So exhausted from the day before, Delaney and Cora slept in very late. When they finally descended the stairs and were lead to the dining room, they found Miles there eating, looking like he must have slept at some point although not as much as them. He still looked tired.

"There you both are," he stood and pulled out their chairs for them, "I\'m glad to see you were able to recover from yesterday."​​

"I think the sleep did us good," Cora smiled, "Were you able to sleep some?"

"Once Vince was able to fall back asleep I dozed off in the chair for a few hours. It wasn\'t the most comfortable thing but it was something. I\'m going back after I finish eating."

"Already?" Cora asked in surprise.

"Duncan isn\'t back yet and there\'s really no one else so I have to go."

Delaney felt her stomach clench. She was someone else who could go. He didn\'t want her there though and she definitely didn\'t want to be there. She was glad at least that he had made it clear he didn\'t want her to see him so then no one could try to convince her too.

She would see about going home tomorrow. Back at her Aunt and Uncle\'s home, she could enlist their help in trying to find a way out of the marriage contract. She wanted Vincent to live but she knew now she never wanted to be his wife.

"Delaney," Miles interrupted her thoughts, "Vince does feel bad for the way he reacted last night. He asks that I apologize to you for him."

Delaney swallowed feeling like Miles had somehow known what was on her mind, guilt seeped into her heart. "Thank you," she said quietly, not looking up from her plate.

Miles was quietly watching her, "Would you like me to ask him if you can come back?"

"No," she replied quickly, snapping up to look at him with wide eyes. Hearing herself she hurried to continue, "No I don\'t think you need to press the matter. I\'m sure he would prefer to spend his time with the people closest to him. I thought, if you wouldn\'t mind, I might have one of your carriages to take me home tomorrow?"

Miles looked down now, considering her words, "I think we just caught him off guard last night. I think if he could prepare himself a bit more he might..."

"I don\'t want to go there again," she cut him off sharply.

To her surprise, he only paused before nodding but didn\'t argue. Somehow that made her feel even worse.

"I\'m sorry Miles," Delaney said quietly, "I just... I can\'t go there again..."

"I understand," he sighed, "I knew it had scared you. It\'s not easy to see him like this. I just thought if you wanted to try again now that you could sort of prepare yourself it might be better this time."

"I don\'t think it would do either one of us any good," she said sadly, "But thank you."

Delaney knew she would probably appear quite selfish for this choice but she couldn\'t help it. Vincent looked truly terrifying and she didn\'t trust him not to get angry again. Not only that but she didn\'t want to see him in so much pain. She had seen her mother crying while she was dying and Vincent\'s was even worse than that. She couldn\'t bear it.

"I\'ll tell the men to be prepared to leave with you first thing in the morning then," Miles said as he stood, "But know you are welcome to stay longer if you would like to try again."

Once Miles left the room Delaney looked up to find Cora\'s eyes on her. "What is it?" she asked the other woman.

"I think you should try to see him again."

"I don\'t want to."

"I know he looks rather scary and it\'s not easy to look at him right now but Delaney it is just as likely that he could recover as die and if he does recover you will still be required to be his wife."

"I will never agree to that."

"You won\'t have a choice," Cora argued, "The marriage contract was set in place when you were an infant and now that he\'s had this accident they will make sure the contract stays in place."

"I won\'t do it," Delaney shook her head, "I won\'t be married to a man that is now more of a monster for the rest of my life. I won\'t."

"How will you stop it?" Cora demanded seriously, "Will you run away? You will have to. You\'ll have to run away and hope no one ever finds you because if they do you will be sent to prison for the rest of your life. Do you really think marrying him would be worse than prison?"

Delaney looked at her friend seriously, "There are other ways out of a marriage contract Cora."

Cora\'s eyes widen, "You would really find another man? If you were intimate with another man then the contract would be broken but the King could still choose to throw you in prison. Vincent is his cousin."

"They wouldn\'t put me in prison if I were pregnant," Delaney hadn\'t thought of this alternative, and saying it out loud sounded crazy, but she knew it may be her only option.

"Where would you find a man who would be so foolish as to cross the Duke of Edgewood and the King?"

"We\'re opening the club soon. There will be all kinds of men there to play cards. If I can get one to fall in love with me I\'m sure he\'d be willing to defend me."

"Delaney are you mad?" Cora looked at her desperately, "You are really willing to saddle yourself with a baby from a man you\'ll have only known for a short time over marrying Vincent and being the Duchess of Edgewood?"

"You saw him, Cora," Delaney hissed, "You saw his face, hell, you saw his body. You heard him shouting in his anger. The poison has turned him into a monster!"

"Please! His anger won\'t last. If he recovers and the pain subsides he will be able to go back to being the same man he was before. He\'ll be the same man you would sneak secret kisses with and planned to marry. He\'s still Vincent."

"You can\'t say that Cora. He\'s terrifying now and full of fury. He\'s been through a horrible accident to be sure but I\'ve seen what those kinds of accidents can do to someone. When something truly terrible happens to you you don\'t come back from it the same person. You won\'t ever be that person again."

"Oh Delaney," understanding dawned on Cora then, "Vincent isn\'t your father. He\'s not lost his love. He\'s just been hurt and has the scars from it. He won\'t be broken like your father was. He\'ll get better. He\'s strong."

"My father was strong," Delaney snapped, "He was strong and still it broke him. His heart was broken. If you think being disfigured and in agony hasn\'t broken Vincent\'s heart you\'re very wrong. You heard him last night just as I did. He wanted to die."

"But Delaney..."

"No," Delaney stood, "He will never be the same after this. He will be hideous and a different man. A man I refuse to marry. I don\'t know what I\'ll have to do to get out of it Cora but I promise you I will do something. I won\'t give up the rest of my life to this."

Delaney stormed out of the room before Cora had a chance to reply. She went to her room and locked the door behind her. Collapsing on the bed she cried then.

Thinking of her sick mother, and her broken father. Those had been curses on her childhood she thought she had escaped as she grew older. Now though she saw the curse was continuing to follow her through her life.

Thinking of curses made her think of witches and the words from the witch at Win\'s club. She had thought she had made the right decisions and was on her way to a happy future. She thought for sure that there was no way marrying Vincent could be the wrong choice.

Now though she was crying on a bed with her future in ruins around her. She saw now that being with Vincent was the wrong decision. There was no happy future ahead with him. She should have chosen her own freedom from the start and attempted to break the marriage contract before all this.

Before he was scarred, Vincent would have had no problem finding a beautiful young woman to marry him. Now, all hope for him was lost. Delaney had chosen a life of riches and popularity foolishly. Living her own life and making her own dreams happen had been the right choice.

She needed to turn things around and ensure her future was happy in the end. She just had to hope it wasn\'t too late.