My Arrogant Husband Destroyed My Reputation — And Then I Found Out Why
Part 1
The crunch of wet gravel under my thin velvet slippers was the only sound in the suffocating darkness of the hedge maze.
I clutched the heavy midnight blue silk of my gown, my eyes frantically scanning the labyrinth for a flash of my sister’s pink ribbon.
Brenda was nowhere to be found.
She had vanished from the glittering ballroom just minutes before midnight.
Panic clawed its way up my throat.
I knew exactly who was hunting her.
Brian was a bankrupt scoundrel desperately circling my family’s wealth, spinning romantic poetry to blind my naive younger sister.
Turning a sharp corner in the damp shadows, I grew desperate to intercept him before he ruined Brenda forever.
Instead, I slammed bodily into a wall of solid muscle.
A startled gasp tore from my lips.
Strong, gloved hands gripped my bare shoulders to steady me.
The heavy scent of bergamot, expensive tobacco, and rain washed over my senses.
“In a rush, little bird?”
The dark, rich baritone sent an involuntary shiver straight down my spine.
Looking up, I felt my heart hammering a frantic rhythm against my ribs.
It wasn’t the weasel-like Brian standing before me.
It was Dan, the Duke of Ashford, a man whose ruthless intellect and vast wealth made even the highest lords tremble.
He wore flawless stark black evening wear, his face partially obscured by a leather mask.
Those piercing, pale amber eyes were unmistakable.
“Your Grace,” I stammered, pulling back against his grip.
“Forgive me, I am looking for someone.”
His thumbs slowly traced the delicate line of my collarbone.
“I know.”
The grip on my shoulders remained terrifyingly firm.
“But you will not find him tonight.”
The ominous weight of his words hung in the damp air.
A sudden explosion of laughter and the heavy footsteps of a dozen people echoed from the path behind us.
I pushed frantically against his solid chest.
“Let me go.”
If I was caught unchaperoned in the dark with the Duke, my flawless reputation would turn to ash in seconds.
Dan didn’t step back.
He stepped forward, backing me directly into the thick, thorny ivy of the hedge.
His hand tangled violently in the elaborate pinning of my hair, dragging my face mere inches from his own.
My silver mask caught on the lace of his cravat and tore completely free.
A sharp branch snagged the fragile silk of my bodice, ripping it three inches down my shoulder.
I breathed out a horrified gasp.
“What are you doing?”
He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear.
“Ensuring my future.”
A parade of lantern-bearing partygoers rounded the corner, led by the apex predators of London gossip and my own horrified aunt.
The harsh lantern light flooded our hidden alcove.
The scene was utterly damning.
I was pinned against the hedges by the Duke, my mask gone, my hair tumbling down my back in a wild mess, and my bodice visibly torn.
My aunt’s gasp echoed like a gunshot through the silent maze.
Blood drained entirely from my face.
I looked up at Dan, waiting for him to explain, to apologize, to shield me from the devastating blow.
He slowly turned his head toward the crowd, his face a mask of cold, unbothered arrogance.
His thumb casually brushed a stray curl from my cheek in full view of the elite.
“I believe you have interrupted a very private conversation,” he drawled flawlessly over the horrified murmurs.
“But fear not, I shall call upon the Earl tomorrow.”
My knees buckled under the weight of his death sentence.
In less than sixty seconds, the Duke had taken the most respected young woman in society and publicly ruined her.
The carriage ride back to our townhouse was a suffocating hell of silence.
By the time the sun rose over the foggy streets, the damage was absolute.
I stood in my father’s private study, still wearing a hastily thrown-on morning gown, feeling entirely stripped of my dignity.
Craig hurled a crystal brandy glass into the fireplace.
It shattered into a hundred jagged pieces.
“You foolish, arrogant girl!”
He paced the room like a caged animal.
“To be caught like a common streetwalker in the hedges with the Duke of Ashford!”
I clasped my hands together, my eyes raw and red from a sleepless night.
“Papa, please, you must listen to me.”
“I was only in the maze to find Brenda.”
“He held me there on purpose.”
“Do not insult my intelligence with these fairy tales,” he roared, burying his face in his hands.
The heavy oak doors of the study creaked open.
Our pale, trembling butler cleared his throat.
Brian slithered into the room, his eyes darting toward me with a look of predatory triumph.
The man practically vibrated with smug satisfaction.
“I come as a friend to this house in its darkest hour,” Brian murmured, offering a shallow bow.
My hands curled into tight fists.
“Get out, you have no business here.”
Brian smiled thinly.
“I am willing to marry her by special license this very week.”
He paused, his gaze shifting to my defeated father.
“Naturally, given the severe stain on her character, I would require her sister’s entire dowry to compensate.”
I gasped at the sheer audacity of his extortion.
He was bypassing Brenda entirely and using my ruin to bleed our family dry.
Craig sank heavily into his leather armchair.
“It will ruin Brenda’s prospects, but it will save the family name.”
I dropped to my knees beside his chair.
“Papa, no, you cannot give him Brenda’s money.”
“It is done, Megan,” Craig snapped, turning away from me.
A dark, terrifyingly calm voice sliced through the heavy air like a steel blade.
“I am afraid, Brian, that you are profoundly late to the auction.”
We all turned toward the doorway.
Dan filled the frame with his broad-shouldered, imposing presence.
He stepped into the room, removing his gloves with agonizing slowness.
His pale, predatory eyes locked entirely on me where I knelt on the rug.
“I did not come to offer apologies,” Dan said, stopping in front of my father.
“I have already secured a special license from the Archbishop.”
“Your daughter will marry me tomorrow.”
Brian stepped forward, his face flushed with indignation.
“You cannot just barge in here, we were just agreeing to terms.”
Dan turned his head slowly.
The look he gave Brian was so violently cold that the lesser lord physically took a step back.
“Speak again in my presence, and I will buy all of your outstanding promissory notes by noon.”
“You will be rotting in prison by sunset.”
Brian swallowed hard and scurried out of the room like a rat fleeing a burning ship.
My father stared at the Duke in awe.
“Your Grace, you wish to marry her despite the scandal?”
“I am the scandal,” Dan replied smoothly, his gaze dropping back to me.
“I wish to speak with my fiancee alone.”
Craig practically tripped over himself to leave the room, shutting the heavy doors behind him.
I forced my shaking knees straight and stood up.
Lifting my chin, I met the Duke’s piercing gaze with all the defiant fury I possessed.
“You planned this,” I breathed, the realization finally clicking into place.
“You trapped me.”
“I did,” he admitted without a single ounce of shame.
A hysterical laugh bubbled up in my throat.
“Why orchestrate my total destruction just to force my hand?”
He closed the distance between us until I could feel the heat radiating from his chest.
“Because if I had asked for your hand properly, you would have found a reason to say no.”
Reaching up, he lightly traced the line of my jaw.
“I wanted a wife, and now you have absolutely no other options.”
Tears of sheer, helpless rage pricked my eyes.
I had absolutely no choice but to marry the very man who had just destroyed my life.
