Page 111 of The Truth of Us

Harper smiled, which hurt, and then without addressing Theo’s ridiculousness she asked, "Where's Julian?"

Theo's grin widened. "He had another event with our girl, Luce."

Harper's expression softened again. "That's nice." Her eyes flicked toward the ballroom, then back. "I'm happy for them." The words were kind, genuine, and ‌they went through my chest like a blade. Because I thought of Julian and Lucy. The way he watched her. How she softened him, and before I could stop myself, before I could be smart or careful or anything other than pathetic, I said, "What we had was better."

The words were quiet. But Harper heard them; everyone did. Rowan went still, and Caleb's eyes closed briefly. Theo muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like, "Oh, buddy."

Harper turned to me, and for the first time that night, she really looked at me. Her eyes were calm, and I think that was worse. Anger, I could have handled. Anger would have meant there was still something hot enough to burn.

This was something else; her voice was quiet but resolved when she said, "No, Elliot."

My chest tightened, and I swallowed hard, saying, "I got scared and f… messed it up, but it was better we were Us."

“Please stop." She studied me for a moment, as if she were trying to decide whether saying more was worth the effort. Then she did, "Julian chose Lucy."

The words were simple but devastating. I couldn't speak. Harper's eyes held mine when she added, "You chose to hurt me." I flexed my hands to stop myself from reaching out and pulling her to me, but Harper stood her ground and continued, saying, "I do wish you well, Mr. Vale."

I felt like I couldn’t breathe; she was right there in front of me but so far away.

The room kept moving. People laughed. Glasses clinked. Music played. But around us, everything went quiet.

"Harper," I said.

Her name came out wrong. Broken.

She shook her head once, saying, "Not tonight ."

Then Alexander appeared at her side, his gaze landing on me. He looked at me like he knew exactly who I was to his daughter, as if he were assessing whether I should be allowed to be in the same space as her. And for the first time in my adult life, I understood what it felt like to be weighed and found lacking without a single word being spoken.

"Mr. Vale," he said.

I forced myself to meet his eyes. "Mr. Montgomery."

He looked at me a beat too long, then turned to Harper. "My angel, the board is waiting."

She nodded, then looked back at me once with a look I didn’t know how to interpret, and walked away with her father. I stood there, unable to move.

Theo exhaled slowly. "That went well."

No one laughed, not even Theo.

I tried to take a deep breath, but it wasn’t working. "I need air."

"You need a lot more than air," Rowan muttered.

I ignored him and started toward the edge of the ballroom, but I barely made it ten steps before an older man stepped into my path.

"Vale, isn't it?"

I blinked at him. "Yes."

"Edward Carlisle."

The name registered somewhere through the fog. One of the foundation board members, old money, with strong political connections, the kind of man who knew everyone.

He shook my hand. "Northwell, yes?"

"Yes," I answered, still feeling the need to escape and get a grip on my spiralling thoughts.