Chapter 2

I opened my mouth, and my throat, raw from the cold wind, hurt like I was swallowing knives.

"I won't agree to it."

The project was already in its final stages.

Handing it over now would mean everything I'd worked for these past weeks was for nothing.

He let out a short laugh, looking at me the way you'd look at a child who didn't know any better.

"I figured that'd be your reaction."

He opened the refrigerator and took out a chestnut cake.

The familiar logo on top made my eyes sting.

That shop was almost a two-hour drive from the office.

Because I loved it, Harry used to buy me one every week.

After Aria came along, the cakes stopped.

So he still remembered.

He carefully peeled back the packaging for me.

"Aria went all the way to the south side of the city to buy it, to thank you."

My hand froze on the spoon wrapper, and I looked up at him.

"The two of you went together?"

Harry nodded, scooped out a piece, and pushed it into my mouth.

His tone left no room for argument.

"Since you've eaten her thank-you gift, the project's settled, then."

I grabbed a napkin and spat the cake out.

Harry's face darkened.

Before he could speak, I pointed at the notch in the cake.

The moment the packaging came off, I'd noticed the whole chestnut on top was missing.

"Thanking me means feeding me what she left in her mouth?"

Harry didn't see anything wrong with it at all.

"Aria bet me you'd refuse."

"She just ate her winnings early. The result's the same either way."

He set down the spoon and added quietly,

"And it proves it. You really are as selfish as she said."

Selfish.

Those two words pressed down on my shoulders like a mountain.

The cake left in my mouth was so cloyingly sweet it made me feel sick.

I threw the whole cake away right in front of Harry, rinsed my mouth out several times over,

then shut the bathroom door.

Shutting out, too, that line he'd worn thin from saying.

"She lost her brother. