CHAPTER 6

Harper

I stared at Damian after he ended the call.

“You really told him that?”

Damian slipped his phone into his pocket.

“Told him what?”

“That I’m your wife.”

His eyes locked on mine.

“You are my wife.”

“Fake wife.”

“Not to the rest of the world.”

I hated how much that answer affected me.

Before I could reply, footsteps echoed through the hallway.

A second later, Lily appeared wearing pink pajamas and holding her stuffed bear.

“Daddy?”

Damian immediately softened.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

Lily rubbed her eyes.

“I had a bad dream.”

Damian crouched beside her.

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

She nodded.

“Mommy left again.”

My heart squeezed.

Damian looked devastated for a second.

Then Lily’s eyes found me.

“Can Harper stay with me?”

I froze.

Damian glanced at me.

Only one word came out of my mouth.

“Sure.”

Lily smiled.

“Really?”

“Really.”

She ran over and hugged my waist.

The gesture was so sudden that I nearly lost my balance.

Damian watched silently.

Something unreadable flashed in his eyes.

Ten minutes later, I was sitting on Lily’s bed while she curled up under her blanket.

“Story?” she asked.

“You want a story?”

She nodded.

“Please.”

I looked at Damian.

“Help.”

He laughed quietly.

The sound surprised me.

“Why are you looking at me?”

“Because I don’t know any bedtime stories.”

“Impossible.”

“I’m serious.”

Lily giggled.

“You can make one up.”

I sighed dramatically.

“Fine.”

For the next fifteen minutes, I invented a ridiculous story about a princess who hated vegetables and a dragon who loved cupcakes.

Lily laughed the entire time.

Even Damian smiled.

When the story ended, Lily yawned.

“That was silly.”

“It was supposed to be.”

She reached for my hand.

“Will you still be here tomorrow?”

The question hurt more than it should have.

“I’ll be here.”

“Promise?”

I hesitated.

Then I nodded.

“Promise.”

Within minutes she was asleep.

Damian and I quietly left the room.

The hallway felt strangely intimate.

“She likes you,” he said.

I crossed my arms.

“She barely knows me.”

“She doesn’t trust people easily.”

I looked toward Lily’s door.

“She misses her mom.”

“She does.”

“I’m not trying to replace her.”

“I know.”

We stood there in silence.

Finally, I spoke.

“Did Ethan always have issues with you?”

Damian laughed without humor.

“Since the day he was born.”

“That bad?”

“Worse.”

I followed him into the kitchen.

He poured himself coffee even though it was almost midnight.

“You should sleep.”

“So should you.”

“I’m not the one drinking coffee.”

He smirked.

“You sound like a wife.”

My cheeks heated.

“Don’t start.”

“Start what?”

“This.”

He leaned against the counter.

“Harper, you blush every time I tease you.”

“I do not.”

“You do.”

“Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re enjoying this.”

“I am enjoying this.”

I grabbed a bottle of water.

“You’re impossible.”

“And you’re adorable when you’re annoyed.”

I nearly choked.

“Did Damian Blackwood just call me adorable?”

“Maybe.”

“Someone should check your temperature.”

His laugh filled the room.

For a moment everything felt normal.

Too normal.

Then my phone buzzed.

The screen showed Sofia’s name.

I answered immediately.

“Hey.”

“Turn on the news.”

My stomach dropped.

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

I grabbed the remote.

Within seconds a news channel appeared.

My blood turned cold.

A photo of me and Damian filled the screen.

The headline underneath made my hands shake.

BLACKWOOD BRIDE CONNECTED TO OLD FAMILY SCANDAL.

“What is this?” Damian demanded.

The reporter continued speaking.

“Sources claim Harper Vale may have entered the Blackwood family seeking revenge for events connected to her late mother.”

My heart stopped.

“No.”

Sofia cursed on the other end.

“It gets worse.”

The screen changed.

Another photo appeared.

This time it was me visiting my mother’s grave last year.

Then another.

Then another.

Someone had been following me.

Someone had been watching me.

Damian’s expression turned deadly.

“Who leaked this?”

The reporter kept talking.

“An anonymous source claims Harper Vale spent months investigating Blackwood Enterprises before marrying CEO Damian Blackwood.”

I couldn’t breathe.

The room spun.

“Someone knows,” I whispered.

Damian grabbed the remote and muted the television.

His jaw was clenched.

“Mason is going to find out who did this.”

My phone buzzed again.

Unknown number.

A message appeared.

I opened it.

My blood turned to ice.

I know what happened to your mother.

Meet me alone tomorrow.

If Damian comes, the proof disappears forever.

A photo arrived seconds later.

I stared at it.

Then my knees nearly gave out.

“What is it?” Damian asked.

I couldn’t answer.

“Harper.”

My hands trembled.

“Harper, talk to me.”

Slowly, I turned the phone toward him.

The picture showed my mother.

Standing beside Richard Blackwood.

And in Richard’s hand was the exact letter everyone had been searching for.

The letter that was supposed to be missing.

The letter that could destroy the entire Blackwood family. And someone had finally found it.