Harper POV
The antiseptic sting of the hospital air hit me before I even opened my eyes.
I woke up in a hospital room again.
This was becoming a pathetic habit.
My knee was throbbing, wrapped tightly in compression bandages. But the sharp pain in my leg was nothing compared to the hollow ache carved into my chest.
"Harper?"
I turned my head slowly. Casey Long was sitting in the uncomfortable plastic chair next to my bed.
His face was ashen, his eyes red-rimmed. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.
"Casey," I croaked, my throat feeling like sandpaper.
He was at my side in an instant, pouring a cup of water. He held the straw to my lips, his hand trembling but gentle.
"I saw the news," he said, his voice shaking with suppressed rage. "The video from the gala is everywhere. Harper... what he did to you..."
"He pushed me," I said simply. "He pushed me to protect her."
Casey slammed his fist against the bed rail, the metal rattling. "I'm going to kill him. I swear to God, Harper, I will go to his office right now and-"
"No," I said. I reached out and circled his wrist with my fingers. "No, Casey."
"He can't get away with this!"
"He won't," I said. My voice was cold. Calm. Dead. "But violence isn't the way. Not yet."
Taking a steadying breath, I told him everything. The birth certificate. The conversation in the cafe. The shattering truth about Leo's death.
Casey listened, silent tears tracking down his face. He held my hand so tight it hurt, but I needed that pain. I needed to know I was still alive.
"I'm done, Casey," I said. "I'm leaving him. For good."
"I'll help you," he said instantly, without a second of hesitation. "Anything you need."
"I need to disappear," I said. "But first, I need to cut the last tie."
I looked down at my stomach.
Casey followed my gaze. Confusion knitted his brows, then realization dawned on his face.
"Harper... are you...?"
"Yes," I said. "But not for long."
"Oh, Harper," he whispered. He didn't judge. He just squeezed my hand tighter, an anchor in the storm.
"I have an appointment tomorrow," I said. "After that, I'm gone."
"I'll drive you," he said. "I'll wait for you. I'll take you wherever you want to go."
"Thank you," I whispered. "For being the only real thing in my life."
We said our goodbyes. He promised to return in the morning.
An hour later, the door opened.
I expected a nurse checking my vitals.
It was Eli.
He walked in like he owned the hospital, radiating arrogance. He looked annoyed, not sorry.
"Finally awake," he said. "Do you have any idea what a PR nightmare you caused last night?"
I stared at him. It was like looking at a stranger. How had I ever loved this man?
"I caused?" I asked, my voice laced with disbelief. "You brought your mistress and your bastard child to our charity event."
"Don't call him that," Eli snapped. "Cody is my son."
"And Leo was your son too," I said, the name tasting like ash. "Or did you forget him while you were 'playing' with Kasey?"
Eli flinched. "That... that was a misunderstanding. Cody is a child, he makes up stories."
"I have the birth certificate, Eli," I said. "I know everything."
He stopped. He walked over to the window, looking out at the city skyline.
"Fine," he said. "So you know. What do you want? More money? I told you I'd give you the shares."
He turned back to me, a cold smirk playing on his lips.
"Actually," he said, "I've already filed for custody of Cody. Kasey and I are going to be a family. A public one. You can stay, keep the house, keep the title of Mrs. Stark. We can have an arrangement."
He thought I was that desperate. He thought I was that weak.
"I want a divorce," I said.
Eli laughed, a harsh, barking sound. "You won't leave me, Harper. You have nowhere to go. You have no one."
"I want a divorce," I repeated. "And I want nothing from you. No money. No shares. Just out."
I reached into my bag and pulled out the crumpled copy of Leo's death certificate and Cody's birth certificate. I threw them at him.
They fluttered to the floor between us like white flags of a war I was finished fighting.
"Pick them up," I said.
Eli looked down. The dates stared back at him.
"I'm done, Eli."
He looked at me, really looked at me, for the first time in years. He saw the abyssal emptiness in my eyes.
"Fine," he sneered. "Leave. But don't expect a penny. You'll be on the street."
He walked to the door. Hand on the handle, he paused.
"Oh, and Harper?" he said, looking back with a cruel glint in his eyes. "I hope you're not thinking of keeping that thing inside you. I won't pay child support for another burden."
He knew. He must have seen my medical chart.
"Don't worry," I said, my hand resting protectively yet decisively over my abdomen. "I'm taking care of it."
"Good," he said. "One less mistake to clean up."
He slammed the door, the sound echoing like a gunshot.
The room was silent.
I closed my eyes. A single tear leaked out, hot and stinging.
"Mistake," I whispered.
I looked at the clock. Twelve hours until my appointment. Twelve hours until I was free.
"You're not a mistake," I said to the tiny cluster of cells inside me. "But you are a price I have to pay."
I grabbed my phone and texted the lawyer.
Draft the papers. I'm ready.
Then I texted Casey.
I'm ready to go.
I lay back against the pillows. My knee throbbed. My heart bled.
But for the first time in four years, my mind was crystalline clear.
"Bastard?" I echoed Eli's word.
"No," I said into the darkness. "He is just the cost of breaking my chains."
