The two of them stood in silence, staring at each other.

It felt as though time itself had stopped.

The sound of the wind brushing past her ears and the damp scent of the forest disappeared, leaving only the two of them in existence.

The sky darkened in an instant, and heavy raindrops began to fall, running down Kyla’s cheeks.

‘I have to go. I need to leave this place.’

She repeated it to herself again and again, but her feet felt rooted to the ground.

The rain grew heavier, and the air turned cold.

A shiver ran through her, snapping her back to her senses.

“Your Grace…”

She tried to greet him, but before she could finish, he spoke.

“Let’s get out of the rain first.”

Without another word, he grabbed her wrist and started running toward the oak forest.

“Your Grace, wait—!”

Kyla tried to pull her hand free, and Silas stopped, still gripping her wrist.

“I’ll just go back.”

“You intend to walk all the way to the manor in this rain?”

His black hair was already soaked, droplets of water falling heavily from it.

“Yes, it’s fine. I came out here expecting to get wet anyway.”

“That’s foolish. Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean you can take getting drenched lightly.”

Silas frowned deeply.

As if her resistance meant nothing to him, he tightened his grip on her and ran towards the oak forest.

Kyla tried to pull away, but he held her firmly and she had no choice but to follow him.

When they reached the great oak tree, its thick canopy spread out above them like an umbrella.

Only a few drops slipped through the leaves, falling softly around them.

Breathing heavily, Kyla tried once more to free her hand.

Only then did Silas finally let her go.

“Thank you for your concern, Your Grace. But… I’ll decline.”

Kyla looked up at him, her eyes firm.

He brushed his rain-soaked hair back and stared at her, clearly incredulous.

“I don’t think you realize how pale you look. If you walk all the way back to the manor in this rain, you could end up seriously ill.”

A cold?

She had run through fields and mountains in the rain countless times as a child and had never once fallen seriously ill.

“But… even so, how long can we stay here avoiding the rain? Your Grace, look at the sky. Does this look like it’ll stop anytime soon? It might rain all night. We can’t stay here until morning.”

“I don’t know when it will stop. But do you really think the servants won’t come looking for me when I’m nowhere to be found?”

Silas’s voice carried irritation.

His tightly drawn expression resembled that of a growling beast.

“Someone will come looking for me. And when they do, we can have them bring an umbrella or a carriage. There’s no need to rush recklessly into a downpour like this.”

“But if that happens…”

Kyla bit her lower lip.

“If that happens, how will you explain that you and I were here together, taking shelter from the rain?”

“I don’t see the problem with telling the truth. We met here by chance and were simply taking shelter from the rain. Is there something wrong with that?”

His eyes had gone cold.

Kyla instinctively shrank back.

“No! Your Grace, that’s not what I meant…”

She clenched her fists tightly.

“Even if it’s a coincidence, people might think strangely… they might misunderstand. Especially Miss Rothermere… and—”

‘Brother…’

The rest of her words died in her throat.

‘I don’t want that.’

Her eyes stung with rising heat, and she bit down on her lip.

“And what exactly would people misunderstand?”

Silas asked in a low voice.

A crooked smile formed at the corners of his mouth.

He stepped closer to Kyla.

Overwhelmed by the deep resonance of his voice and his towering presence, she took a slow step back.

“Are you saying people will think we did something improper here?”

He took another step toward her.

“Or—”

Kyla drew in a sharp breath.

“—that we intend to do something improper?”

His voice was so close now, it felt as though his breath might touch her.

Her heartbeat thundered through her entire body.

“Miss Feilding, I don’t mind.”

She tried to step back again, but her back collided with something solid.

Rough. Unyielding.

The thick trunk of the oak tree.

“What people choose to say—”

As Silas reached out and cupped her cheek, something surged up from deep within her and broke loose.

His gaze, dark and unfathomable like a bottomless abyss, bore down on her.

His hand against her skin felt unbearably warm.

Tears—or perhaps rain—slid down her cheek.

“Kyla.”

He said her name.

At the low, aching sound of his voice, she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Kyla…”

His voice, almost like a sigh, broke something inside her.

A sob escaped her lips.

“…”

His breath and voice brushed softly against her ear.

She should have pushed him away.

If she had just turned her head and avoided him, he would have stopped.

She knew that.

And yet, she did nothing.

There was nowhere left to retreat to.

Her whole body trembled in the rain, and the warmth of his hand against her cheek was impossible to resist.

It was the way he said her name that sounded so desperate.

She knew that all these reasons were just excuses.

Kyla slowly opened her eyes.

She lifted her head and looked up at him.

She wanted to see his face.

She needed to know what expression he was wearing.

Silas’s gaze slowly moved over her features.

Beneath her neatly shaped eyebrows, her blue eyes were fixed entirely on him.

Her lower lip, caught between her teeth, had turned red and swollen.

With his hand resting against her cheek, Silas gently brushed his thumb over her lips.

He had thought she would pull away if he reached out to her.

