MasukHarper's POV:Hardin drifted off to sleep before me. I wished this moment could last forever. Just me lying on his chest while he's off in his dreamland."Hmmmph..." He was murmuring something in his sleep. I tried placing my ear close to his mouth, but I couldn't make out his words."I'm...I'm — I'm sorry... Harper." I finally made sense of what he was saying.Fuck. My heart twisted at that. Here he was apologizing even in his sleep.I wished it were that easy. I know I love him, but a part of me still wants to make sense of it all. Am I sure I'm still not just a tool to him? A tool to get back at my fucking ex-husband? That thought keeps nagging at me.He loves you. A voice spoke into my head as if responding to the question sitting in my heart."Fuck, I know." I didn't realize I'd said that out loud. Hardin shifted in his sleep. I quickly snapped my eyes shut and pretended I was asleep too. I didn't want him worried that I wasn't sleeping...I didn't even know when I finally drifted
Hardin's POV: "I just want to be happy, Hardin — I really just want to be." I heard her choke on her words and it ruined me. I had seen how devastated she was when I told her about Connor. I had been dreading the day I'd have to tell her, but I knew I couldn't keep it from her anymore. It had been eating me alive every day. I didn't know I'd fall this deeply in love with this woman. I had approached her that night, following up on Connor and his ex-wife. When my guys told me they'd seen her get on a plane to L.A, I was excited that my game plan to destroy Connor and his family was set in motion, but now I'm regretting ever thinking she was just a tool to get to Connor. "And you know I want that for you, Harper. I really want to make you happy. I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but I really do. I'm sorry, Harper." I had to say it. If it takes me an eternity to keep apologizing to her, I'd do it. She didn't move from where we were on the stairs, but she'd stopped crying now
Harper's POV:"It's not a prank, Harper, I'm being serious." I could see tears on the brim of his eyes. I was up from the bed now.I stared at him. I didn't know how or what to say to him....'gosh, this is hard.'"Say something, Harper," he almost whispered."What do you want me to say, Hardin?—you know what? Let's talk about this later. You need to rest." I said, leaving the room.I didn't know how to compose myself in front of him anymore. I literally just told him how much I love him, and that's not a lie. I still do, even with everything I just heard from him, but it's all too much."Ma'am, your friend is still here." One of my maids said to me on the stairs as I was heading to my garden. I needed that earth feeling right now. It's where I sometimes go to clear my head when everything gets too jumbled together."Oh...yes." I immediately snapped out of my reverie. 'That bitch is still in my house.'"Jessica, get out of my house. I don't have anything to say to you." I said the mome
Harper’s POV:“Hardin!” I rushed to him and wrapped my arms around him too tight, like if I held on hard enough, nothing else could take him away again.“Hey… easy,” he said, his voice rough, almost breaking.I pulled back fast, my hands still gripping his shirt. “Sorry. I’m sorry.”His breathing came out uneven, like each breath took effort, and it scared me more than anything.“I’ll get you water,” I said, already turning, already moving, because doing something felt better than standing there and watching him like this.His hand caught my wrist.“Don’t go.”“You need it.”“I’m fine.”His fingers stayed wrapped around me, firm even when the rest of him didn’t look it. His skin felt cold, and his eyes… they didn’t have that sharp edge I was used to. That scared me more.“You’re not—”He pulled me down with him, and the rest of my words disappeared when his lips met mine.For a second, I froze. Then I gave in.I kissed him back like I had been waiting for it without knowing it. His li
Harper’s POV:I didn’t know what to do. I was confused as hell. Hardin and I still spoke before I had to talk to Hailey. I had called Roman, at least he’s Hardin’s doctor.“Listen to me, Harper,” Roman had said twice. I couldn’t wait, I had rushed downstairs to speak to my workers. We needed to carry Hardin to the hospital. I was losing it. I couldn't afford to lose him. Never!“Ma’am you phone keeps buzzing, I think you need to see this.” One of my workers rushed to me with my phone.“Get out of here.” I was erratic.“Harper! You have to hear me.” I heard Roman’s voice from the phone again. “Hardin is not dead.” I paused. My gateman was already calling 911.“Wait,” I told my gateman. “Give me the phone,” I grabbed my phone from her. I was looking at Hardin lifeless on my bed. ‘You can’t leave me here,’ I thought to myself as I listened to Roman absentmindedly.“It’s just the stress blackout he gets—his vagus nerve just crashed. His body is basically in a forced reboot. Don’t try to
Harper’s POV:Hailey's heels hit the floor first.That sharp click, click, cutting through the silence of the interrogation room before the rest of her even fully cleared the doorway... like every room she walked into needed a warning she was coming.The other attorney followed behind her. Like somewhere between the hallway and this door she'd already settled the question of who was leading and who was following.I kept my palm pressed against my jaw and watched her move to the chair across the table... watched her open that briefcase and spread her files across the metal surface without rushing, without looking at me, like she had all the time in the world and this room wasn't costing me anything.Hardin's hand stayed on my shoulder from where he stood beside me. Still. Reading everything... reading the air, reading me, waiting to see which direction this was going to go."So..." I let the word sit there for a second. "How exactly are you planning to help me, Hailey?"She looked up f
Harper's POV:Something warm pressed against my side and my eyes cracked open slow.Hardin.He was still here... still asleep next to me with his arm thrown across my waist like he was afraid I'd disappear if he let go.My chest did this stupid flutter thing and I hated it... hated that just lookin
Hardin’s POV:The phone kept ringing in my hand and I couldn't make myself move, couldn't make myself answer it even though Harper was staring at me waiting.Hailey calling Harper's phone.How did she even get this number?"Pick it up." Harper's voice came out flat and dead. "I want to hear what sh
Harper's POV"Hardin doesn't love you... he doesn't know how to love anyone but himself."The woman standing in front of me was babbling and I wasn't supposed to be down here in this lobby, I'd just wanted to sleep the night off, let everything that happened today stop weighing on me like stones in
Harper's POV:The door slammed behind him and my legs gave out.I hit the floor hard, my knees cracking against the wood, and the sound that came out of me was somewhere between a scream and a sob that I tried to swallow back down my throat.His cologne still hung in the air... that clean, expensiv







