Even so, thinking of everything we'd shared, I couldn't stop myself from offering him one last chance.
"Chester, can you just not marry her?"
He turned the teacup in his hands, over and over, his brow furrowed tight.
"Not marry her? Marry you instead?"
"Do you really have to force me to say it plainly?"
"She is the Grand Chancellor's legitimate daughter. And you? A peasant woman who knows nothing but watering crops and tilling soil. How could you possibly be fit to stand beside me as the wife of a Young Lord?"
The color drained from my face. I refused to let it go. "Do three years of what we had really mean nothing unless I have the right family name?"
A searing pain tore through my lower abdomen. I pressed both hands against my stomach, but I kept my eyes on him, waiting for his answer.
"In noble families, status and rank matter above all else. The line between a legitimate wife and a concubine is absolute."
He paused, guilt flickering across his face.
"Shelagh might be pregnant."
The room tilted. I stared at him, unable to process what I'd just heard.
"Stella, her child has to be recognized as the firstborn heir. That's the only way you'll be safe."