August said, shaking his head slowly. ”You two became friends when you were both fifteen. That was the same year she came to visit her grandmother, and we became friends as well. I was nearly sixteen then. She spent eight months in that village, and I truly believed she would choose me once my banishment ended. But that didn’t happen.”

Damian’s heart thundered against his ribs. He dreaded the words coming next, but he knew he couldn’t turn back now.

”When you were nineteen, you proposed to her,” August stated, his gaze fixed on Damian. ”She sent me a message saying she wanted to see me one last time. That was only a week before your wedding.”

”You’re lying,” Damian whispered, his lips quivering as he struggled to maintain his mask of composure.

”I am not. You asked for the truth, and I am giving it to you,” August affirmed, his voice cutting through the silence. ”She chose you because you were the Duke, while I was merely an illegitimate Prince, a man of lowly birth, even if the King’s blood runs through my veins. She chose the title, Damian, not the man behind it.”