Leo's feet carried him further and further away from his bedchamber until finally, he reached his front door. Throwing it open, he stepped out into the bitter wind.

The cold seeped into his being, freezing the shattered pieces of his heart. It dropped him to the ground, and he sat on the front steps of his townhouse.

The conversation he'd had with Scarlett continued to play through his head.

She'd known about the goddamn bet this entire time. She'd known about it and thought that Leo was using her. She'd known about it and still had picked Eades.

And of course, she'd thrown it in Leo's face, making sure he knew that he hadn't won. This must have been her way of punishing Leo for getting involved in the first place. She'd made him fall in love with her and then thrown that love back in his face.

Swearing under his breath, Leo resisted the urge to leave altogether. He needed to be anywhere but here, anywhere but the place where memories of Scarlett taunted him. Even now, he kept envisioning her in his bed. But every perfect part of her was being dismantled by the deceit that had torn between them.

Leo couldn't go anywhere, though. He couldn't bring himself to leave her alone in his home. Because the moments where she had lost her breath were equally haunting Leo. And if something like that were to happen again...he needed to be here.

He couldn't just leave.

So he was damned instead.

The streets of Mayfair were quiet. It must be late. This was the time of year when aristocrats flocked to London, reveling in their parties and affairs since it was actually tolerable to be within the city. The air was clearer, the polluted haze of summer extinguished by the wind of winter.

The distinct clipped steps of an approaching horse and carriage captured Leo's attention. Shrouded in the shadows cast by the moon and neighboring townhouses, the vehicle had an ominous bearing as it drew closer.

Leo cocked his head to the side as the carriage then rolled to a stop outside his front gate.

A sleek black door swung open, and a man with curly black hair stepped out.

"What the devil are you doing, Leo?" the man hollered.

Upon realizing who it was, Leo shook his head. "Go home, Will."

His friend did not listen. Instead, he closed the carriage door behind him and strolled toward Leo.

"You're only half-dressed and sitting on the ground, in the cold," Will stated, raising his brows.

"You've always been keenly observant, Trotten," Leo bit out, failing to keep the irritation from this voice.

Will sighed and then stooped down, sitting next to Leo on the step. "What happened?"

Once again, Leo shook his head. "Emilia is sitting in that carriage, isn't she?"

Will nodded mutely.

"Take her home, Will. I'm fine."

"You honestly think she is going to allow us to continue on our way home without learning what has put you out of your own house? She practically shoved me out the door of the carriage."

Leo tilted his head, considering that. Will was right, of course. "I am surprised that she did not storm over here herself."

"I told her to wait there. The last thing I need is my childbearing wife catching a chill because of your insistence to sulk outside in the middle of winter. Surprisingly, she listened to me." Will smirked a little, as though he was proud of himself.

"You are both meddlesome," Leo groaned.

"You are meddlesome," Will said pointedly. "I am simply returning the favor." He propped his arms on his knees and folded his hands before glancing toward Leo. "Now, what happened with our Lady Humphries? We have only just left your parents' ball, and I couldn't help but notice you'd been absent for quite some time."

There was no point in refusing to talk. Will wasn't going to leave otherwise. Or rather, Emilia wasn't going to let him.

"She's upstairs," Leo mumbled. "In my chambers."

If Will was surprised to hear of that development, he did not show it.

"And you are out here because..." he prodded.

"I am out here because she asked me to take her home with me and then afterward..." Leo paused, running his hand through his unruly hair. "Then afterward, when she was lying in my bed, she informed me that I'd lost the bet."

Will's brows drew sharply together. "What?"

Leo dropped his head into his hands, and his voice came out muffled. "She said she renegotiated her relationship with Eades two nights ago."

"I don't—" Will paused. "I don't understand."

"Precisely!" Leo exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air before letting them drop to his sides. Then, remembering that Scarlett lay only two floors above, he lowered his voice. "I am a fool. I told her that I loved her. Afterward. Just now, I told her that I loved her. And now I am sitting here."

Will barely reacted, merely nodding his head. Will had always known the truth. Why was it that others could always see the truths in people's hearts in ways that they could not?

"But what I don't understand," Will spoke softly, "is why she would do that when she loves you too."

Leo jerked his head to look at his friend. "She doesn't love me. Clearly, she doesn't love me."

"You should have seen the frantic look on her face earlier when she was trying to find you at the ball. I've never seen her like that before. That cool, collected mask she always wears? It was gone."

Leo scoffed, but Will was adamant. "You can deny it all you want, Leo. But the only thing that Scarlett James can't hide from the world? It's the way she feels about you."

"You're idealizing the situation, Will."

"No," Will said, drawing out the single syllable word. "I'm telling the truth. You've both changed recently. Christ, look at you, Leo." His friend gave him a pointed look. "Sitting here, brooding. It's like you're taking life seriously for the first time."

"Oh god," Leo cried. "I'm turning into you, aren't I?"

A smile leaked onto Will's face.

"Will," Leo said sternly, "If she loved me, she wouldn't have crawled into bed with Eades. She's just... god, I don't even know. I'm so damn confused." Leo dropped his head back into his hands again.

Will shrugged, and it drove Leo crazy.

"Maybe you were taking too long," he said. "She's a single woman who could likely use a protector like Eades. Have you...offered her any kind of relationship?"

"No," Leo mumbled into his hands and then propped his head up with his fist. "Before tonight, I didn't even think that I would ever capture her affections. And now, I cannot imagine making her my mistress. It's far too...temporary for my liking."

Will chuckled. "Then ask her to be your wife."

"My wife?" Leo repeated, blankly. Images of Scarlett as his wife flashed through his mind: waking up with her in his arms every morning, dining with her every evening, endless bouts of witty conversations. It hurt to think about in the best of ways.

"I was speaking to your father tonight," Will stated. "He wants you married, and he doesn't care to whom." A light laugh released through Will's lips.

"I'm aware," Leo said dryly.

"So marry her, Leo," Will replied simply. He threw his hands down on his thighs, pushing off of them as he stood.

"You are assuming far too many things, Trotten," Leo said glumly. "Like that she would even want to marry me. My intentions toward her were clear. But she still picked Eades first."

Leo clenched his fists. He hated saying the words. Because when he spoke the words, thoughts of Scarlett with Lord Eades tumbled through his brain. Thinking of him touching Scarlett as Leo had done that evening was enough to make his blood boil.

And yet, the other man couldn't have touched Scarlett in the exact same way. Because Leo would never forget when he'd trailed his kisses down Scarlett's body, and she'd looked at him in shock as he'd taken her into his mouth. Like no man had ever done that before.

"Leo." Will's voice broke through his memories. "I know it is hard to see past that right now. If Emilia had been with any other man in those days when we were apart, I don't think I'd have survived it. Even though it would have been my fault."

Leo nodded numbly.

"But I think there's something that you're missing here, and I'd suggest you figure out what that is before you decide what to do about Scarlett."

"There's nothing to do. It's over."

Will began to walk backward, stepping toward the carriage where his wife waited. "Then why is it that she's still in your bed?"

Will spun then, striding briskly away. Leo let him go, not bothering to explain that extra information that he hadn't shared regarding Scarlett's health.

That was the only reason that she was still in his home, after all.

Otherwise...well, otherwise Leo wasn't exactly sure what he would have done.

There were so many things that Leo didn't know—so many things he hadn't known. After all, he certainly hadn't known that loving someone could feel like such a lie.