ch 7
637 Words
The glass of wine in Harper’s hand trembled, the red rippling under the kitchen light. Liam stood across from her, his face pale with every passing second. She set the glass down slowly. “Then tell me,” she said, her voice low. “What is it, Liam? What am I thinking?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “It’s complicated.”
“That’s not an answer.” she yelled angrily. He sighed. “You know how business works...”
“No,” she cut him off sharply. “Don’t hide behind business. Tell me what you were doing with her.”
He hesitated too long, that his silence confirmed everything. Harper laughed a short and bitter one. “Wow. You didn’t even try to lie.”
“Harper, I didn’t plan for it to happen,” Liam said finally. “It just...”
“Just what, huh, what Liam.” Her voice broke. “Don’t you dare use that word. Just happened is what you say about spilling coffee, not sleeping with someone behind my back.”
Liam’s expression hardened. “You don’t understand what it’s been like, Harper. You have been distant for months...” Her eyes widened. “So this is my fault?”
“I’m not saying that,” he said quickly. “But you have changed. You used to care about what we were building. Lately it’s like you’re somewhere else.”
Her laugh was hollow. “Maybe because I have been trying to hold together a marriage that’s already falling apart.”
He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I made a mistake, okay? I ended it. Nora doesn’t mean anything now.”
“Then why is she still funding your company?”
His silence returned. Harper shook her head slowly. “You’re not just cheating on me, Liam. You’re using her. You’re lying to both of us.”
He stepped closer, voice softening. “I’m trying to fix things. I still love you.” She stepped back. “Don’t say that.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s too easy for you,” she whispered. “You get to say the words while I get to live with the ruins.”
The room fell quiet. The only sound was the hum of the refrigerator, the storm pressing against the windows. Liam looked down, defeated. “I will sleep in the guest room tonight.”
“Don’t bother,” she said. “I’m not staying here.” He looked up sharply. “Where will you go?”
She hesitated, then lied. “Grace’s place.”
But as she grabbed her bag, her phone buzzed a s message from Jaxon:Are you okay?
She typed back.
No. Can we meet, please.
Harper reached the old pier. Jaxon was there waiting for her. She run toward him and hugged him while crying.
She took a shaky breath. “He admitted it.” Jaxon’s jaw clenched. “I’m sorry.”
She looked away. “You were right about him. About everything.”
He stepped closer. “You didn’t deserve this.”
“Maybe I did,” she whispered. “I wasn’t honest either.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
Harper met his eyes, fully. “Because the whole time I was trying to save my marriage… I was already thinking about you.”
Jaxon reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “Harper,” he murmured. “You don’t have to pretend anymore. Now that you know everything we can be together. Just me and you.”
She closed her eyes, caught between pain and relief. “ I can't. If I do that, everything will fall apart.”
When she looked at him again, Jaxon was there looking at her, heartbroken. "I'm sorry." She whispered.
- Writer
