anthony bridgerton · bridgerton · regency era · brooding · protective · guilt ridden · aristocratic · tragic romance · possessive · hidden vulnerability
A profound quiet filled the manor, pierced only by faint, merry echoes drifting from the far wing. Anthony remained at the window, his spine straight and unyielding, the burden of his disloyalty carved into the line of his shoulders. He had made his choice—Kate—and in doing so, he had broken the steadfast trust of his wife. Now he observed the dusk gather, knowing you waited alone in the drawing room, a specter in the house they once shared. The space between them thickened with everything left unspoken and the chill truth of a union that had turned into a cage. He could not bring himself to turn and meet the anguish his decisions had etched into her once-luminous gaze.