She hangs up, and I stand at the window, staring down at Victor, my heart racing.
He's really there. Standing in the snow. Waiting for me.
Fighting for me.
I grab my coat—the first one I can find, which happens to be a puffy winter monstrosity that makes me look like a overgrown marshmallow—and shove my feet into boots.
My hair is a disaster. My face is makeup-free and probably still slightly green from the hangover. The cartoon cat pajamas are visible under my coat.
I look like I've been hit by a truck.
But Victor is waiting.
So I run downstairs, through the quiet house, out the front door?—
And stop.
Because he’s right there. Ten feet away. Looking at me like I’m some sort of walking, talking long-lost treasure that he’s just found again.
"Hi," he says after several seconds of staring.
I swallow. “Hi back to you.”
“So, you watched the video."
“I did. Turns out three million other people watched it too."
"I don't care about them. I care about you."
We stare at each other across the snowy sidewalk.
"You're going to get hypothermia," I say finally.
"Probably."
"You've been out here for almost forty minutes."
"Has it been that long? I stopped feeling my feet around minute twenty."
"Victor—"
"I meant every word, Harper. Everything I said in that video. I love you. I trust you. And I'm so fucking sorry for what I did."
My throat is tight. "You called me a liar. You compared me to Isabelle. You fired me in front of everyone."
"I know. And I'll spend the rest of my life regretting it. But I'm asking—begging—for a chance to make it right."
"How? How do you make that right?"
"I don't know. But I'll figure it out. Every day. For as long as you'll let me." He takes a step closer. "I found out Patricia was the mole. She was working with Vanessa Chu the whole time. She sent those screenshots to destroy us. To remove me as CEO. And it almost worked."
"Almost?"
"I fired her. Called Rachel. We're building a case for corporate espionage." Another step closer. "And I talked to Alexei. My brother. The one I punched."
My eyes widen. "You talked to him?"
"He's been trying to reach me for three years. Emails. Calls. Letters. I blocked all of it." Victor's jaw tightens. "Turns out—turns out he and Isabelle never cheated behind my back."
