The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride - Chapter 463

Chapter 463: Walking away (2)
“This is your punishment for disturbing our lives and forcing me to come here,” said Melanie.

“Melanie!” Lewis yelled.

Did she not think of how her words sounded?

“No, Lewis. I walked away from this life. It was he who found me and brought me back here, only to terrorise me at every corner. Now, he wants us to leave because his wife didn’t get the family she sought. I am not leaving,” Melanie declared.

Melanie didn’t want to uproot herself and have to find a home elsewhere just to make someone else comfortable. Her children were here, so she would be near them.

“You will either willingly move or I will move you. I have not decided if you will be alive during that move,” Edgar threatened the pair. “We cut ties with each other and could have coexisted had you not been so greedy.”

“Duke Collins,” Lewis stepped forward. “I will speak to my children about the mines. Give me one last chance to do it. My children have families here. It will not be so easy for them to move like my wife and I could.”

Melanie’s mouth fell slightly ajar after hearing what Lewis said. Why would he even think of moving?

“Why would I wait for you? This little act you have that you’re unaware of what your wife or children are up to doesn’t fool me. You’re a coward, and I don’t have time for cowards,” Edgar said, uninterested in Lewis’s offer.

Lewis could only hold his head down in shame. He was well aware that he was a coward.

There wasn’t much Lewis could offer his children, and when it came to Alessandra, he wasn’t much of a father to her, though they were not related. He was always in the background, hearing of every plan last.

“Don’t you dare insult my husband!” Melanie yelled as she stormed over to where Edgar sat.

Lewis grabbed her hand to stop Melanie before she did something she regretted. This was not a fight they could easily win.

Lewis could only think of one thing to convince the duke to give him a chance.

Lewis got down on his knees, which Melanie did not like.

“Lewis! Stand up!” Melanie urged her husband.

It was embarrassing for Lewis to kneel before a man Melanie hated.

Lewis ignored Melanie’s wishes. With his children’s lives at stake, he didn’t care about anything else. Not about Melanie’s feelings or about his pride.

Lewis was certain the duke planned to resolve this matter by hurting someone.

“Please, give me one chance to put this matter to rest. I know that I have not done anything-”

“Lewis!” Melanie yelled. She pulled on his arm, trying to make him get up.

Lewis stared at the floor for a moment before turning to Melanie. She was upsetting him, but he would save that talk for when they didn’t have guests.

“I am speaking to the duke. I’m going to get my son to stop going to the court. Claire is following her brother, and Melody has no interest in the mines. I am only asking for one chance to put this to rest. Please,” Lewis pleaded.

“You’re a father, Duke Collins. Please put yourself in my shoes and think of what I would lose. Claire and Luke both have children. I will end my cowardly ways and set them straight if you give me one last chance to do so,” Lewis said, hoping Edgar would allow it.

Tobias glanced at Edgar. He couldn’t read what was on his friend’s mind. It would devastate the family if Edgar got rid of Alessandra’s siblings who had children.

“Perhaps you should give him one chance, Edgar. Father to father, let him get a chance to set his children right,” Tobias suggested.

Edgar trusted Lewis more than he trusted Melanie, but he wasn’t confident Lewis could get Melanie to snap out of her ways.

“One chance,” Edgar answered as he stood up. “My family and I are leaving Lockwood two days from now. Have your son go to the court by then and tell them that he wishes to drop the matter with the mines. If not, I will pass by here on my way out of town.”

Tobias stood up to follow Edgar. “You may get off your feet now. I would take this chance and not waste it if I were you. Good night,” he bid the pair goodbye.

Melanie stood where her fists balled and her arms shook. She was furious. Not only with the duke for entering her home and acting like he owned it, but with her husband for going down on his knees.

Lewis waited for the door to close before getting up. “I know what you are going to say,” he started.

“That you embarrass me? Or how about you didn’t have my side when you needed to? He called you a coward, and you remained on your knees. This was your moment to stand up to him,” Melanie said, frustrated that Lewis had not thought of how this looked.

“Stand up to him? I have no issues with what the duke said, and that was going to be a losing fight. I have been a coward because I have let so much continue. I am going to see Luke now and end all of this about the mines-”

“No!” Melanie exclaimed, grabbing Lewis’s arm.

Lewis shoved Melanie’s hand from his arm. “I’ve had enough of this. Do you not see the state of our family? Luke went to the Cromwells, but not to spend time with them. He went to ask people he has no blood relation to to take mines from one of their own.”

“Luke is my son,” Melanie argued.

“In your eyes, but not to others. We didn’t see your family when we got married, and after I learned of where they were, we didn’t see them much throughout the years. Now, you want to go to them to ask for money? How could that sound sensible to you?” Lewis asked, raising his voice.

Melanie flinched, startled by Lewis being so loud. Her eyes were wide open as this wasn’t a common occurrence. “You,” she said, seeing a stranger before her rather than her husband.

“We’ve always been comfortable people. We came here, and they started wanting more. They both have good spouses and have gotten plenty from the mines over the years. Let it end now before we die,” Lewis pleaded with Melanie.

“Melody doesn’t come home anymore, and you make no efforts to mend her relationship with her siblings. I am tired, Melanie. You returned here and started acting like a different person. Is the woman I married still here, or is it time for me to walk away?”