Chapter 83: Bring Forth the Plan
The Duke immediately made his way to his study, his steps were angry and quick. The sight of those children irritated him. He knew what their presence meant.
The Duke sat at his grand mahogany desk, fingers drumming anxiously against the surface. He looked at the various papers scattered on the desk.
Most of it was the estate’s expenses while the others were invitations to social gatherings. His hand balled into a fist and slammed against the table.
All the truly significant documents: the business contracts, the records of the Duchy’s finances, were all locked away, safely guarded by his wife, the Duchess. She trusted him with nothing. She always locks her study whenever she leaves.
And all he gets are these petty expenses. He knew his position in the Duchy. He was a glorified ’trophy husband’ wasn’t he? She never let him touch anything important.
She had left him in the dark about the arrival of the two children. What was she thinking, bringing them here without consulting him?
She was getting more and more bold. He felt no remorse for doing what he did. The gears in his mind turned as he came up with a plan.
The implications were clear: the Duchess wanted to adopt the boy, Dimitri, and if she did that, it would cement her authority further. He could feel the walls closing in around him.
A sense of dread overcame him. What if she chose that boy as the heir to the Duchy? Why else would she personally train him? This was an evaluation, wasn’t it?
He felt reduced to a mere pawn in his wife’s game. He hated feeling this way... Secondary, powerless, sidelined in his own home.
Fueled by a mix of rage and desperation, he leaned back in his chair, his mind racing through options.