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It was darkening outside, the night settling early as winter crept closer, casting long shadows across the windows and halls. Her hands trembled as she descended the stairs, and her steps quickened as she fled toward the front door.

She couldn’t stay here another moment, couldn’t bear the suffocating feeling of everyone around her offering sympathy yet thinking her foolish. She had to do something to make things right, to take control of this mess.

“Bring around a carriage,” she ordered one of the footmen sharply. She didn’t bother with a destination until the driver had drawn up the vehicle. “Take me to Lady Ophelia’s residence.”

The ride into town was cloaked in silence. Emma felt the darkness closing in, weighing upon her as they drew closer to Ophelia’s townhouse. When the carriage pulled up to the stately home, she hesitated for a moment, her courage faltering. But there was no turning back. She climbed down and knocked on the door.

A moment later, Jeanne, a cousin of Ophelia’s lady’s maid Brigitte, answered. She gave Emma a wary look, her mouth tightening slightly.

“Jeanne, I am here to see Lady Ophelia. I know her parents do not want me to see her but …”

“Lord and Lady Braverman are out,” she said curtly.

Good! Perhaps a chance to see her after all.

“Would you tell her I am here?” she asked.

“She made it clear she does not wish to,” Jeanne replied.

“Please,” Emma began, her voice pleading. “I just want to see Ophelia. I need to apologize.”

Jeanne’s gaze softened as she studied Emma’s tear-streaked face. “I’d not be helping you after everything you’ve done,” she said, her tone firm. “But Brigitte has told me you’re truly suffering for it. Wait for her across the street at Green Park. If she decides to come, she will.”

Emma nodded gratefully, her heart swelling with hope as she made her way to the park. The early evening light was fading fast, casting eerie shadows over the park’s paths as gas lamps began to flicker to life. She realized how improper it was for her to be out alone at such an hour, but a hollow laugh escaped her as she reminded herself that her reputation was already ruined. What did propriety matter now?

Minutes passed in agonizing silence, each one stretching longer than the last. Just as she began to fear that Ophelia wouldn’t come, she caught sight of her friend’s familiar figure approaching down the path. Under the faint glow of a gas lamp,Ophelia’s face was illuminated, her eyes red and her expression stony. Emma’s heart wrenched at the sight of her.

“Ophelia,” she whispered, her voice cracking as she stepped forward. “Thank you for coming.”

Ophelia crossed her arms, her face cold and guarded. “What do you want, Emma?”

Emma took a shaky breath. “I wanted to apologize, to tell you how deeply sorry I am. I only wanted to help, but I ruined everything. I just… I can’t bear the thought of losing your friendship.”

Ophelia’s lips pressed into a thin line, and she shook her head slowly. “After everything that’s happened, Emma, I don’t know if that’s possible. So much has changed… too much has been broken.”

Emma’s shoulders sagged, her heart shattering at her friend’s words. “I know I can never truly make up for what I’ve done, but I—I can’t bear to lose you too. I’ve already lost everything else.” Her voice wavered as she continued. “My reputation, any hope of a future… even the orphanage won’t let me volunteer anymore.”

Ophelia’s gaze hardened, her voice carrying a quiet bitterness. “I can’t bring myself to feel sorry for you, Emma. You brought this on all of us. And while you may have lost your reputation, at least you still have your family. You have a home, siblings who care for you. You’ll be able to live in comfort with them until societyforgets, and you’ll go back to the orphanage eventually.” Her voice grew cold. “Meanwhile, I am facing the very real prospect of a loveless marriage to someone my parents choose. I had to endure their relentless questioning, telling them why I wanted to marry Evan. They know about Massimo, about everything.” Her voice broke, and she looked away, her face etched with pain.

Emma felt her heart sink even further. “Ophelia, I never wanted any of this for you. I thought… I thought I was protecting you.”

Ophelia let out a bitter laugh. “Protecting me? By ruining my chances with Evan? Did you think that by stopping the wedding you’d stop my parents from marrying me off to someone else? They are already searching. Before the season is over, I will be engaged to someone else. Someone much worse. Someone who will not let me live my life as I wish the way Evan would have.”

“They are searching for another husband already?”

“Yes, of course they are. I suppose because of your actions they will be more cautious so perhaps I will not end up with the worst of the worst but I will be miserable anyhow.”

A chill settled over Emma as she absorbed the depth of her friend’s anguish. “I can’t believe they would force you into a marriage,” she said. “I thought that… after everything…I cannot believe we are both being forced into marriage.”

Ophelia looked at her sharply. “Who’s forcing you into a marriage, Emma?”

Emma’s heart pounded in her chest as she looked at Ophelia, the flickering gaslight casting shadows over her friend’s face. She took a deep breath, the words spilling out before she could second-guess herself.

“It’s the Duke of Wells. He’s so furious that I ruined his chances with you that he’s demanding I marry him instead. He told me himself—he’d make me pay for what I did by forcing me into this marriage, so he could still have everything he wanted with you.”

Ophelia shook her head slowly, her eyes narrowing. “That sounds just like Evan. He’s always been a pragmatist—he’d never let his plans go to waste if he could find another way.” She looked at Emma with a strange, almost pitying expression. “What’s funny is that I used to thinkyouwere the pragmatic one. But here you are, letting your feelings take over.”

Emma felt a swell of frustration at Ophelia’s dismissive tone. “You can’t imagine how much I don’t want to marry him.”