The Possessive Lord's Contract Wife

"No. I am doing what is right for this family. Damien has gotten away with far too many of his crimes and the mistreatment of his family. The court has been more than happy with what I had to say," Hayden shared.

Camille stared at Hayden, her shock evident. "You’ve been speaking to the court? For how long? How many more secrets are you keeping from him? I should have known about this from the moment you started. I fear this is more than about Damien."

"You are right that it is," Hayden admitted, his jaw tight. "I have tolerated disrespect for too long. You have allowed it to go on for too long. It is your family, so it is only right that you corrected it from the start."

"Before my troubles with Damien, I didn’t know you disliked him. You never made it known, and if you don’t, how am I to know what troubles you? I am truly puzzled by where this is coming from. Have you always hated my nephews?" Camille asked, stuck in disbelief.

How could she have missed it?

"Not your nephews. Just Damien," Hayden corrected. "He is the one who always has to look down on me and several others. I endured it because he was special to you, but I’ve had enough."

Camille’s lips parted in shock. "You are surprising me, Hayden. To think you harboured these feelings all along. Over the years, you offered me comforting words when I spoke of my relatives’ troubles with Damien. Not once did you state you disliked him."

"I did what any other husband would do and told you what you wanted to hear. That should have been easy to see," Hayden replied as he moved towards the door.

Camille’s pulse quickened.

She followed Hayden, placing her hand against the door to stop it from opening. "No, it was not easy to see. It is like you have become a different person. This isn’t about years of feeling as though he looked down upon you. You are angry that he scared you."

"I don’t like the way you speak now," Camille continued, her voice softer to calm him."About your old feelings or how I could have been Lady Hawthorne. It doesn’t leave me with good thoughts."

"That is not my doing," Hayden said coldly. "If you wanted there to be peace, then when he tried to kill you, you should have been silent and not sent for me to aid you. You started all of this by going to the estate. I urge you to be silent now."

He lowered her hand from the door with force.

Camille placed her hand back against the wood. "Hayden, I have come to my senses that this isn’t a fight you can win, and I don’t say this because I am angry or wish to hurt you. We should let this go and move on."

"Our home resides on his land, and though I am a Hawthorne, he can find some way to get it from me. I want to focus on making our marriage better and raising our children. Should we not do so?" Camille asked, hoping he would give up.

Hayden’s expression hardened. "Camille, love. You say this while you are hosting a gathering meant to make Jane feel excluded. I also know that you have been going around to your peers, sullying Eloise’s name. Do you not see it as unfair that you can have your fun, but I must put off my mind?"

His words struck her like a blow. Hayden was too close to teaching Damien a lesson to stop now, all because Camille had cold feet.

"I can cancel the gathering," Camille offered. "I can write to apologise and state that our home is not in good condition. I could even invite Jane and Eloise along-"

"I don’t want either of them in my home!" Hayden yelled.

The outburst startled Camille.

Hayden closed his eyes briefly, forcing himself to calm.

Camille had chosen the wrong day to confront him.

"I don’t want those two in our home," Hayden repeated in a calmer tone. "I don’t want to hear of you writing to either one with an apology. Don’t you have any shame? Must you go running back to them?"

"It is not that I want to apologise, but that I want to spare you. You were so spooked after you thought he was trying to scare you," Camille reminded him.

Hayden’s fists clenched. "That bastard did try to scare me. It isn’t a coincidence that after I spoke to him, it sounded as though my carriage was under attack. I told you that you might fear him, but I do not."

Camille’s eyes glistened with tears. "But you do fear him. You are so desperate to prove to yourself and others that you do not fear him. I have said enough to you."

Camille moved her hand from the door. "It is all up to you, and when your plans fail, do not blame me."

She turned away, hoping Hayden would be wise enough to follow her. "Do we not love each other? As the days go on, I am starting to realise that I have been holding onto our younger days. What about the present do we love?"

Camille turned back to Hayden. "Do you think we love each other? Or is it that we want to hold onto having a perfect season? I don’t feel like we love each other now. Do you?"

Hayden avoided her gaze. "I don’t feel loved when you are against me, Camille. Support the decisions that I make. Trust me now as you did in the past. I have ignored what you shared about getting attacked before we wed. Why can’t you be supportive of me now?"

Camille stared at Hayden, stunned that he would throw that back in her face. It wasn’t as though the man had succeeded in assaulting her to make a scandal, so why would Hayden need to forgive her?

Hayden sighed, his shoulders slumping. "I have plans that might just end with our son becoming the one to inherit the estate. You only need to sit still and continue with your plans to host the gathering. I have matters to attend to outside."

An unsettling feeling filled her, twisting her stomach into knots. His plans to let their son become the new Lord Hawthorne could only become true if something unfortunate were to happen to her three nephews.

Her lips trembled as she whispered, "Quinn and Kyle are innocent."

Their troubles were solely with Damien, and though the others sided with him, Hayden could not hurt either one of them.

The memories of her nephews’ faces, their laughter, and their past love for her filled her mind.

Camille hurried out of the chamber, desperate to stop Hayden.

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