Chapter 14
2401 Words
Raina’s POV
For the first time since he stopped me…
His expression shifted.
Not dramatically.
Harrison never lost control dramatically.
No.
His emotions moved in microscopic fractures.
Tiny cracks beneath polished stone.
But I saw it.
That flicker.
That sharp refusal to accept what I’d just said.
His fingers tightened around my wrist instinctively before loosening again, like even his body disagreed with letting me go.
“You don’t mean that.”
There it was again.
That certainty.
That arrogant belief that he knew me better than I knew myself.
Something inside me almost laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was exhausting.
Seven years.
Seven years of loving a man who only noticed my feelings when they threatened to leave him.
I pulled my wrist free this time.
Firmly.
Deliberately.
“You should go,” I said quietly.
His jaw hardened.
“I was waiting for you.”
“For me?” I let out a short laugh, sharp around the edges. “What exactly was the plan here, Harrison? Was I supposed to walk over there and thank you for escorting Sophie around like a devoted husband?”
His brows pulled together immediately.
Annoyance.
Confusion.
As though the billionaire CEO of Grant Corporation had encountered an emotional inconvenience he couldn’t negotiate away.
“Raina,” he said slowly, “if you’re jealous, then just say that instead of…”
“Please don’t embarrass yourself.”
The words sliced through him before he could finish.
His face darkened slightly.
I stepped back.
Creating distance.
Choosing distance.
“I’m serious about the divorce,” I continued. “I’m too tired to keep doing this with you.”
The air between us changed.
Something heavier settled there.
Because for the first time…
I think he heard it.
Not anger.
Not jealousy.
Not another emotional reaction he could dismiss as temporary.
Finality.
And Harrison Grant hated finality when it wasn’t his decision.
I turned before he could answer.
My heels struck the pavement steadily as I walked away from him.
One step.
Then another.
Controlled.
Unhurried.
Like I wasn’t walking away from seven years of my life.
Behind me, I heard a car door open.
Then Sophie’s soft voice floated into the evening air.
“Harrison… I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were waiting for Raina.”
Her tone was delicate enough to snap under pressure.
Fragile.
Careful.
Perfect.
I kept walking.
Then I heard him answer.
“I can’t take you today.”
A pause.
“Call someone else.”
His voice sounded tired.
Stripped down.
But I didn’t stop.
Didn’t turn around.
Didn’t allow myself to care.
At least…
That’s what I kept telling myself.
By the time I reached the villa, dusk had already swallowed the sky whole.
The house greeted me with silence.
Not peaceful silence.
Not comforting silence.
The kind that pressed against your chest and reminded you how empty everything felt.
I slipped off my heels near the staircase and rubbed my temple slowly.
My body felt drained.
Emotionally scraped raw.
I had just placed one foot on the first stair when the front door opened behind me.
I didn’t even need to turn around.
“We need to talk.”
Of course we did.
I closed my eyes briefly before facing him.
Harrison stepped inside like he belonged there.
Like nothing had changed.
Like he still had a right to invade every corner of my life whenever he pleased.
The soft glow from the chandelier sharpened the angles of his face.
Dark suit.
Loosened tie.
Eyes fixed entirely on me.
Always intense.
Always impossible to ignore.
I crossed my arms slowly over my chest.
Armor.
“Talk.”
He walked toward the living room and sat down, leaning forward slightly, forearms resting against his knees.
Controlled posture.
Controlled breathing.
Controlled expression.
But tension radiated off him anyway.
“What happened earlier,” he began, “wasn’t what you think.”
I almost smiled.
Almost.
“She got into the car herself. I was waiting for you.”
“And?”
His brows furrowed.
“And you misunderstood.”
A quiet laugh escaped me this time.
Not warm.
Not amused.
Just tired.
“Harrison,” I said softly, “it doesn’t matter anymore.”
That seemed to irritate him more than yelling would have.
Because Harrison understood anger.
He understood arguments.
He understood resistance.
But indifference?
That unsettled him.
“I want a divorce,” I continued. “And I mean it this time.”
“No.”
One word.
Immediate.
Absolute.
Like the conversation ended the second he answered.
My chest tightened.
God.
Even now he still thought he could decide everything for both of us.
Seven years.
Seven entire years spent loving him so completely that I forgot where he ended and I began.
Seven years of swallowing hurt because I thought patience meant love.
Seven years of waiting for him to choose me first.
And somehow…
He still couldn’t understand why I was leaving.
Before I could react, his arm slid around my waist suddenly.
Strong.
Certain.
He pulled me toward him until I stumbled against his chest.
Heat wrapped around me instantly.
Familiar.
Dangerous.
His face lowered toward mine.
Instinctively, I turned away.
His lips brushed my cheek instead.
“Let go of me.”
My voice trembled despite how hard I tried to steady it.
His grip tightened.
“Stop pretending,” he murmured against my skin. “You still love me.”
That did it.
Something inside me snapped so sharply it almost hurt physically.
I shoved against his chest hard enough to create space.
“The moment I asked for a divorce,” I whispered, “that love started dying.”
Then my hand moved before I could stop it.
Smack.
The sound cracked through the room brutally.
Sharp enough to silence everything else.
For one suspended second, neither of us moved.
A red mark bloomed slowly across Harrison’s cheek.
His head remained turned slightly to the side.
Still.
Unreadable.
Then gradually…
He looked back at me.
My vision blurred unexpectedly.
Tears burned behind my eyes.
Not because I regretted slapping him.
Because I hated that we had become this.
“Harrison…” My voice cracked softly. “Please don’t make me hate you.”
That hit him.
I saw it.
A tiny fracture beneath all that composure.
Before either of us could say another word…
His phone rang.
The sound shattered the moment instantly.
We both looked down.
Sophie.
Of course.
Always her.
The ringtone echoed through the room like mockery.
He didn’t answer immediately.
But somehow…
That made it worse.
Because hesitation still meant consideration.
“Well?” I asked quietly, ice slipping back into my voice piece by piece. “Shouldn’t you answer? What if Sophie collapses again?”
His expression hardened instantly.
“When did you become this cruel?”
Cruel.
The word almost made me laugh.
Cruel?
After everything?
“I’ve always been like this,” I replied softly. “You just never cared enough to notice.”
Buzz.
Another message.
The screen lit up briefly.
I didn’t need to read it.
I already knew.
Harrison… my stomach hurts…
Convenient timing.
As always.
He stood up slowly.
“We’ll continue this later.”
And just like that…
He left.
The front door slammed behind him hard enough to shake the silence afterward.
I stood there alone in the middle of the living room.
Staring at nothing.
A bitter smile curled slowly across my lips.
No matter what happened…
Arguments.
Pain.
Tears.
Sophie always won.
Even on the nights I burned with fever.
Even when I curled up alone shaking from pain.
Even when I begged him not to leave.
He still went.
Because of Ethan’s “last wish.”
The excuse he hid behind every single time.
What a joke.
The next thing I felt was light stabbing through my eyelids.
“Raina. Wake up.”
Lily’s voice sounded far away.
My body felt unbearably heavy.
Hot.
Weak.
I forced my eyes open slowly.
The room tilted immediately.
“Lily…?”
“You scared the life out of me,” she snapped, though fear still lingered in her eyes. “I called you all night. When you didn’t answer, I came over.”
Her palm pressed against my forehead.
Her expression darkened instantly.
“You’re burning up.”
I tried sitting up.
Failed.
My limbs felt disconnected from the rest of me.
“What happened?” she demanded. “Did you go outside in the rain?”
I shook my head weakly.
The last thing I remembered clearly was Harrison leaving.
After that…
Nothing.
“I’m taking you to the hospital.”
“No,” I mumbled. “Medicine’s fine…”
“Absolutely not.”
She hooked my arm over her shoulder and practically dragged me toward the door.
We barely reached it before it swung open from the outside.
Harrison stood there.
And for once…
He didn’t look untouchable.
His tie was gone.
His sleeves rolled unevenly.
Dark exhaustion shadowed his eyes.
Then he saw me leaning against Lily.
And froze.
“Raina?”
His voice changed instantly.
Sharp concern replacing irritation in a heartbeat.
“What happened?”
“Move.”
Lily didn’t even bother pretending politeness.
“She passed out with a fever.”
His gaze snapped fully to me.
Scanning.
Assessing.
Panicking.
“If you hadn’t abandoned her yesterday…” Lily continued coldly, “…maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”
Guilt flashed across his face so quickly most people would’ve missed it.
I didn’t.
“I…”
“Move, Mr. Grant.”
And surprisingly…
He did.
Just stepped aside silently while Lily helped me outside.
The cool night air hit my skin painfully.
We got into the car.
And drove away.
Leaving him standing there alone under the villa lights.
Watching us disappear.
For once in his life…
Completely helpless.
Harrison’s POV
The taillights vanished down the road.
But I stayed there.
Motionless.
Frowning harder with every passing second.
She collapsed?
Why didn’t she call me?
Why didn’t I notice something was wrong?
The questions came fast.
Relentless.
Annoying.
I hated them immediately.
More than that…
I hated the guilt settling heavily in my chest.
Because deep down, I knew Lily was right.
I shouldn’t have left.
Back at Grant Corporation, the entire day became unbearable.
Meetings blurred together into meaningless noise.
Financial reports sat untouched.
Emails piled up unanswered.
Even the city skyline outside my office window looked distorted somehow.
Wrong.
I pressed two fingers against my temple.
Then finally called my assistant inside.
“How do you apologize to a woman?”
He nearly dropped his tablet.
“Sir?”
“If you hurt someone,” I said impatiently, “how do you fix it?”
My assistant blinked several times.
“Miss Sophie?”
“No.”
A pause.
“…Then who?”
My stare turned colder.
“Do you want your bonus this year?”
“Flowers,” my assistant answered immediately. “Women like flowers.”
I frowned.
“Flowers.”
“Yes, sir. Especially red roses.”
Love.
Apology.
Devotion.
I disliked how complicated those words suddenly felt.
“What else?”
“Be sincere,” my assistant added carefully. “Admit you were wrong.”
Wrong.
The word tasted unfamiliar in my mouth.
Still…
For Raina…
I could try.
Couldn’t I?
Raina’s POV
By the time I returned from the hospital later that evening, exhaustion clung to my bones like wet cement.
I wanted silence.
A shower.
Sleep.
Nothing else.
But the moment the front door opened…
I stopped cold.
Harrison stood inside the living room holding an enormous bouquet of red roses.
My stomach dropped instantly.
Not emotionally.
Physically.
“You…” I stared at the flowers. “What are those for?”
“For you,” he answered immediately. “You used to like roses.”
Used to.
God.
He didn’t even realize.
“Take them away.”
His expression tightened slightly.
“Raina, listen to me. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have left yesterday. I came to apologize.”
Then suddenly…
My breathing hitched violently.
Pain tore through my chest.
My skin prickled unbearably.
Heat exploded beneath my skin.
“Harrison…”
I clawed weakly at my throat.
His entire expression changed instantly.
Alert.
Terrified.
“What’s wrong?”
“Pollen…”
The realization hit him visibly.
He threw the bouquet across the room immediately.
“Where’s your medicine?”
I pointed upstairs shakily.
And Harrison ran.
Actually ran.
Moments later, he returned with my medication and a glass of water, helping me take the pills with trembling hands.
But it wasn’t enough.
My breathing worsened.
My vision blurred.
Panic flooded his face completely now.
“We’re going to the hospital.”
Before I could protest, he lifted me into his arms and rushed outside.
Everything afterward blurred into fragments.
Bright hospital lights.
Cold oxygen.
Voices overlapping.
Then finally…
Stillness.
“The patient is stable now.”
The doctor removed his gloves before looking directly at Harrison.
Disapproval sharpened every line of his expression.
“You’re her husband,” he said flatly. “And you didn’t know she has a severe pollen allergy?”
Silence.
Heavy.
Humiliating silence.
I didn’t need to look at Harrison to know how hard that landed.
Because that silence answered the doctor perfectly.
When I woke again later…
Harrison was still there.
Sitting beside my bed.
Looking strangely hollow.
Like guilt sat too heavily on him.
“I’m done, Harrison,” I whispered tiredly. “I want the divorce.”
He leaned forward immediately.
Still stubborn.
Still refusing to hear me.
“I know you’re angry. I’ll do better.”
“You don’t get to decide when I stop hurting.”
His jaw tightened.
“The bet isn’t over yet.”
Of course.
The stupid bet.
The thing tying us together like a chain neither of us could break cleanly.
I turned my face away.
Too exhausted to fight anymore.
Too exhausted to cry.
After a long silence, he finally stood.
“I have something important tomorrow,” he murmured. “Rest.”
Then he left.
The door clicked shut softly behind him.
I stared at the ceiling for a very long time afterward.
Then finally laughed quietly to myself.
His important matter?
Please.
I already knew.
Sophie.
It was always going to be Sophie.
- Writer
