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My eyes locked with Mrs. Elliott, and I struggled to grasp what was happening.
How was it possible that she knew he was my father, but her husband didn't? I understood Link not knowing, but how could Mr. Elliott not know that he was going to have a baby? I couldn't imagine my mother telling Mrs. Elliott the news and not my father.
"Harper," she pleaded, her tone desperate. "I don't know what your mom has told you, but please, I'm begging you not to tell Lincoln."
"Mr. Elliott doesn't know?" I narrowed my eyes at her. "How do you know?
"We can't talk about this now," she said. "Not here. They'll be looking for me soon."
She side-stepped me, reaching for the door. What I did next was completely out of character, but I knew if I let her leave, I might never know the truth. She was willing to do whatever she needed to protect her family.
"No." I stepped into her path. "I want the truth now." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Please."
"I promise, Harper," she said. "We can meet tomorrow alone."
"Christian won't let me out of his sight," I said. "So, if you want to do this alone, it's now or never."
"Christian knows."
"He knows there is a possibility that Mr. Elliott is my father," I said. "Him or Dylan West."
"Dylan West." She chuckled, her eyes softening. "Leave it to your mom to make up a name. She was always a clever one."
"I'm sorry?"
"There is no Dylan West." She shook her head. "AJ Elliott is your father."
"How do you know that?" I dropped my arms.
"It's a long story, Harper," she said.
"Make it a short one," I demanded.
"Long story short," she shrugged, "AJ fell in love with your mom at summer camp at twelve years old. Back then, dating someone from the Villas was forbidden. So when we got to high school, our families arranged our life together, and I fell in love with him, but even though they tried to keep them apart, he always ran back to your mom." She pressed her lips into a thin line. "I found out your mom was pregnant, and my family paid her off, but she thought it was AJ."
"How?"
"I found the letter she'd left for him before he did, and I gave it to my parents. They'd been exchanging letters secretly. It said she was pregnant. My family left a wad of cash, and a letter she thought was from him saying he wasn't ready to be a father, and he never wanted to see her again."
My gaze darted around the room, not focusing on anything, as the room spun. It suddenly felt like there wasn't enough air in the room for both of us.
"Harper, are you okay?" She reached out for me, and I jerked out of her reach. My chest rose and fell as I struggled to catch my breath.
"So, when you asked me if I had a good life, you were trying to make yourself feel better about your decision to take my father away from me?"
"Harper," she started.
"No," I cut her off, throwing a hand out. "My mother turned to alcohol after I was born, and sometime after that, she needed something harder to numb her pain. I was in and out of foster care. Men she brought into the house beat me. I haven't lived in a house with running water since I lived with my grandma. But then, a few years ago, my mom took off, and I hadn't seen her since Christian found her. She started a new life without me. She left me with my stepbrother Noah, who beat me if I looked at him wrong, and now they want to kill me so I can't even live a normal life. So, if you need someone to make you feel better about yourself, look elsewhere." I jerked the door open and stormed out.
I was done with this place. I was finished with these people.
Ms. Elliott wasn't to blame for everything that happened to me, and I knew that, but I couldn't help but wonder what my life might have been like if I'd had a father. Would my mom have been different? Would he have gotten custody of me? Would he have even wanted me?
"Harper," Christian said as I passed him. I hadn't even seen him.
"I'm leaving," I demanded, fighting the tears threatening to fall. "I want to leave."
"Okay," he said, stepping in beside me. "Harper, what happened?" I shook my head. "Okay. We'll leave."
