Chapter 246: cousins talk I
Damian had agreed to meet Anthony that evening.
He wasn’t particularly eager to.
But neither was he going to avoid the conversation.
Whatever Anthony wanted to say, Damian could hear it.
He arrived at the appointed place a few minutes later and found Anthony already waiting.
Anthony looked up as Damian approached, then gestured toward the chair opposite him.
"Sit."
Damian pulled the chair out.
For a moment, neither spoke.
They were cousins. There was no need for ceremony between them.
Still, Damian could tell from Anthony’s expression that this was not going to be a casual conversation.
He sat down.
Anthony folded his hands on the table.
"Damian."
"Hm?"
"You know I’ve always respected you."
Damian raised an eyebrow slightly.
"That sounds ominous."
Anthony almost smiled.
"Perhaps."
The expression disappeared quickly.
"You’re older than me. You’ve always been someone I looked up to."
Damian leaned back slightly.
"But what you did yesterday..."
Anthony paused.
"I couldn’t reconcile it."
Damian’s expression became more serious.
Anthony held his gaze.
"Which is why I wanted to speak to you directly rather than make assumptions."
Damian nodded.
"All right."
Anthony’s gaze remained steady.
"You know how long Vivienne and I have been engaged. Almost everyone at Saint Albion knows."
His voice remained calm.
"And while the engagement has ended between the two of us, it hasn’t been formally announced. Our families haven’t even been informed yet."
Damian nodded.
"I know."
"Then you also know how yesterday looked."
Damian sighed quietly.
"I know how it looked."
Anthony’s expression hardened.
"Do you?"
Damian looked at him.
"You were openly pursuing Vivienne in front of everyone despite the fact that our engagement only ended just over a week ago. And that’s not even considering the fact that there were already rumors about the two of you."
Damian’s jaw tightened.
He couldn’t say Anthony was wrong.
"I know that what I did was unseemly," he said. "I have no excuse for that."
Damian looked down briefly.
Perhaps he had been too eager yesterday.
He knew that.
But yesterday, seeing another man so freely pursue her had made something in him shift. Suddenly, waiting no longer felt sensible.
He had wanted to make his intentions unmistakable.
Not privately.
Not ambiguously.
He wanted everyone to know that he was pursuing Vivienne.
Perhaps that had been foolish.
Perhaps he had gone too far.
But wanting her—and deciding to pursue her—was not something he believed he should be ashamed of.
He looked back at Anthony.
"However, I don’t think I did anything I need to apologize for."
Anthony’s lips pressed together.
The distinction was very clear.
Damian knew the display had been excessive.
He knew he had been too obvious.
But he didn’t believe that wanting Vivienne—or deciding to pursue her—was something he needed to be ashamed of.
Anthony’s mind returned to Friday.
Damian had asked him about the broken engagement.
Whether he loved Vivienne.
Whether he intended to reconsider.
And Anthony had answered him honestly.
No.
He didn’t love her.
He wasn’t going to reconsider.
Anthony looked at his cousin.
"So when you asked me last Friday about the engagement..."
He paused.
"Were you just waiting for permission to pursue her?"
Damian’s gaze shifted briefly.
"Partly."
The answer was reluctant, but honest.
Anthony felt another flicker of irritation.
"How long?"
Damian was quiet for a moment.
"Recently."
"How recently?"
Damian looked at him.
"Recently."
He didn’t elaborate.
Anthony could tell he wasn’t going to.
𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Damian’s expression remained composed.
"But that’s not important now."
He paused.
"What matters is that I’ve never done anything dishonorable."
Anthony said nothing.
"I asked you directly. You answered me directly. I believed you."
His voice remained calm.
"And whatever feelings I may have developed, I never acted on them while you and Vivienne were engaged."
That was the distinction Damian wanted him to understand.
He had not crossed a line.
Not before the engagement ended.
Not behind Anthony’s back.
Not with Vivienne.
Whatever he felt, he had kept it to himself until he knew the relationship was over.
Anthony leaned back slightly.
He couldn’t argue with the facts.
At least, not with those facts.
But there was still something he needed to ask.
"And Vivienne?"
Damian’s expression changed.
The question itself irritated him.
Not because he didn’t understand what Anthony meant.
Because he did.
Damian looked at him for a moment before answering.
"You know how she has always felt about you."
Anthony remained silent.
"You know she has loved you for years."
Damian paused.
Then his voice turned quieter.
"Perhaps even now."
The words were harder to say than he expected.
Because that was the part that had hurt.
Yesterday, he had believed Vivienne was responding to him.
He had believed her smiles, her teasing, the way she allowed him close, the way she accepted his attention—perhaps even the way she had trusted him enough to let him care for her—meant that she was beginning to see him differently.
Then, sitting beside her, he had realized that perhaps he had misunderstood everything.
Perhaps she had only wanted Anthony to see.
Perhaps all that warmth had been directed elsewhere.
Damian swallowed.
"So if you’re asking whether she has done anything to dishonor your engagement, the answer is no."
Anthony’s gaze remained on him.
"Then how do you explain what she did yesterday?"
Damian was quiet for a moment.
"I can’t answer for Vivienne."
Anthony said nothing.
"I don’t know what was running through her head, and I’m not going to pretend that I do."
He paused.
"But one thing was obvious."
Damian’s expression tightened.
"She kept looking at you."
He exhaled quietly.
"Whatever that meant, let me be clear about one thing."
His voice was calm now.
"I was the one who pursued her."
Anthony remained silent.
"I was the one who approached her. I was the one who made my intentions obvious."
Damian’s gaze stayed steady.
"She never promised me anything."
That was important.
Even now, even hurt as he was, he wouldn’t pretend otherwise.
"I may not like what happened."
His expression tightened.
"But I won’t blame her for my decision to pursue her."
Anthony looked away.
Damian watched him for a moment.
Then his voice became quieter.
"You agreed to end the engagement."
"I know."
"Vivienne is free."
"I know."
"Then even if it wasn’t me, it could have been someone else."
Anthony’s expression shifted slightly.
"Another man could pursue her."
Damian’s voice remained calm.
"She could accept his attention."
A pause.
"She could even fall in love with someone else."
Anthony said nothing.
Damian studied his face.
And suddenly, something became clear.
Anthony wasn’t simply angry about yesterday.
He was affected by it.
More than he wanted to admit.
Damian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"What is this really about?"
--
Tbc