He expected her to push him away the moment he touched her.

But she didn’t.

She only wept.

Her tears were warm.

Seeing her cry, she was so achingly beautiful, was enough to unsteady him completely.

He wanted her.

He wanted those eyes that looked only at him, her tear-streaked cheeks, and her trembling lips.

He wanted it all.

Tilting his head, Silas pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.

Then, slowly, he moved lower.

He had always thought her skin carried a faint scent of roses.

But, as he buried his face in the curve of her neck, he detected a deeper, softer, sweeter scent beneath it — almost painfully intoxicating.

A surge of heat rushed through his body and moved downward. For a moment, he almost lost the last shred of control he had left.

He wanted to consume her completely and claim her as his own.

But if he did…

He might never see her again.

Bracing one hand against the tree behind her, Silas tilted his head slightly and slowly drew her into a kiss.

As his hand moved from her cheek to her chin, her lips parted slightly.

The moment he deepened the kiss, her body trembled.

Startled, Silas pulled away.

Gently placing both hands on her slender shoulders, he searched her face.

Her damp lashes quivered faintly.

‘D*mn it.’

He swallowed the curse rising in his throat and pulled her into his arms.

He knew exactly what kind of man that made him.

All he wanted was for the woman trembling in his embrace not to push him away.

He didn’t care if she didn’t love him; he didn’t care if it was his wealth or his title that drew her to him.

He just wanted to ease the chill from her skin with the warmth of his body.

It didn’t matter.

If only she would accept him!

If only he could have her!

“Your Grace…”

But then, she pushed him away.

With all her strength, she pressed her hands against his chest.

“No more…”

Silas released her.

“No more… we can’t.”

Her gaze lowered as the words slipped from her trembling lips.

“Let’s stop here…”

She was shaking because her clothes were soaked and the cold was seeping into her skin.

He knew that. And yet, he wanted to believe that at least some of her trembling was because of him — because of the kiss they had just shared.

“Kyla…”

“No. Please don’t call me that, Your Grace.”

Kyla looked up at him, her eyes now steady, as if she had never trembled at all.

“Why not?”

“You… surely you know why. Your Grace—you were just engaged today.”

Her expression was filled with disbelief.

“An engagement… doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t… matter…?”

For a moment, a hint of contempt flashed across her blue eyes.

To Silas, it felt as though he had swallowed something bitter and poisonous.

He wanted to curse it all and cast aside the engagement without a second thought.

Why had he chosen it in the first place?

Because of the woman standing before him.

Even if breaking it earned him nothing but scorn and turned the Rothermere family into his enemies, none of it mattered.

If only she would understand.

If only she would accept him once she knew everything.

He could endure anything for her.

But that look, that trace of contempt, was something he could not bear.

The overwhelming heat of desire intertwined with the pain of rejection threatened to push him over the edge.

Silas clenched his jaw.

Feeling that he had to say something, he stepped towards her again.

Suddenly, the distant thunder of galloping hooves shattered the stillness.

Kyla, who had been retreating, froze at the sound and turned towards the far side of the lake.

Someone was riding hard towards the forest.

“It seems… Your Grace was right.”

Kyla murmured, her face pale.

Silas, who had been watching her silently, finally turned his head. Stepping out from beneath the shade of the oak tree, he walked forward a few paces.

Noticing him, the rider urged the horse into a faster gallop towards them.

Kyla narrowed her eyes, focusing on the figure astride the horse. Even from the silhouette alone, she knew who it was.

“Silas!”

It was Jayden’s voice.

He waved at them from his horse as he rode towards them.

Kyla had hoped it would be anyone but her brother. Her heart sank.

As he approached the edge of the oak grove, Jayden pulled the reins sharply, bringing his horse to a halt. The moment he spotted Kyla, he jumped down and ran towards her.

“Kyla!”

“Brother…”

Her chest tightened.

Relief and fear flooded through her at once.

Guilt and gratitude welled up inside her at once, threatening to spill over into tears. She bit down hard on the inside of her lip to stop them, and tasted blood.

Jayden glanced between the two of them, both soaked from the rain.

“Silas! What the hell happened? No—never mind. Take my horse and go ahead. Send a carriage.”

“Alright.”

Silas responded briefly, his gaze lingering on her for a moment before he looked away.

With one swift motion, he mounted the horse and rode off towards the estate. Within seconds, he was gone.

When Kyla looked back at Jayden, he took off his coat wordlessly and put it around her shoulders.

“You’ll be warm. Even if you get caught in the rain, it won’t soak all the way through.”

He didn’t ask a single question.

“Brother…”

“We’ll talk later. How is it? Feels warm, right?”

Kyla nodded.

Jayden studied her quietly before taking her hands in his.

“They’re freezing.”

He held her hands between his own and blew warm air over them.

Kyla felt tears threatening to rise again. She forced a smile, the corners of her mouth turning up, and bit down on the tender flesh inside her mouth to stop herself from crying.