Chapter 47: Finding Happiness

*Seraphina*

His words were the last thing I expected.

All I’d known of Alfred until now was his stoic resolve, the coldness he usually wore like armor. Yes, there’d been glimpses of affection I thought I could see when he did things out of kindness or offered to help or protect me.

But such an open declaration of his feelings had left me completely shaken down to the core.

I didn’t think he was the kind of man who said these things to women. But there was such vulnerability in the way he talked to me and touched me that I knew he was sincere.

It was like I could see the arrogance I’d first encountered back at Archeron evaporate before my very eyes. It felt like a lifetime ago that I’d strapped him down to that bed and teased him about saving his life.

Even though I wanted nothing more than to return his affection and tell him the truth about my feelings, there was still too much that I couldn’t ignore. Madeline was genuinely in love with him, too, and she wasn’t