HARPER
Camilla gripped a lock of my hair, her minty breath hot against my neck as she whispered. "I just enjoy watching you suffer, Harper. That's all."
Nothing new. So, I wasn't surprised. I pushed her away from me, watching her stumble two steps backward. She gasped as her hand hit the wall.
Camilla's eyes narrowed into slits, and she hissed out her words. "Are you nuts? I almost sprained my ankle!"
"To be honest, it would have made me feel a lot happier. At least, it would take a while before I see those stinky feet of yours in between my doors." I said, stepping inside. I slammed the door shut in her face.
"You…bitch!" Camilla growled, pounding her fists on the door.
I ignored it, sliding down the length. I heaved a breath, raking my hands through my hair. My mind wandered briefly to the argument earlier, and I clutched my cheek. I winced, feeling the pain in there. It was little compared to the pain in my heart. It wasn't easy letting go of a seven-year relationship. Of course, I tried to put on a facade in the presence of Owen, like I didn't care.
I acted as if I wasn't affected, seeing the news about Camilla and Owen all the damned time, while I was labelled the homewrecker. The snitch. The slut who didn't know her place and tried to get together with the 'prince.'
All those feelings left a bitter taste at the back of my throat, and no amount of sweetness would be able to wash the feelings away.
I sniffed hard as tears began to gather in my eyes once more, but I couldn't push it back in as I tasted the saltiness.
"What happens if we were ever in a circumstance where you were to choose someone else. What would you do?" I had asked Owen about a doubt I had about our relationship. We were two years into the relationship and so in love.
"I love you and won't dare betray you. I'd sooner die." He had said and even swore on his life. Yet, he had done what he had sworn against. He said he couldn't stand men who cheated on their partners, breaking their hearts.
I thought he'd be a better person than my father was, since he cheated on his wife to be with my mother. I snickered. They were the same. All men were the same, and they'd only pretend to be so in the relationship. Afterwards, they'd discard you as soon as they were done.
I clenched my chest as my heart constricted. It hurts. It fucking hurt. God. I couldn't push the pain away.
My ringtone 'Shut up and Dance' echoed in the room, breaking my thought. I crawled towards my purse, opened it, and pulled it out to see Cassie's name flashing on the screen. I wiped my cheeks with the back of my palm before swiping to answer.
"Harper!" Clara chirped, a bright smile adorned her face. I frowned, staring at her as she danced around the room. She definitely looked and felt better than I did, not like someone who had been tied to a chair and force-fed alcohol.
My frown deepened as I noticed she had a champagne bottle in her hand, and she wasn't the only one in the room.
"Are you partying?" I asked, moving to the bed. I sat on it, crossed legs, and pulled the curtains close.
Clara bobbed her head before clinking her glass with a blonde. Anna. She was another friend I made in the office. However, my relationship with her wasn't like what I had with Clara.
"Hi, Harper," Anna said, waving.
"Hi," I replied, giving a short nod.
She moved to another end of the room, leaving me with Clara. "Shouldn't you be in the office?"
"Work trip. Did you forget?" Clara said, then added. "Hello? Paris?"
"Oh!" I groaned, facepalming mentally. I totally forgot about the discussion we had on that. Clara was a part of the marketing team. Helix Biotech was launching new products. She and her team had to fly to Paris to pitch the brand's innovation to the investor.
"You forgot," she mockingly glared at me. "Anyway. You are forgiven."
Although I wouldn't really say I forgot because I had it marked on my calendar. My gaze wandered to the calendar on my nightstand, and I stared at the note I made for today's date. Yet what had happened in my life over the past few days was enough to make me forget a lot of things. I breathed in and out, leaning back on the wall.
She shot me a suspicious look. "Are you thinking about him?"
"Who?" I questioned.
"Dominic Fletcher," she replied.
"Clara!" I glared at her. "Someone could be hearing!"
I was still suffering because of that name. I had made a grave mistake approaching the owner, and it couldn't be erased.
"I'm alone here. Besides, does it matter if someone hears me?" She murmured, a frown etched on her face. "He saved us last night. I didn't get to thank him well enough."
"Okay," I said, acting as though I was uninterested in the conversation, even though I wanted to ask her to spill everything that was spoken between them.
"Okay?" Clara drawled. Then her eyes narrowed. "Harper Wilson. You'd better spill everything out right now, or else I am going to haunt your tiny ass. What happened between the two of you? Of course, he took you home and…my God, you're blushing!"
"Bye!" I yelled into the phone, hanging up. I tossed the phone to the side of the bed, groaning. No. I didn't like Dominic Fletcher. I'd never want him.
He was Owen's uncle and totally off limits. But why the hell did my heart always skip a beat when he was near? On top of that, every part of my body seemed to be always alert, begging for his attention.
"It's because I am suffering from a heartbreak," I assured myself. It had to be the case because Dominic was very off-limits, and I shouldn't have forbidden thoughts about him.
—
The following morning, I arrived at the office later than usual. Thanks to my car that choose to die on me. And oh, no one offered me a ride. Camilla told me to crawl if I wanted to ride with her, which I refused and decided to wait for the morning bus, which arrived 30 minutes late.
I stepped inside and met with Owen, already sitting behind his desk.
"Harper." He said, without looking at me, and offered me a white envelope.
My heart faltered as I stared at it. I didn't move an inch from where I stood.
"Take it, it's yours." He said, tossing the envelope at my feet.
It fell to the ground in front of me. My hands shook as I picked it up and unfolded the paper. One line stared back at me:
You are fired.