The Duke's Forbidden Lover (Forbidden #1)

Chapter 32.

Chastity sighed from beside him and stepped towards Nalini, careful not to touch her. Alastair's spine stiffened, waiting to see if she intended to worsen the situation of the crying woman in front of him.

He was ready to step in and stop it if that was the case.

"Nalini, dear, do you remember me? The woman who helped you from the well?" she whispered, dropping her voice to a sickly sweet tone.

Alastair crossed his arms as he carefully watched the exchange. He disliked the fact that she was talking to Nalini and not him, but he could not help but furrow his eyebrows at one word Chastity had uttered.

Well?

It had come up once or twice and he had seen Nalini's attempt to climb over them as well. As suspicious as it was, he had to push that matter aside to make room for the one at hand. Nalini nodded her head softly. It was such a small movement that if it was not for him watching her carefully, he would have missed it.

"Then you must trust me. Would you like to share what is troubling you with me?"

Nalini made no movement for quite a while. It was only after a few seconds passed when she softly nodded once again. 

Chastity sighed in relief and grabbed her arm before looking at him."I shall take her out for some fresh air and talk to her. We will be back shortly."

He did not like what was happening, but considering the two women knew each other, he assumed it would be better. Nalini would be less willing to speak with him, he knew, so he nodded.

"Of course. Return promptly," he ordered firmly. 

He returned to his seat, though his mind was elsewhere. He was more focused on a particular woman who had somehow managed to catch his attention from all the other women. Alastair ran a hand through his fair hair before rubbing his face in exhaustion. Something in him told him that today was going to be a dreadfully long day.

***

Nalini opened her mouth, to tell Chastity about everything as she was the one person beside Nora she trusted most with her heart. She trusted the Duke too, but she wasn't on speaking terms with him and telling him would only make her feel closer to him.

Her heart wouldn't be able to take it.

Though, glancing up at the beautiful woman in front of her, her mouth slowly shut. Chastity's blue eyes were as cold as ice - like the Duke's had once been when they first laid eyes on her. Her pink painted lips were pinched in a tight line, and her hands that were covered by white lacy gloves were tightly clenched.

Suddenly, the atmosphere became tense. She stepped towards Nalini menacingly, and though her mind was telling her to move away, her feet were frozen. Her eyes had widened in shock at watching the woman that she thought was kind change drastically in front of her.

"I did not want to resort to these measures," she said with a humourless chuckle, "but, if I must then I shall."

"W-what do you mean?" Nalini asked, blinking her aching eyes rapidly.

Chastity sighed softly and tilted her head, fixing her gaze on Nalini. The emotions that flickered in her eyes were scary; she looked dangerous.

"I have noticed lately that you have taken a certain liking towards the Duke because you are both well acquainted. " She stepped even closer to Nalini, bringing her face down towards her own. "I am merely warning you to stay away from him because he is a very busy and established man who needs a capable woman by his side."

A soft gasp left Nalini's lips as she stared up at the furious woman. She continued in a hurry, "Do not misunderstand me, Nalini. You are a very special person but in the eyes of the ton, you will just not do as the Duchess of Birmingham." Chastity's smile was razor-sharp. "Though that would never happen. Just the thought itself is silly, is it not?"

Nalini's urge to cry again at the unfairness of it all hit her like a bullet, but the shock made it impossible to do anything.

"Why are you saying this?" she said in an aching whisper, her voice trembling. She felt a pain so sharp in her chest at the words that were directed at her which pierced her heart like knives.

She knew Chastity wasn't wrong, but having it said aloud and in a cruel manner, made it all the more real about how impossible it was to be with the Duke.

Even thinking about it felt wrong.

"You must see what I am doing, do you not?" Chastity asked, plastering a frown. "I do not wish to hurt your feelings or squander any feelings, but it is for the best. Whatever you feel for the Duke is silly. It will never happen and I want to save you from the humiliation, as he cannot fall for a woman like you."

Her tears filled up her eyes, blurring her vision of Chastity's cruel face. Just as she blinked, the first tear broke free before the rest began to cascade down her face in an endless stream.

She tried to swallow down the lump in her throat and clenched down her jaw tightly, grinding her teeth. Nalini watched as a small smile of satisfaction lifted up the corners of Chastity's lips before it disappeared altogether.

With a delicate hand, she brushed a lock of hair that had come undone from her neatly done bun, behind her ear as she stepped back.

"Well, then, I shall take my leave," she said, plastering a gentle smile.

Nalini was given space to breathe now that Chastity had left, but all that left her was a struggling gasp. She still felt like she was choking and struggling for air as if someone had placed bricks on her chest.

She cursed herself in her mind for not being able to say anything to the woman who was now striding away. She wanted to stop her, tell her that she was wrong, that she didn't know anything.

But...she knew Chastity was right.

Chastity knew what the ton wanted and who they expected. They didn't want someone who wasn't even the same colour as them. Nalini was now in a society where colour and race and appearance and worth did matter more than anything else. 

The Duke wouldn't ever fall in love with her - even though she knew this was the truth, before, a part of her hoped it wasn't. But she now knew that it could never happen.

Ever.

She wasn't good enough for him or Birmingham. A bitter laugh escaped her trembling lips as the tears ran down her cheeks and into her mouth.

Who was she to think that someone, as established as him, could ever fall in love with an ordinary, Indian girl 178 years from the future?

It was all just wishful thinking.