A Scandal By Any Other Name-Chapter 174: Rowan’s POV II

Rowan stood perfectly still behind the thick, dark leaves of the hedge, his breathing turning shallow. He waited for his aunt to laugh. He waited for Aunt Margery to tell Delaney that she was being foolish, that she was never leaving Hamilton House, that she belonged here with him forever.

Then, Aunt Margery replied.

"It is entirely up to you," Aunt Margery’s voice carried clearly across the lawn. Her tone was calm, practical, and completely serious.

Rowan gripped the rough bark of a nearby tree. His knuckles turned white.

"Do you want to leave quietly in the morning," Aunt Margery continued, offering the devastating choices, "without saying goodbye, to spare yourselves the pain of parting? Or do you wish to wait until he is awake, and then you bid him farewell?"

Rowan blinked. He stared blindly at the dark leaves in front of his face. The world seemed to completely stop spinning. The breath was violently knocked out of his lungs.

"Delaney is leaving me?" Rowan whispered to himself, asking himself the impossible question.

His mind raced, completely scrambled by the head injury and the sudden, overwhelming shock. Why would she leave? Had his aunt fired her because of the carriage accident? Had Ines blamed her for his injuries?

Or worse, far worse—had Delaney simply realized that loving a Duke was too dangerous? Did she believe that being tied to his noble name was not worth the risk? Had the terror of the crash broken her spirit entirely?

He did not know she had just inherited her father’s massive fortune. He only knew the words he had just heard. She was planning her departure. She was discussing the best way to walk out of his life.

Rowan felt a cold, dark wave of sheer panic and rising anger wash over him. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

He didn’t want to stay there to know what her answer would be. He could not bear to hear her say that she preferred to leave in the morning without a single word. He could not stand in the shadows and listen to the woman he loved casually plan her escape. He had to leave. He had to retreat before his pride completely shattered.

Rowan took a clumsy, hurried step backward.

His bare heel came down hard on a pile of fallen, dry branches hidden in the dark grass.

SNAP.

The loud, sharp sound of breaking wood echoed violently through the quiet, peaceful garden.

Rowan cursed silently. He froze, holding his breath.

Through the gaps in the hedge, he could see Delaney’s head snapping instantly to the sound. He saw her entire body go perfectly rigid with fear. He saw her stand up quickly from the wooden swing, her eyes searching the dark shadows exactly where he was hiding.

"Is someone there?" Delaney called out, her voice a sharp, frightened whisper.

For a single, desperate second, Rowan wanted to step forward. He wanted to walk into the moonlight, to tell her he was awake, to plead with her to stay.

But the anger and the deep, wounded pride held him back. If she truly wanted to leave him, he would not beg her to stay.

But Rowan just kept on walking, moving quickly and silently away from the scene.

He retreated into the deeper shadows of the trees, ignoring his aunt’s calm reassurance to Delaney that it was only a rabbit. He walked swiftly back to the heavy glass doors, his jaw locked in a tight, furious line.

He re-entered the manor. He did not look at the footmen. He climbed the back stairs, his movements fueled entirely by a dark, burning adrenaline.

He went back to his room.

The night nurse jumped up again as he entered, looking terrified.

"Out," Rowan commanded, his voice a low, lethal growl. He pointed a shaking finger at the hallway. "Leave this room immediately."

The nurse did not argue. She grabbed her shawl and practically ran out the door, pulling it shut behind her.

Rowan was completely alone. He walked to the center of the room. The pain in his head was blinding now, a violent, steady throb that matched the rapid beating of his angry heart.

He walked to the bed. He sat down heavily on the edge of the mattress, his broad shoulders slumping forward. He pulled the thick white blanket up, covering his bare, bruised chest, shivering slightly as the cold reality settled over him.

He sat in the dim light of the dying fire, staring directly at the door.

He was waiting for her.

He waited to see if she would come back to the room with her bags. He waited to see if she would come to say a final, tearful goodbye while she believed he was still asleep. He waited to see if the woman he had come to love was truly going to walk away from him.

The minutes stretched into an absolute eternity.

Finally, he heard the soft, familiar sound of footsteps approaching in the hallway. He heard the brass handle of the door turn slowly, carefully, as if she were trying not to make a single sound.

The door creaked open.

Delaney stepped into the room. She moved quietly, a dark silhouette against the light from the hallway.

Rowan did not wait for her to walk to the chair. He did not give her a chance to look at his face. The dark, wounded anger completely took over.

When she opened the door, he spoke.

"Why are you leaving?"

The words tore out of his throat. He was genuinely shocked by the harshness of his own voice. It sounded raspy, broken, and filled with a raw, accusing fury that he had never directed at her before.

Delaney froze completely in the doorway. He saw her slender shoulders tense.

Rowan gripped the white blanket tightly in his fists. He pushed himself up slightly against the pillows, leaning forward into the shadows.

"Where are you going to?" Rowan demanded. His voice was louder this time, harsher, echoing off the high ceiling of the dark room. He wanted answers. He demanded to know why she was abandoning him.

Delaney stood perfectly still. The silence stretched for a terrifying second.

Then, he could feel her shock. He could feel the sudden, overwhelming relief radiating from her small frame.

She did not turn and run. She did not look guilty. Instead, she took a hurried, trembling step toward the bed.

He heard his name coming out of her lips. It sounded exactly like a breathless prayer spoken by a woman who had just witnessed a miracle.

"Rowan?" Delaney whispered into the dark.