Jane stormed inside the estate, thinking of ways to let out her anger. She wanted to return to the garden and share more of her thoughts with Eloise, but she also didn’t want to see Eloise.

At times like this, Jane would seek out her friends’ company, but she was still on punishment; therefore, she could not leave.

Since Damien got married, her life has been flipped upside down, and it would only grow worse once the town realised who Damien was married to.

A lady with low birth, no finances to her name, and a family that tried to steal the little home she had.

"He is out to ruin us," Jane accused Damien.

Jane once warned the others that Damien didn’t care about the estate and all their futures. He was growing tired of caring for his siblings, and now, he found a grand way to ruin the Hawthorne name.

"Jane?" The sound of Damien’s voice caused Jane to jump. She thought she was hearing voices until she looked around.

Damien carried a book which contained the estate’s finances. "Aren’t you meant to be with Eloise? She went out to the garden."

"I was with your wife, but then she started to act like a new woman. Perhaps it is because you filled her head with tales of how she is a powerful woman, but she must be careful with how she speaks to me," Jane demanded.

"Why? If you are being rude, why must she watch her words with you?" Damien asked, the sound of his book closing echoing around them. "Did you upset her?"

"Brother! You have reunited with her for a few days, yet you would pick her side over mine? I am your little sister. You should be on my side," Jane said, stomping her feet.

Damien looked down at Jane’s shoe, which was going to create a hole in the floor one of these days. "I am not going to support someone showing their ass."

Jane gasped, startled by Damien’s foul language. "Language, Damien. I am a lady."

"You are a child, Jane. Your behaviour reflects it. Where is my wife?" Damien asked, going around Jane to find Eloise.

Jane followed Damien. "Why do you always think she is in the right? You have not asked me what happened."

"I don’t need to ask because I know how you are, Jane. A child who never knows how to stay in her place. Eloise is now the lady of this estate and should be respected. I don’t care who you wanted me to marry. I have selected her," said Damien.

"It is not solely about who I wanted you to marry, brother. The town has had its eyes on you, waiting to see who you would marry. A princess? Daughter of a nobleman or a wealthy heiress. That is who you were to marry to add to our family name," Jane explained her feelings.

"Yet, you would show up with a lady whose father once worked for our family," Jane said, annoyed that Damien didn’t see the issue.

"I will, and I shall proudly show her off. You must stop living your life thinking of what the town wants out of you. Life becomes a bore when you care about others’ opinions," said Damien.

"How unfortunate that I don’t have the same chances as you to not care about the town. I am a lady," Jane reminded Damien.

"You are a Hawthorne. A very protected one. Do you think your reputation is spotless because you are so perfect? No, you have older brothers who go out of their way to clean up your mistakes. If we stop, you might become a scandalous young lady," Damien said. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"I do not make mistakes. I have the best tutors in the town, and I have learned from Aunt Camille. She was the most desirable lady in town during her season, and I shall be the same. I have many ladies begging to sit with me at events. I am a true and perfect lady," Jane said, lifting her chin.

"My one regret to our mother was not sending you to live with Aunt Camille. It would have saved me from a headache. You must stop with your behaviour. Eloise isn’t going anywhere," said Damien.

"You should have heard the way she spoke to me. She spoke of not tolerating disrespect anymore, as though I disrespected her. I was trying to help her so she wouldn’t make a fool of herself before our peers. You don’t seem to care about her well-being," Jane said, and came to an abrupt stop when Damien stopped.

"It should always be family first-"

"She is my wife, which makes her my family. A fact that you like to forget. Since you want to be out of the estate so much, have a maid pack a bag for you. You’ll be staying with Aunt Camille for three days," Damien decided.

"How is this fair? Do you not see that since she came here, Quinn and Kyle have been out of the estate? Now you are sending me away. You should never turn against us for an outsider," Jane said, her tears threatening to spill. "She might go, but we will always be your family."

Damien walked away from Jane without responding.

Eloise was not the cause of everyone being out of the estate.

Quinn had feelings he needed to settle, which was likely why he avoided Eloise, and it was usual for Kyle to be out of the estate. Jane got herself placed on punishment because of her actions.

Damien went out to the garden and found Eloise seated by herself. He considered taking her out of town for a few days so they could bond without distractions.

Before Damien could surprise her, Eloise looked up to see who the intruder was.

"Oh, Damien. You are right on time. I was packing some cookies and sandwiches for you to eat," Eloise said, revealing the plate she was stacking with food. "Should I put more?"

Damien felt at ease seeing that Eloise wasn’t disappointed that her talk with Jane didn’t go well.

"No, what you have is enough. Sit with me," Damien said, moving behind Eloise to hold her chair. "I am far better company than Jane."

"You are not busy? You said you wanted to take a look at the finances," Eloise said, but still, she sat down.

"That can wait. I should put aside time for my wife, should I not?" Damien asked as he helped to push Eloise’s chair forward. "You have a crumb here. Let me," he said, acting fast to wipe the right side of Eloise’s lips with his thumb.

The slow, sensual movement made Eloise stay still.