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Episode 5: An Unthinkable Fate Chapter 22: Deep Breaths
"Lord Bridgerton!" exclaimed Naomi. "Lord Bridgerton, I bed a word." Naomi continued. "We must be going." Anthony said. "Please." Naomi implored. "Mother, I shall meet you in the house." Anthony said. Violet nodded, heading downstairs. Anthony looked at Naomi fiercely, wondering if he was about to regret going into a room with her, alone, again.
"You must know. Edwina is innocent in all of this. We had no idea. Coming to England, finding our match. Kate only wished the best for us. You cannot be angry at her." Naomi reasoned. "I am not. It is clear she was as much in the dark as I was about Miss Sharma's schemes." Anthony spoke. "I assure you, they were not schemes." Naomi spoke. "I take it there'll be no dowry." Anthony spoke. "Now that the Sheffields have withdrawn their support." he continued. "You care about a dowry? From what I saw, it is because of what you just did that the Sheffields withdrew it." Naomi exclaimed.
"It is regrettable, to be sure. But clearly, both Miss Edwina and I have been misled, and it is best to call off this doomed engagement before it is the cause of any more strife. Of course, I'd never besmirch her reputation. My mother and Lady Danbury will make a plan--" Anthony said before getting cut off by the girl's scoff. "Plan. You are a joke. Have you been thinking of this? Your intentions-- No..No. There shall be no plan." Naomi said, taking a deep breath. "I do not understand. Why are you suggesting this? All along, you have been set on marrying my sister, despite my every objection, might I add, and now you intend to cast her aside. Why? And do not talk to me of dowries, sir, for we both know you have no need of it. So, tell me, what has she done?" Naomi questioned.
"She has done nothing. It is you. You have made this match impossible." Anthony said. "But I am leaving for India." Naomi tried. "And it is not far enough!" Anthony exclaimed. "Do you think that there is a corner of this Earth that you could travel to far away enough to free me from this torment? I am a gentleman. My father raised me to act with honor, but that honor is hanging by a thread that grows more precarious with every moment I spend in your presence." Anthony said, taking a step closer and slyly sniffing her. Naomi exhaled through her mouth, trying to diffuse the heat she was feeling.
He took another step closer, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and whispering, "You are the bane of my existence. And the object of all my desires." he states making Naomi softly whimper, his touch mentally bringing the girl to her knees. "Night and day, I dream of you. And what I... Do you even know all the ways a lady can be seduced? The things I could teach you." Anthony said, he was away from her ear and now by her lips. His last sentence made them both breathe heavy. "I did not ask for this. To be plagued by these feelings. Hiding from my sister. Being driven to distraction every time you enter the room." Naomi said.
As she spoke the man reach for her other ear, playing softly with the hair before resting his hand on the crook of her neck, softly bracing her cheek. "Then you agree. It is insupportable." Anthony states. "Impossible." Naomi disagrees.
"Why..Why do you do this." Naomi said, her hand traveling up his arm, softly squeezing his bicep before finally tugging at his hair. "Me?" Anthony scoffed. "This is all you, you vixen. You've enraptured me. 𝘉𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 me." Anthony said. "Stop. Stop saying all that nonsense." she huffed, finally meeting his eye.
"If I wed your sister, it will bind me and you together for eternity, and I will spend every day of my marriage wanting you, dreaming of you, dreading the day when my last thread of honor finally snaps. Is that the future that you want for us? For your sister?" He mumbled in her ear. He ought to take a step back but her touch, he needed more of it. And he got what he wanted as Naomi's hand tugged more at his hair before traveling down to his back then back to his arm.
"No." she whispered, answering his question. His other hand made it's way to the other side of neck, traveling down to her collar bone and tracing it. She let out a slight moan before Anthony took a step back, shaking his head. "I must go." Anthony said, taking one last look at her before leaving. Naomi fell to her knees, panting.
Lady Whistledown,
Duty. More than laws or faith, I have often thought it the bond that holds our fragile society together. Duty to rank and title. Fidelity to one's family name. It demands both utter obedience and total sacrifice. But what happens when such duty is in conflict with the heart's true desire? Why, then, there is the potential for a considerable scandal, indeed. The only question is, will the parties in question heed my warning? Or is it already too late to turn back to duty and away from desire?
The following morning, Naomi found herself on a horse, leaping with it over the fences. The girl stopped by the trees, leaning on it and trying to find some tranquility for her racing mind. It was interrupted by a horses neigh. "Miss Naomi Sharma. I see you continue here with your morning rides." Anthony spoke. "As do you, it seems." Naomi spoke. "I couldn't sleep." Anthony mumbled. "Nor could I." whispered the girl. "Have you decided what you will do?" Naomi asked. "Long have I wrestled with it, but I see no other option. I will talk with Miss Edwina today... and see my way to ending things. It is the only way to ensure that the two of us can be rid of this impossible situation. Once the engagement is over, our paths need never cross again. It will be as if we had never met." Anthony explained.
It took a minute for Naomi to gather her thoughts but when she did, she spoke, "You cannot. You cannot do that." Naomi said, the tears already gathered in her eyes. "Miss Naomi--" Anthony tried. "You cannot break my sister's heart. She is all things good and true. A kinder soul you will never find. She has loved Kate and I as well as any sister could, and I could not live with myself if I robbed her of her happiness and the future she deserves." Naomi sniffled. "I... I do not understand. You have been against this union from the start." Anthony struggled.
"I was wrong!" Naomi exclaimed. "I will not be the cause of you losing your honor any more than I can stand to see Edwina in pain. You once saw her as your perfect match. You will find your way to believing it again. Please. Please, Lord Bridgerton." Naomi begged. "Anthony. You must keep your word. You must marry my sister. You must marry her as soon as you can, because this feeling that plagues us so, it will pass. It will become tenable, it will become bearable, and soon enough, it will be as if we never felt it at all. Mere passion. It must because it has to." Naomi spoke. When he didn't respond the tears began to pool.
"Promise me..Promise me, please." Naomi spoke, taking his hand. Anthony looked down at it. Taking a deep breath to conceal the thoughts. "Very well. I shall see that the wedding shall take place as soon as possible." Anthony agreed, taking off on his horse. As soon as he was out of sight more tears followed from Naomi's eyes as she rushed to wipe them.
