Page 93 of How To Tempt A Bodyguard

"Okay," she whispered.

"Okay?"

"I heard you." She lay back down, turning away from him. "I'm tired, Matthew. Let us get some rest."

He didn't move until she was drifting into sleep. Then she heard him leave the room.

Chapter twenty-four

What’s Love?

Florence

She woke before dawn. The bed was cold. Empty.

The pillow beside her still held the indent of his head, but the warmth had long since faded.

She sat up, her heart already beginning to race.

On the small table by the bed, she saw a folded letter and a worn leather purse. The fee she'd given him at the start of their journey.

Her hands trembled as she reached for the letter. She unfolded it.

Florence,

I am no good with words. You know this. But I will try.

By the time you read this, I will be gone. I am going to my brother. Alone. I will not allow you anywhere near that monster. I cannot risk it. I will not.

I will negotiate the women's release. My brother knows what I am capable of, what I can achieve. He will not kill me. I am too valuable. He will use me instead, as our father once did. His enforcer. His fist. His weapon.

Do not worry for me. I have survived him before. I will survive him again. And I will destroy him from the inside. I will put an end to this. To him. Once and for all.

But this means I will not return for a long time.

Perhaps never.

I am returning your fee. It stopped being a job the night you tore your petticoat to bandage a broken wrist. I did not know what to call it then. I am not sure I know now.

You asked if I love you. I told you I did not know what that means. I have thought about it all night, and I still do not know.

But I know this.

I am willing to die for you.

I am willing to suffer indignities under my brother's hand for you.

I am willing to never feel your warmth again, never hear your laugh, never wake with you beside me, if it means giving you your freedom.

Is that love? I cannot say.

But if it is not love, then I do not know what else to call it.

I release you from our vows, Florence. You are no longer tied to me. The marriage served its purpose and will continue to until you decide otherwise. Find a man who can give you the words you deserve. A man who knows how to love properly. A man who is not broken beyond repair.

You deserve more than I could ever be.

Forgive me.