William kept his gaze fixed on the table, refusing to meet Elizabeth's eyes for what felt like an eternity. The silence stretched so long that Elizabeth wondered if he'd drifted off. It was four in the morning, after all.

She had just returned from a promotional event out of town and exhaustion clung to her like a second skin.

Just as she considered giving up, William slowly lifted his head. His voice was rough when he finally spoke. "Let's go."

Wait, seriously? She had only offered out of politeness. More than anything, she wanted to crawl beneath her warm duvet and surrender to sleep.

Despite her weariness, Elizabeth followed William out into the night.

They found a small street vendor still open. The silver lining was the complete absence of other customers at this ungodly hour. With her heavy disguise, nobody recognized her.

"William, maybe you should slow down," Elizabeth suggested gently, watching him pour another drink.

She couldn't just sit by while her cousin drowned himself in alcohol. He hadn't touched any of the food she'd ordered since they sat down.

The way he was drinking on an empty stomach worried her. Alcohol poisoning seemed like a real possibility.

William ignored her completely, downing another shot as if she hadn't spoken.

"Did you have a fight with Elise?" Elizabeth asked, frustration creeping into her voice when he remained silent.

William paused mid-drink but said nothing.

Elise wouldn't fight with him. She remained perpetually calm and rational, always seeking solutions.

Sometimes William wished she would scream at him. At least that would prove she cared enough to get angry.

"What's really going on between you, Elise, and Victoria?" Elizabeth pressed impatiently when William refused to answer.

With William under constant surveillance recently, she hadn't been able to get any answers from him. Now that they finally had a chance to talk properly, he chose to remain silent.

"I'm not marrying Victoria," William declared, defiance flashing in his bloodshot eyes.

"The entire country thinks you are," Elizabeth countered, her tone heavy with concern. "The Levines and the Stuarts issued a joint announcement. How could there be any mistake? Backing out now would be a public slap to their faces."

William's jaw tightened visibly.

She was right—it would be incredibly difficult.

When the engagement announcement dropped, he'd stood frozen in shock for minutes. He never expected his grandfather to agree to it. Henry had always respected his decisions.

But nobody could force William to do something he didn't want.

He would not marry Victoria. Never.

He just needed time to find a way out of this mess.

"Never mind that Elise is the victim here who probably won't forgive you," Elizabeth said seriously. "Even I, your cousin who usually supports you blindly, don't see how you can get out of this marriage. It's completely understandable why Elise is rejecting you right now."

She leaned forward across the small table. "She has no reason to trust you, even if you go to her now. Whatever you say, however sincere you are—it won't matter. Besides, Elise has been through so much pain already. Her family made it hard for her to open up because of how they treated her growing up. Then she met that bastard Samuel!"

The more Elizabeth spoke, the angrier she became.

She poured herself a glass and downed it quickly. Thinking about everything Elise had endured made her both furious and heartbroken.

Compared to Elise's struggles, Elizabeth's life had been smooth sailing. Born into wealth and privilege, spoiled by her family, successful in her career—her only struggle was relationships. She sometimes wondered if God gave her romantic troubles to balance out her otherwise charmed life.

"How can you expect her to trust anyone unconditionally after everything she's been through?" Elizabeth challenged William. "If you really want to be with her, the most important thing you need to do right now is cancel that engagement immediately. If you don't, and you still pursue Elise, she'll end up being the other woman. Do you really think she'd accept that title? Could you bear to have millions of people scorn her? Could you accept Elise losing her dignity to Victoria? Seriously, that wouldn't be fair to her at all!"