AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 19
Harper had wished that she could erase what she had seen. The demoralizing, breath-stealing moment between Marianne and Brian haunted her thoughts. It was enough to make her feel eternally sick. It almost made her wonder just what else could go wrong next for her. There was just no way of predicting the lunacy of it all.
Never in a million years would she have predicted that her best friend and husband would be nearing a kiss in her own home. But then again, she had never imagined herself marrying Brian to begin with. None of it made any sense to her, and none it ever would, most likely.
She hadn’t slept the night prior after seeing what she saw, and the following night she had barely slept as well. She didn’t know what to do. When she had spotted Marianne come close to Brian, she’d run up the stairs and tripped rather loudly on the way. The little cut to her ankle didn’t even hurt compared to the pain that she felt after seeing them together. So much for swaying Brian into loving her. She had confessed her love in the hopes of doing so and what was the effect? It drove him to Marianne.
Harper felt like an utter fool. Not only that, but she also felt like a vulnerable fool. Everything that she wished that she had kept concealed was out in the open with no way of making her intentions unknown. There was no safe way out of the situation without looking foolish.
The nights that were spent awake, she did give her best attempts at trying to figure out other explanations for what she saw. But no excuses came to mind. The only solace was the fact that she had not seen Brian’s reaction to her advances. But that still did little to comfort her. The whole situation was heartbreaking.
That morning, Harper used her lack of sleep to her advantage and ate breakfast in the dining room far earlier than Brian. She sat there at the table by herself wanting to cry but holding it all in while stuffing her face with eggs and bacon.
The world around her had been normal. It was her own that felt wrong. Just eating breakfast by herself made her think about her life ahead and whether or not it’d be filled with the same loneliness that surrounded her at the table.
She ate quick though, trying her best to avoid Brian’s eventual presence. It was still very early, but she did not want to take any chances. She had even gone over it in her mind about what she would do if she bumped into him that morning.
Her first choice would be to not say anything to him, to simply ignore him and let Brian know how just wrong he was. The second choice was to be truthful in her feelings, no matter how angry her words would be. But truthfully, she didn’t want to do either. She simply wanted nothing to do with him.
With only a few eggs left on her plate, she thought that she heard a noise emanating from upstairs. It could have been staff, but it could have also been Brian, which meant that it was time for her to retreat to her room.
She pushed her plate to the middle of the table, guzzled down her juice and bolted from the table.
She had used light steps while running through halls. She did not want to garner the attention of any servants or Brian on her way back. Her mood wouldn’t allow for basic conversation. She could imagine herself snapping at the staff with a short temper. That was just how she felt.
When she finally reached her room, she ran inside and quickly locked the door. After the click, she fell to the floor and let out a big sigh. All she needed was for Brian to leave so she could roam the house freely and not worry about any conflict. She knew herself, the second she saw him she would unleash her temper. It was best for him to be on his way. Maybe some time apart would do them some good. She figured that it might have even cooled her temper to an extent.
Moments later, Harper could hear the loud thuds of steps walking past her door. It had to be Brian heading down for breakfast. Her instincts had been correct. She had a slight tinge of joy knowing that her foolish running throughout the house had not been for no reason.
Harper pulled herself up from the floor and laid herself back down on the bed. She had made sure that his trip had been all arranged for. Meeting with the staff, she explained that she wanted to make sure he was out of the house for London by mid-day. That was how she knew for sure that the trip would go off without a hitch. All she needed to do was get through the morning.
But then she heard the same thuds walking down the hallway once more followed by the sounds of muffled voices. So, she brought herself from the bed to the door to make out what the voices were saying.
Right away, she recognised Brian’s voice and it was filled with frustration. The other voice had been one of the maids.
“What do you mean she arranged for my trip? I wasn’t supposed to leave for a few days.”
“She arranged for you to leave today. She had told us that is was at your command.”
The conversation went on for only a few more sentences until those loud thuds of steps grew closer to her door. Out of instinct, even though the door had been locked, Harper moved a few spaces back. Something told her that Brian was looking to speak her.
“Harper,” Brian said through the door, confirming her assumption. “What is the meaning of all this? Why did you arrange for my trip to be today…and why didn’t you tell me?”
She rolled her eyes, annoyed at the fact that he had expected her to report to him her every move even after all that he had said. She owed him nothing in her mind.
Harper had debated with herself on if she should have replied to him through the door, but she decided against it. She would let him speak until he ran out of breath. And then he would be on his way.
“Harper…speak to me. What is the matter?”
Marianne was her only thought. But she said not a word.
“Harper…as per what you have arranged, I will be leaving shortly. And then we will not get to speak at all. So, I am asking you nicely, please speak to me.”
She almost did but stopped herself. Instead, she eyed the door until he eventually walked away. Those thuds were nothing more than light raps to her ears, slowly getting softer and softer.
Harper had no interest in seeing him after what she’d witnessed with Marianne. But she also had wished he’d stayed.
