She slid her chair back and came to her feet. “I’m done here.”
Ethan and Robert immediately stood, but she held up her hands. “I mean, I’m done here with the two of you. Stay, eat, threaten each other, whatever. Just do it without me.”
She didn’t wait to see how they reacted or what they would say. She didn’t care. Right now all she cared about was getting away from them so she could be alone with her growing concerns and fears.
Harper hated to admit it, but the betrayal from Ethan hurt much worse than that of her father. She didn’t know Robert well; they hadn’t exactly forged a deep bond.
But Ethan...she’d gone and fallen in love with the man and thought they were going to build a future together. Yes, they’d only known each other a short time, but the things they’d shared were deep and meaningful. Had he lied about everything? Could she believe a word he said anymore?
She didn’t want to think that she was naive enough to fall for nothing more than charm and sex appeal, but apparently that was the reality of the situation.
And now she was bringing an innocent baby into the mix. No matter how this played out with Robert and Ethan, Harper vowed to protect her baby at all costs. She knew what it was like to have a mother who put her own needs ahead of her children, and Harper was determined that she would be everything to her child that she’d needed in her own life.
As Harper made her way toward the private elevators, all she could think of was that she was glad she hadn’t told Ethan she loved him. He didn’t deserve to know, and he didn’t deserve her honesty.
One day she’d find the man she was supposed to build a life with, but Ethan wasn’t that man.
Fifteen
Ethan walked out on the disastrous dinner moments after Harper. He hadn’t gone after her, though. She needed her space, and anything he said to her at this point would only make her angrier...if she even listened at all. He’d needed his own space to put his thoughts in order and figure out how the hell to fix this mess he’d been thrown into.
He also hadn’t stuck around to say any more to Robert. The damage was done, and Robert was well aware of what would happen to him now. Ethan had already sent the text to Dane that he was turning Robert in.
He hadn’t contacted his attorney yet. Ethan had pulled up his contact, more than ready to send the text that would set the ball into motion of getting the feds all over Robert. He’d waited years to break this news.
But Harper. At the end of every thought on revenge, he saw her face. Despite Robert being the monster Ethan wanted to destroy, he was still her father. Harper would be even more hurt if Ethan followed through...especially now.
He would have to seriously consider everything and talk to Dane.
This whole scenario was a complete and utter disaster, and all he could think of was how Harper likely felt alone and confused and betrayed.
Ethan hated Robert even more now than ever. He was pure evil, leaving a path of destruction in people’s lives with absolutely no remorse. The man was a total bastard to have no emotional outpouring of affection toward his own daughter. Robert had been stunned about the baby, but he’d shown no joy at the news, and he’d never said he was sorry for dropping the bombshell about the blackmail that exploded in Harper’s face.
Ethan shot another text off to Dane telling his brother he’d call later and explain everything in more detail and discuss further action.
He wasn’t in the mood right now to rehash the evening’s explosive events.
Once Ethan had left the table, he’d walked around the grounds until he’d covered every square inch. He saw his mother everywhere he went and would give anything to have her here for advice. There were many times over the years he’d had that very same wish.
Of course, if she were alive, Ethan wouldn’t be in this position in the first place. But then he wouldn’t have Harper.
There was no way he’d give up without a fight. He needed that woman, that baby...the future he hadn’t even known he wanted.
Ethan made his way back into the lobby and down the hall toward the private elevator. He had no idea what to say to Harper, how to make her understand that he wasn’t a heartless monster. How did he make her see that he truly cared for her? That he’d come to care for her more than he thought he was ever capable of. He hadn’t wanted to develop feelings for her, but she’d made it impossible to ignore that pull.
When the door to his suite opened, Ethan stared straight ahead to the wall of windows and spotted Harper out on the balcony.
His heart pounded faster, harder. She’d come here and not to Robert. Did that mean she wanted to give him a chance to explain the situation?
With a renewed hope, Ethan crossed the spacious penthouse and opened the patio doors. Harper still wore that dress that had rendered him speechless earlier this evening.
Those dark curls had been released from her updo earlier and now those strands danced around her shoulders. He wanted to reach for her, but he didn’t dare...not until he knew where they stood now. She might hate him even more now that she’d had some time to think, or she might have decided she didn’t even want to hear his defense. But he wasn’t leaving until he fought for the life he had within his grasp.
“I had nowhere else to go,” Harper stated without turning around.
Her soft words traveled to him on the breeze and pierced his heart. She sounded so lost, so alone.
Ethan made his way to the set of chairs and took a seat across from her. She kept her gaze on the darkness over his shoulder, the sounds of the ocean enveloping them.