Two months into the long-distance arrangement, I decided to surprise him.
I flew to New York and waited across the street from his building, my suitcase beside me.
That’s when I saw him.
Harper walked toward the building with a woman beside him, her hand brushing his arm. He opened the door for her, and they disappeared inside together.
My chest constricted, but instead of leaving, I followed. I told myself there had to be an explanation. I rode the elevator up and stopped outside his apartment door.
At first, there was silence.
Then I heard them.
The laughter, the low sounds, and then the unmistakable rhythm and sound of two bodies finding pleasure in each other.
I stood there frozen in the hallway, my hand hovering inches from the door, my heart pounding so loudly I thought it might echo through the walls.
By the time I walked away, something inside me had already gone quiet. Whatever we had was broken, and I didn’t want an ending filled with accusations and explanations that wouldn’t change anything.
So I said nothing.
The next week I flew to New York again and ended it face-to-face. It took a long time to get over him. His calls and messages afterward only made it harder, reopening wounds that were trying to heal.
Eventually, I stopped answering.
Then one day, his final message came through.
HARPER
I’ll always be there for you, no matter what and whenever you need me. Take care. Love to Lucas.
I shook my head, bringing myself back to the present.
Patty continued to preach to me.“You can’t be alone forever, and Caleb seems nice.”
“He is nice,” I said, continuing to wipe the dishes.“His date on Friday night probably thought so too.”
“He has a girlfriend?”
I shrugged. “I don’t think so. But he dates. The other week, when we went clubbing, he was with a woman.”Evidence I clung to, because it kept me safe.“I don’t think they’re any more serious about him than he is about them.”Casual. Detached. That was the version of him I needed him to be.
“Perhaps he’s waiting for the right woman to be serious about.”
Perhaps… Someone uncomplicated. Someone without a past stitched together by survival.“I don’t need a man to make me happy,” I said, desperatelyhoping for inspiration to change the subject.“I am honestly fine the way I am.”Fine had become my shield. Fine meant functional. Fine meant safe.
Patty stopped and gently held my shoulders, looking straight into my eyes. “My dear, one day you’ll wake up and see that Lucas has grown up and has a life of his own.”
The image stole my breath—Lucas taller than me, independent… gone.
“Then you’ll be all alone.”
The words echoed louder than it should have.
She took the dish from my hands and squeezed them softly. “You need to start living your life while you still can,” she said gently. “Don’t be afraid to love again. Not all love betrays or leaves.” Patty left the kitchen; her words hung in the air.
If she only knew.I hadn’t told Patty, or Elle, or Donna about Harper’s infidelity.
Betrayal like that was something I could never tolerate. What hurt most wasn’t the cheating—it was that I had trusted him with my past and allowed him into Lucas’s life. That kind of trust deserved honesty, and he hadn’t given me that. I would never risk that again. Not with Lucas’s heart tied to mine. Never.
