On A Paper
1330 Words
Chapter Six
Harper’s POV
The rink became quiet again after Tyler and Mila walked away.
The loud sound of their skates slowly disappeared until I couldn’t hear them anymore.
I stood where I was, my hockey stick lying on the ice beside me.
Everything had happened so fast.
One moment Tyler had been laughing at me.
The next… Xavier had told everyone I was his girlfriend.
I still couldn’t believe it, I turned to face him.
He was standing only a few feet away with both hands inside the pockets of his coat.
His expression was as calm as ever, as though nothing unusual had just happened.
“…Why?” I finally asked.
He looked at me. “Because they wouldn’t have stopped.”
I frowned. “You didn’t have to lie.”
“I did, They would have continued.”
I lowered my eyes.
He was right. Tyler wasn’t the kind of person to stop once he found someone’s weakness.
If Xavier hadn’t appeared… I didn’t even want to imagine how much longer they would have humiliated me.
I let out a quiet sigh. “Thank you.”
He gave a small nod. “You don’t have to thank me.”
“No…”
I looked down at the ice beneath my skates. “I do.”
Silence settled between us.
It wasn’t awkwardc It was simply quiet.
After a long moment, I looked at him again. “But I can’t do it.”
His expression didn’t change. “I know.”
I blinked. “You… know? I wasn’t expecting an answer immediately.”
I swallowed. “I’m not ready to become someone’s girlfriend again.”
The words left my mouth before I could stop them. “My last relationship…”nI laughed bitterly. “I don’t even know if I can call it a relationship anymore, if was all a lie, my feelings were real, his weren’t.”
I tightened my grip around my hockey stick. “I don’t think I can go through something like that again.”
Xavier listened without interrupting.
When I finished speaking, he nodded once.
“Neither can I.”
I looked up. “What?”
“I’m not ready either.”
For the first time since we met, confusion replaced the sadness inside me. “If you’re not ready… Then why ask me?”
His eyes remained on mine. “Because this isn’t about love.”
I stayed quiet. “It’s about solving a problem.”
I frowned. “What problem?”
He took a few slow steps across the ice until only a short distance separated us. “You need protection.”
I stared at him.
He continued calmly.
“Tyler embarrassed you once. He’ll do it again, he thinks you’re alone, he thinks no one will stand beside you.” His voice remained steady. “As long as he believes that… He’ll keep coming back.”
The words settled heavily inside my chest.
Without meaning to, I remembered Tyler’s smile.
The way he had laughed, the way Mila had looked at me, the way they enjoyed every second of humiliating me.
Would they really stop? No.
I already knew the answer.
Tyler had never let anything go.
If he believed he could keep hurting me…
He would.
I slowly lowered my head. “…You’re right.”
He didn’t respond.
He simply waited for me to continue.
“If he sees me alone…” I forced out the words. “He’ll never stop.”
My fingers tightened around the hockey stick. “He’ll keep reminding me about everything.” I closed my eyes for a brief moment. “I don’t think I can handle that every day.”
The silence between us stretched again.
Then Xavier spoke. “I also need this arrangement.”
I looked at him. “You do?”
He nodded. “My parents have been trying to arrange my marriage “They’ve introduced countless women. They all expect me to choose one.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise. “You mean… They’re choosing wives for you?”
“They’re trying.”
“Then…” I hesitated. “Why don’t you just choose someone?”
His gaze shifted toward the empty seats surrounding the rink.
For the first time since I met him…
I thought I saw something unreadable pass through his eyes. “There is someone.”
I frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”
“There is someone I’ve been looking for since I was a child.”
I blinked.
“I don’t know where she is, don’t know if I’ll ever find her but until I have my answer…”
He looked back at me. “I’m not available for anyone else.”
For several seconds, I simply stared at him.
There wasn’t sadness in his voice, there wasn’t regret either, only certainty.
He wasn’t waiting because someone had told him to.
He was waiting because he wanted to.
He continued. “So you don’t have to worry. This contract isn’t because I’m looking for love. It isn’t because I expect anything from you, or is simply an agreement. You help me. I help you. Nothing more.”
I searched his face. People always said a person’s eyes revealed the truth.
When Tyler told me he loved me… His eyes had always been filled with excitement.
Now I wondered if I had imagined it.
Xavier was different, he wasn’t making promises, he wasn’t saying sweet words, he wasn’t trying to impress me, he was simply telling me exactly what he wanted.
Nothing more, nothing less. “I have one condition,” I said quietly.
He nodded. “Go on.”
If we do this…i don’t want lies, you tell me the truth. I’ll tell you the truth, it something changes… We talk about it.”
His answer came without hesitation. “Agreed.”
I took a slow breath. “And if one day you find the person you’ve been looking for…”
A faint smile appeared on his face. “Then our agreement ends.”
I looked at him for several long moments, for the first time since Tyler shattered my heart…
I didn’t feel like someone was asking me to give everything.
Xavier wasn’t asking for my love.
He wasn’t asking for my trust, he wasn’t asking me to forget my past, he was offering me something simple.
A way to protect myself.
Maybe… That was exactly what I needed right now.
I looked around the empty rink.
This place had always been where I escaped whenever life became too difficult.
Today… It had become the place where my life was changing again.
I slowly walked toward him.
He didn’t move.
When I stopped in front of him, I looked straight into his eyes. “This is really just a contract?”
“Yes.”
“No pretending when we’re alone?”
“No.”
“No forcing each other to become something we’re not?”
“No.”
I nodded slowly.
Then I held out my hand.
“Then…” I let out a quiet breath. “We have a deal.”
For the first time, Xavier looked at my outstretched hand instead of my face.
A second later, he reached forward.
His hand wrapped firmly around mine.
The handshake was steady.
Simple.Professional. Yet somehow… It felt like the beginning of something much bigger than either of us understood.
“Good,” he said. “I’ll have my lawyer prepare the contract.”
I couldn’t help smiling a little. “You already have one prepared, don’t you?”
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “…Maybe.”
I laughed softly.
It was the first genuine laugh that had escaped my lips since everything with Tyler had fallen apart.
When our hands separated, I looked down at the ice.
I had no idea what tomorrow would bring.
But for the first time in days…
I wasn’t facing it alone.
- Writer
