The Archduke's Songbird-Chapter 99: A Shocking Reveal

Jessamyn tried to retort to him but words slipped her mind. What could she say to such an ambiguous proposition?

She could have easily confronted him and told him to wipe such thoughts out of his mind. She would have, had he proposed it some days earlier. But she couldn’t, now.

Jessamyn, herself was taken aback by her reluctance to tell off Jerrick. It should have been easy, but to her bewilderment, it was not.

Do you really want to be in his embrace that much, Jessamyn? She asked herself. Is this your resolve? What about Joar?

Once more, the bond she still harbored for Joar surged within her, a forceful reminder of her loyalty. Yet, like countless times before, she found herself unable to break free from the unyielding tether that bound her to Jerrick.

Caught in the agonizing grip of indecision, Jessamyn found herself torn between the two men, unable to fully relinquish one in favor of the other. She remained suspended in the midst of conflicting emotions, feeling the relentless pull of both, yet unable to heed the call of either with certainty.

She was tired of feeling that way. She just wanted to be left alone. The more she wanted to be left alone, the more those conflicting feelings agonized her. She needed to find a resolution to that conflict. But how, she had no clue.

She looked at Jerrick, quietly. Maybe he realized the ambiguity in the words he spoke, he coughed into his fists while bowing his head.

"I meant... you would want to take a bath, wouldn’t you?" he asked.

"I do," she smiled, this time, her eyes focused on his eyes. "But if there is no one here..."

"There’s water in the bathtub. We can use it..." Jerrick said pulling a chair for her to sit.

Jessamyn was in her thoughts and nodded mindlessly not fully grasping what he meant. She took her seat.

"You should take a bath too. Why are you wet?" she asked as he plated the food.

"I cooked... The kitchen was hot..." he said causally leaning to her ear. "I’m wet. You look hot and bothered."

Jessamyn winced as his warm breath fell on her ear. His mouth smelled a combination of citrusy and floral notes and his overwhelming masculine scent that was refreshing and warm enveloped her senses.

"Me?" she asked, her voice getting high to a shrill out of embarrassment. His face was awfully close to her and she almost leaned back unable to face his eyes.

Yeah, she tried to control herself, and she was failing miserably. He caught her red-handed. She really needed a cold bath.

"The air is hot..." she waved herself. "At least you must be feeling better wearing a wet shirt..."

"You can wet yourself too. Should I help?" he tilted the jug of water above her head.

Jessamyn sighed. What if she wanted to get drenched in the water and tangle around his wet body for warmth?

"I am hungry..." she said picking up the cutlery.

Jerrick didn’t bother her anymore and joined her to eat. She heard the horse leaving and along with that, she heard a yelp of a woman.

I heard a woman. Who is that? Isn’t that Bernard leaving on the horse? Who is he with?

Jessamyn jumped to get to the window but she couldn’t move as a strong hand wrapped around her wrist.

"Where are you going?" Jerrick asked furrowing his brows.

"Bernard’s leaving and I heard a woman. I need to know who that is..." Without even looking at his face, Jessamyn answered, as she struggled to free her hand.

But Jerrick didn’t relent his grip. He knew it was Isadora with Bernard but since he had already told her that Isadora was at the tavern, she couldn’t find out that Isadora was still there.

"I heard it too. It’s a lark," Jerrick lied through his teeth.

"A lark?" Jessamyn furrowed her brows looking at him.

"Surely," Jerrick raised his brows in confidence. And then his lips curved to a playful smirk. "Are you hoping to catch Bernard with another woman?" He let go of his hands since Jessamyn had bought his narrative.

"Hoping to catch him?" Jessamyn scoffed. "I hope he is not playing with little Isadora’s pure heart," she fisted her hands.

Jerrick saw the protective anger on her face and smiled. "You do not approve of Bernard as Isadora’s potential husband?"

Jessamyn played with the food with her head bowed. "Who am I to approve of anything? If Isadora wants to marry Bernard, I can only..." She stuck the fork into the meat and stuffed it in her mouth.

Jerrick could see her disapproval and smiled in his heart. This kind of protectiveness stems only from deep love.

"Is Bernard a good guy?" Jessamyn asked. She cannot blindly give in to Isadora’s wishes without knowing about Bernard. She needed to investigate him. Bernard needed to prove his worth. What if he manipulated and broke Isadora’s little heart? That would be the end of a sweet person like Isadora. She cannot allow that to happen.

"He looks old. Surely, there must have been other women he must have been interested in or other women who were interested in him...? Jessamyn probed.

She was not sure if she was asking the right person about Bernard as it seemed like Jerrick trusted Bernard too much. But she wanted to try.

"Old?" Jerrick chuckled. "How old do you think Bernard is?"

Jessamyn did not like the way Jerrick laughed. She asked a perfectly reasonable question. Why was he mocking her for it?

"Isn’t he at least in his late thirties or early forties?" Jessamyn asked. She might be wrong and he might be in his early thirties though.

Jerrick’s chuckle turned to a full-on chortle. "Forties?" He placed the cutleries on the table and laughed some more holding his abdomen.

Jessamyn glared at him and stuffed some food inside her mouth. She was hungry.

"Will you stop laughing?" she asked after almost finishing her plate. Jerrick was still laughing.

Jerrick looked at her and then continued laughing. "You’re..." He laughed and almost ended up wheezing.

Jessamyn finished her plate. He was great at cooking as always and it was easy to fill her stomach. She finished the wine too.

"He’s 23," Jerrick said, his eyes red with tears out of laughing.

Jessamyn almost dropped her wine glass.