Love You, Forever and Always

"You didn't use one this time?"

Harper Sullivan sipped the warm milk in silence, her eyes falling to the floor where only one wrapper lay discarded. But tonight, Ryan Delgado had taken her three times.

Her face went pale.

"How… how could you forget? What if I end up pregnant?"

But Ryan didn't look the least bit worried. In fact, he smiled, reaching beneath the thin, sheer fabric that barely covered her.

"I did it on purpose," he whispered, biting softly at her earlobe, teasing. "If you get pregnant, I'll marry you. We'll have a grand wedding. I'll give you and our child a proper name. Even your dad will have to accept me. How about that?"

Harper's face flushed scarlet. She quickly covered his mouth before he could say anything more outrageous.

Ryan loved her most in this state—flustered, embarrassed, and just a little angry.

"Why are you always like this…"

He buried his face in the soft curve of her neck, inhaling deeply. His voice turned hoarse. "Let's stop using anything, alright? If you get pregnant, I'll finally have a reason to ask your father for your hand."

Something stirred in Harper's heart.

The Sullivan and Delgado families had been locked in a ruthless business rivalry for years. Yet she, always obedient and proper, had been secretly dating Ryan for three years behind her parents' backs.

Maybe… if she had a child, her parents' hearts might finally soften.

Sleepiness crept in like a tide. She drifted off, barely conscious.

But it didn't last. A sharp, twisting pain in her stomach jolted her awake. She stumbled to the bathroom and vomited up all the milk she had just drunk.

From the living room, a voice rang out, casual and cruel. "You really plan to knock Harper up and then marry her, huh, Ryan?"

Ryan lit a cigarette. His phone was on speaker.

"The first part, yeah. But marry her? Please. Not a chance. As soon as the baby's born, I'm tossing her aside."

Harper felt like she was living a nightmare. But the pain in her thigh, where she pinched herself hard—pain sharp and real—told her this was no dream.

Laughter erupted from the phone, unrestrained and mocking.

"Getting dumped by your family's mortal enemy while pregnant out of wedlock? Harper's reputation is done for! No one'll touch her again! And that old con Gabe—bet he'll have a stroke when he finds out his grandchild's got Delgado blood running in their veins. Serves him right!"

Amid the laughter, one voice cut through, jarring and out of place. "Isn't it a little much to drag an innocent girl into this just to get back at Gabe?"

That was the question Harper had been asking herself too.

Three years ago, she had gone to a bar with classmates to celebrate graduation. By mistake, she drank a spiked drink. A group of drunk men dragged her into a private room and started tearing at her clothes.

Ryan had burst in just in time and beat them senseless.

Her mind was a haze. She clung to him, desperate, begging for him.

When she woke and saw who it was—Ryan—and then saw the marks all over her body, she had wanted to die from the shame.

"Don't worry," he had said, "No one else will ever know about this. Not even your father."

She'd looked up, startled.

So he knew who she was all along. Then why save her?

If she had really been ruined that night, the Delgado family would've had the perfect card to play.

"I've been watching the Sullivan family for years. I just didn't expect to fall for you." He had wrapped her in his shirt.

"I've got a thing about cleanliness. I don't even like brushing against strangers. But with you… I lost all control."

The look in his eyes—part exasperation, part deep affection—had captured her heart.

But Ryan's cold snort pulled her back to the present.

"Innocent? Don't make me laugh… At the graduation ceremony, Harper just had to be the center of attention. Her dad pulled strings to kick Olivia out of her valedictorian speech! When Olivia confronted them, Gabe humiliated her. She cried for an entire day and ended up going abroad. That night, I staged my little rescue act at the bar. That was the start of my revenge."

The truth hit harder than she could have imagined.

Even the beginning—their so-called fateful encounter—had been a calculated move.

She was still sore, her body aching from the night's passion. But now, everything spun around her. She nearly collapsed.

Ryan looked up sharply, eyes scanning the corner.

No one was there.

Still, a frown tugged at his brow.

Then he remembered—the milk. He'd laced it with sleeping pills.

Relaxing, he let it go.

Harper covered her mouth and quietly retreated to the bedroom.

Only once she collapsed on the bed did the tears finally fall.

Her phone buzzed. The screen lit up with one word: Dad

"Harper, sweetie, George's son is coming back from abroad in a week. This time, you have to accept the family engagement with the Dawsons. You've been out there for years and haven't even dated anyone. If you're satisfied with him, let's go ahead and get engaged."

Because of Ryan's background, Harper had lied to her parents for years, pretending she was single.

She'd given him everything—her heart, her body, everything—hoping their love would grow strong enough that he'd eventually bow his head to her father.

In the end, she was the only fool in the show.

Swallowing her sobs, Harper nodded to the phone.

"Dad, Mom… I've thought it through. I'm willing to go through with the engagement."

Gabe was elated.

"That's wonderful! I've already made plans with George to shift our business focus overseas. I was just worried you wouldn't want to leave. Now our whole family can stay together!"