The Possessive Lord's Contract Wife

"I am well, for now," Eloise said, lowering Damien’s hand. "If you were not present, I would not have been able to get all my emotions out, so thank you. I apologise about your hand."

Eloise examined Damien’s hand, which was wet from her tears. She would offer his handkerchief, but it was already damp.

Eloise shifted her gaze to her lap, where she fidgeted with her fingers. "You killed Percival so easily. Why didn’t you just kill me to keep your secret? To go through with marriage with a lady you won’t gain anything from is a little odd."

Eloise’s father wasn’t a wealthy man, though Clive seemed to think so.

"My father was the groundsman for your family in the past, and worked very odd jobs to afford our home. He was nowhere as wealthy as you are. So, what are you looking to gain?" Eloise asked, certain there was something Damien sought.

"I have placed myself in a position where I don’t need money from anyone. I haven’t forgotten about your family’s finances. Your status never stopped me from marrying you in the past," Damien said, curious if Eloise remembered the first wedding.

"Marrying me? When did- You!" Eloise exclaimed as the memory came flooding back. "That wasn’t a real marriage. We were children playing a game."

"I took my vows rather seriously, while you took it all as a game. How rude of you, considering you were always the one who proposed to me."

"And most of those times, you rejected me. I have not forgotten," said Eloise.

They were silly children caught up in games.

"I don’t recall rejecting you. I said we should wait," Damien clarified. "What use is there in accepting proposals when we were children?"

Eloise stared at Damien for a moment before avoiding his gaze. "None of that matters now. Once I have tended to my father’s home, then we may speak of marriage. How we will go from here and what it is you want from me."

"I don’t want anything from you, Eloise. I’ve already gotten what I set out for, and it came in a rather surprising moment."

Eloise tried to make sense of Damien’s words.

The more Damien spoke, the more Eloise felt there was a secret he was keeping from her. Why would he marry her to keep the secret about the body?

"W-What are you doing?" Eloise stuttered as Damien leaned forward, removing the space between them.

Eloise’s back touched the wall, leaving her with nowhere to run.

Damien hovered above her and reached his hand behind her.

A clicking noise startled Eloise.

"We have arrived," Damien announced.

Puzzled, Eloise looked to her right and saw her home.

Damien chuckled, his laugh carrying a boyish tone. "It is still too easy to rile you up. Allow me to help you out of the carriage."

"No. No, thank you," Eloise replied, slipping away from Damien.

Eloise swiftly exited the carriage by accepting the help of the men travelling with Damien. Her attention went from Damien to her home.

Though Eloise overheard that Clive had burned her father’s body, she rushed toward the home, hoping to find her father lying on his bed as she had left him.

Eloise took out the pouch with her money and used the spare key her father gave her to open the door.

Damien remained outside with his men, allowing Eloise to go inside to have her moment while he kept watch.

Eloise entered the dark home and ran to her father’s bedchamber only to find the bed stripped of its sheets and pillows. The other furniture was covered by old blankets.

The house looked as though Clive had quickly removed all the memories from it.

Eloise stared at her father’s bed, where he always laid as of late. Seeing the empty bed killed her hopes of ever seeing her father alive.

"Where is it?" Eloise muttered, her tears welling up in her eyes.

Eloise had to find her father’s ashes. She knew they were here because of what Clive said to Agatha.

Eloise frantically searched the home, and in a quiet corner of the dining room, she found a vase under a chair.

Eloise dusted off the dull vase and opened it to find ashes. She hugged the vase since she could not hug her father.

Clive was not kind enough to buy an urn for Thomas as one final act of kindness. He was evil through and through. If Eloise saw Clive now, she would not recognise him.

Eloise held the vase close to her chest, wishing she were not too late to comfort her father. He was gone, but his spirit had to know that someone mourned him. Someone loved him, and someone was going to miss him dearly.

A burial was out of the question, but Eloise would find another way to give her father a proper send-off.

On the outside of the home, Damien leaned against the door with his arms folded.

"About the gifts-"

"Stop speaking," Damien ordered the fool he travelled with. He was trying to hear what Eloise was doing on the inside.

"I have found him," Eloise’s quiet voice came from behind Damien.

Damien turned around and found Eloise hugging a vase.

"He will need a better home. An urn," Eloise said, looking up at Damien with glistening eyes.

"I will find one for you. Do you need to get some belongings from the home? If he hasn’t already, your uncle will return to strip the home of its valuables. It will take some time for us to marry and for you to claim the home. Take what you can now. I can hold him," Damien offered, but Eloise tightened her hold on the vase.

She was not yet ready to part from her father.

Damien placed his arms behind his back to show he would not take the vase. "You can lead the way, and my guards will get what you need."

"I want all of what remains of my mother and father’s belongings. I must trouble you by asking that you send it to your estate. It will not be protected if I take it to my uncle’s home with me," Eloise said, confident Clive would try to take it all back.

"You are going back there?"

Damien’s question confused Eloise.

Eloise’s brows were knitted as she tried to understand him. "Where would I go?"

"To my estate," Damien answered calmly. "I cannot let you return to the home of a murderer."

"You are a murderer," Eloise pointed out.

"Yes, but I didn’t kill my brother and plan to sell off my niece. I am a murderer with good intentions," Damien explained.