Destined For A Duke (Completed)

Chapter 35

When Ella woke up again, she was surrounded by warm strong hands. The nightmare was immediately forgotten when she felt Max's breath on her neck. She tried moving closer to him and was stopped by Max as he placed a hand on her waist.

"Sorry I woke you up." Ella apologized. She should have stayed still.

"I woke up when you started thrashing in your sleep. I wanted to stop you from rubbing yourself against me. I don't think I have the patience, I won't be able to stop my hands from wondering to secret places that I have been dying to touch on your body." As if to demonstrate how his hand would wander around, Max moved his hand and placed it just below her breast. Ella felt her face heat up. She didn't know if she wanted him to continue or stop.

"Thank you, for saving my life. You came after me." Ella felt tears on her neck and turned around to face Max. He was crying like a small inconsolable child.

"You almost died. You were so blue and cold. I didn't know what to do. The driver saved you, he pushed the water out. My dear sweet Ella, I would have died without you." Ella took her distraught husband into her arms and held him until he calmed down.

"You came after me, you pulled me out. I know that you would have tried anything to save my life. You did everything you could." Ella placed random kisses on Max's face as if she was worshipping him.

"You can't think of me as your hero. I will kill you slowly like my father killed my mother. I saw her die daily, when my father was unfaithful." Max cried at that. Ella rubbed his back to calm him.

"You are not your father. You are a great man who is better than all his ancestors. I'm sure your mother would have been proud to see the man you have become." Max straightened and withdrew from Ella. She wanted to reach out and pull him back but stopped when she saw the haunted look on his face.

"My father married a Lady in his early twenties. She was a rich woman, my father fueled his passion of gambling through her money. They had no children for first five years of their marriage. My father decided to experiment with other woman, if he could get them pregnant then the fault would be his wife's." Ella saw as Max changed from a haunted man to a man filled with cold fury. "Mary, my mother, was one of them. When his wife found out, she tried to stop him. She decided to take control of her money again and got into a fight with my father. My father killed her."

Ella saw Max shudder and reached out. Her man needed her. She held onto him as he continued his horrifying story.

"There was no other way to get to her money. He killed his own wife. Nobody knew. He kept it a secret. Told everyone that his wife was expecting a child and her health was fragile. Then one drunk night raped own sister. My aunt gave birth to my sister nine months later." the bitterness in Max tone made Ella angry. His father was truly a despicable man. She didn't know that she was crying until Max cleaned her tears.

"When Mary gave birth to me, he told the world that his wife died giving birth to their son. I was taken from my mother by force. Amelia and Mary became friends later in life. My mother would keep tabs on me through my aunt. Aunt Amelia and her daughter were left alone here when my father decided to move to London with me. His gambling habit turned into an addiction. We had a few years of peace and quiet, my father was busy gambling and didn't bother us. That is until one day he decided to visit the castle. My cousin... sister was all grown up. She was truly a beauty. He raped her too, his own daughter. I was at the inn, trying to run away from my problems. I failed her Ella. She was so young, she couldn't live with herself. She committed suicide. She committed sui...." Ella held Max as he cried for his sister. She was horrified by the crimes committed by his father. No wonder Bella hated him.

"You are such a brave man. It takes a lot to stay sane and kind when your life is a horror story. I thought that I had a tough life because my mother ran away and because I was darker but now I know I have a lot to be thankful for." Ella smiled at the brave man she loved and gently lifted his face to kiss him properly. She decided to spend the rest of the night giving him comfort in a way only a wife can.

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Brandon lifted the glass of whiskey to drink some more of it. The door opened and Emma sneaked in. Brandon smiled at the minx who had stolen his heart. She really was something else. He waited for her to come into the light so he could see her better. Instead of taking the seat opposite his, she came towards him. Brady would have cracked a joke of he hadn't seen the dagger in her hand.

"What are you doing?" His smile disappeared, with narrowed eyes he watched Emma's every move.

"Trying to kill the murderer." With that, Emma attacked.