No, there was no way.
This had to be a cruel trick of some kind. Daphne was her best friend. Verity could not work out what the point of this prank was, but it made her feel utterly sick to her stomach.
“Me and Daphne…” Cedric continued as if he could not sense her inner turmoil at all. “We have developed an undeniable connection. It wasn’t something that either of us meant to happen, but it has happened regardless. There is nothing that I can do to change it. I am truly sorry for that.”
Verity’s heart thundered so hard she feared it might burst free from her chest at any given moment.
Was he actually being serious?
This could not be.
“But… we are too be married,” she insisted, hating the crack of emotion that shone free in her voice.
Cedric shook his head slowly. “I am afraid that I cannot marry you, Verity. I can’t do it. I must follow my heart and marry the one that I love. I truly hope that is something you can understand.”
Verity fought back the tears as the devastating news washed over her. This was the worst betrayal that she had ever experienced. Not only was this coming from the man thatshe was supposed to marry, but her best friend and closest confidante as well.
All the plans that she had made with Cedric… the future that they had envisioned… a future that she had discussed with Daphne as the giddiness of love overcame her… it was all crumbling before her very eyes, and she could hardly breathe.
Was this a nightmare? Something that she could wake up from? If only her emotions were not so unbearably strong, she might be able to convince herself that none of this was really happening.
But it was happening, and there wasn’t anything that she could do to stop it. There was no way that she could escape this however hard she tried.
Verity’s mind reeled. The bright future she had imagined lay in ruins at her feet, each shattered fragment cutting deeper in to her heart.
“How could you?” she whispered, more to herself than to Cedric. “How could she?”
Cedric reached out as if to comfort her, but she recoiled. His touch was unbearable now, a reminder of the love she had lost and the friend who had betrayed her. She never wanted to lay eyes on either of them again. In fact, in this moment, she never wanted to lay eyes on anyone again.
“I never intended to hurt you,” he said softly. “I do care for you, Verity. But I cannot deny what my heart feels.”
Verity stared at him, searching for any sign of the man she thought she knew. But he seemed a stranger now, his words hollow and unrecognizable.
“What am I supposed to do?” she asked, her voice trembling. “You were my future, Cedric. You were everything I dreamed of.”
He sighed, the weight of his decision evident in his eyes. “You will find someone who loves you truly, Verity. Someone who will give you the life you deserve. I am not that man, andit would be unfair to pretend otherwise. We would be doing ourselves a disservice if we marry. It would be a wasted life for both of us.”
The door opened, and the maid entered with a tray of tea and cake.
The mundane normality of the scene struck Verity as absurd. She forced herself to smile, a brittle mask of composure, as the maid set the tray down and exited quietly.
The maid probably knew. She had likely overheard everything which only made Verity’s chest ache more. Soon, she would not only be a laughingstock in her home, and of the ton as well.
How could she get through this with any semblance of dignity?
“Thank you for being honest,” Verity managed to say, though the words tasted bitter. She knew that she had to say something to allow her to hold her head up high. “I suppose I should be grateful for that.”
Cedric nodded, his expression solemn. “I hope, in time, you will forgive me.”
Forgive him?
“I will try,” she replied, though she doubted the sincerity of her words. “But you must take your leave now, Cedric. I need time to process this. As I am sure you can imagine, this has come at quite a shock and I need some time to think about things.”
He stood, casting one last, regretful look at her before he turned and walked out of the room, leaving her very much alone, stewing in sadness.
The silence that followed was deafening, the emptiness he left behind vast and consuming. How was she going to tell her mother about this? What about her brother? Verity shuddered at the thought of Henry’s reaction to this sorrowful, shocking news.
She sat in the chair, staring blankly at the tea and cake. Her appetite was gone, replaced by a gnawing ache that settled in her chest. The painting on the easel caught her eye, and she let out a bitter laugh. No wonder it felt off. The greens, the landscape. It was all a reflection of her own disquiet, her own unsettled heart.
