Chapter 5: Harvey's Return

Ashley woke up the next morning feeling the memory of last night's break-in heavy in her chest. The sun streamed through the curtains outside, suggesting that the whole world was exactly as it should be, but Ashley kept thinking that someone out there must be watching, must be hiding just a street over. 

She zipped her sweater up higher around her body before heading into the kitchen. Nathan was already there, sitting at the table with his laptop open in front of him and a steaming mug of coffee at his elbow. 

"You're up early," Ashley said, rubbing her eyes. 

"I don't sleep much." Nathan didn't look up from the screen. His voice was hushed but with the same steely undertone she had grown used to. "Eat something. We have a long day." 

Ashley nodded. She was still too tired to protest, and shuffled into the kitchen to make toast. The smell of warm bread cooking in the toaster filled the small kitchenette. She stood there, waiting, hands drumming against the counter. 

"You found the guys who did this last night, right?" she asked, voice low. 

Nathan finally looked up. "Yes." 

"Are they... what do you do with them?" 

He didn't answer right away, just clicked his laptop shut and set it aside. "Classified," he said simply. 

Ashley exhaled a slow breath. "I suppose I already knew I wouldn't like the answer to that." 

Hours later, Ashley was back to work, buried in her research and the formula arrayed across the lab table. It was good to be so focused, to use her brain for something concrete, something within her control. She scribbled notes for hours, ran test simulations, double and triple-checked her equations. Nathan's shadow moved across the wall at intervals as he shifted in his seat by the door, but he didn't say anything. 

It was almost peaceful. Almost. 

Peace didn't last, though. 

That night, just as they were leaving the lab, Nathan's phone buzzed. He checked it, his face tightening, before walking over and handing it to Ashley. 

"You need to see this." Ashley frowned at him, not understanding, but took the phone. 

The screen was filled with glaring headlines, a photo of Harvey slipping out of a black car in the center. Cindy Hart was at his side, grinning at the cameras, her hair sleek and perfect under the flash, her glittering dress hugging her body. 

The caption below read: 

CINDY HART CONFIRMS RELATIONSHIP WITH HARVEY WEST – ACCUSES JEALOUS FIANCÉE OF TRYING TO SABOTAGE CAREER 

Ashley felt her stomach drop, her grip on the phone tightening reflexively. "She said that?" 

"It's everywhere," Nathan said softly. "You should prepare people to talk." 

Ashley stared at the photo for a long moment. It felt unreal, like she was looking at someone else's life. "How do you even know I'm Harvey's fiancée?" 

Nathan didn't react. "It's my job to know everything about the person I'm protecting." 

"You... investigated me?" Ashley asked, incredulous. 

"It's part of the job," Nathan said calmly. 

Ashley gave the phone back, and didn't say another word until they were back at her apartment. 

That night, Harvey waited for Ashley at her front door. He was leaning against the wall, hair rumpled, suit jacket half-open, looking like he had been pacing the hallway for hours. 

"You've been busy," he said as soon as she stepped out of the elevator. 

Ashley forced her voice to stay calm, even though her pulse was shooting. "What are you doing here?" 

"You're behind this," Harvey said, moving closer to her. "Cindy's PR people are saying someone leaked photos of us together. Who else would do that except you?" 

Ashley unlocked the door and pushed it open. "Come in, Harvey. If you're going to keep accusing me, at least do it somewhere private." 

He stepped inside, still snarling. "You're trying to ruin her career out of spite. Don't you have any idea how hard she's worked to get where she is?"

 Ashley set her bag on the table and faced him, hands planted on either side. "I didn't leak anything. If you're worried about her career, maybe you shouldn't bring her out in public while you're engaged to someone else." 

Harvey threw up his hands. "You're overreacting again. You knew what you were signing up for when you got involved with me." 

Ashley's voice stayed level, though her hands were shaking. "I knew I was marrying a man who told me he loved me. Not a man who thought I would share him with strangers." 

Harvey took another step closer, jaw clenched. "You're making a mountain out of a molehill. Cindy doesn't matter. None of them do. You're the one I'm marrying." 

Ashley stared at him, heart thudding so loudly in her ears she could hear it in the quiet. "You did this, Harvey. You broke us. You don't get to blame me for walking." 

Harvey stared at her, as if he couldn't even hear her voice. Then he let out a breathy laugh, hollow and bitter. "You think you can find someone better than me?" he asked. "Someone with my name, my money, my connections? Be serious, Ashley. Girls would kill to be in your position. You're lucky I want to marry you at all." 

Ashley's chest tightened, but she wouldn't look away. "If this is what being lucky feels like, then I'd rather be unlucky." 

Harvey's jaw clenched. "You're going to regret this." 

"Maybe," Ashley said quietly. "But at least the regret will be mine, not yours." 

He stared at her one more time before turning and storming out, the door banging behind him so hard Ashley thought the frames on the wall would rattle off their hooks. 

Ashley stood in place for a long time after he left, frozen in the silence, her breathing ragged. The air seemed to weigh more heavily than it had before. Nathan's voice came from the kitchen doorway. "You handled that well." 

Ashley jumped, whirling to face him. She hadn't even heard him come in. "You were listening?" 

"I was making sure he didn't cross any lines," Nathan said evenly. "He's emotional. People do stupid things when they're emotional." 

Ashley slumped onto the couch, pressing a hand against her forehead. "He really thinks I won't leave him. Like I'm too insignificant to have any choice in the matter." 

Nathan leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. "Then prove him wrong." 

Ashley stared at her hands, still shaking slightly. "I will." 

Her phone buzzed on the table, lighting up with more headlines, more photos, more strangers on the internet offering their two cents on her life. She turned it off and tried to let the silence envelop her again. 

That night, Ashley sat at her kitchen table long after Nathan had gone quiet in the other room. The place felt different, as if the argument had altered the atmosphere in the room. 

She thought about the girl who had fallen for Harvey in that first minute, the girl who had believed that every gift, every sweet word, meant forever. That girl had waited for him in the rain, had smiled whenever he surprised her with flowers, had thought she was in the middle of a beautiful love story. 

That girl was gone. 

And maybe, Ashley thought as she pushed the phone aside and folded her arms on the table, that was a good thing.