Page 254 of The Rebel Billionaire

Gabe lightly slaps my cheek. It burns, and I inhale sharply, before I begin to cough, and finally give way to the sobs.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he says, pulling me into his arms.

“No, no, no,” I say. “He can’t be.”

By the time we arrive home, Gabe has explained that Dad was on his way to collect me when a drunk driver ran him off the road and into a tree, killing him instantly.

Mum rushes out to meet us, her face blotchy, her eyes red from crying. She pulls me into her arms, but I’m numb. It’s as if a cold chill has enveloped my body and frozen all my emotions.

“Thank God you’re safe,” she whispers against my hair.

Later, we go to visit him at the chapel of rest. The closer we get to the room, the worse the pain becomes. It’s as if something inside me has snapped. It feels like hands are locked around my throat, strangling me. By the time we reach the door, my body gives out and I collapse on the floor, my body numb, spots dancing before my eyes.

“Harper?”

Mum clasps my face in her hands. “Harper, you need to breathe, my darling.”

I try, drawing in one shuddering breath after another, but the overwhelming sense of dread that’s consuming me has me bent double as I’m racked with invisible pain.

It’s Elijah who scoops me up and holds me, grounding me within his enormous embrace, blocking out the world and cocooning me.

He cradles my head, his heartbeat strong beneath my ear, showing me that, even though my world feels like it’s ended, he is here for me.

I look up at him, shaking my head frantically, my eyes refilling with tears. It’s as if now they’ve started, they’ll never stop.

“I can’t,” I whisper. “I can’t.”

Mum moves behind me, encasing me from behind.

“It’s okay. If you can’t, you shouldn’t,” she says. “You stay here, and if you change your mind…”

Elijah and Mum let me go, guiding me to a nearby chair, as they all disappear into the room that holds my father.

I sit there in the silence. I have no right to be in there with them. If it wasn’t for me, he would still be here, hugging Mum, slapping Eli on the back. Because of me, he’s gone. If I hadn’t acted like an immature child, he would never have been on the road last night. How can they even stand to look at me?

Alex pulls me hard against him as if trying to absorb my pain as I relive the worst moment of my life. I go willingly.

“It wasn’t your fault,” he says, brushing his lips against my hair, holding me the way he did the night Kat was rushed into hospital.

“I know that now, but for years, I blamed myself… lived with all the what-if’s…”

“You’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met, especially after what you’ve been through over the past nine months.”

I pull back, running a hand over my cheeks.

I flinch. “You said you read articles. You’ve seen the tape?” I ask, unable to meet his gaze.

He shakes his head, my eyes locking with his. “They were fake, a cruel manipulation by sick individuals. You were a virgin when we first slept together and even if you hadn’t been, I would refuse to give them airtime.”

“But they’re going to follow me around like a bad smell for the rest of my life,” I say, wanting him to realise what loving me means.

“I know you, Harper Frazer, and that delectable body of yours.”

“My middle name is Brooke,” I admit.

He returns my smile, and I wonder how I got so lucky. “I know that too, although going forward maybe we can try whole truths, no more half-truths.”

He clasps my chin in his hand. His eyes sparkle, and I then realise I’m not wearing my green contacts.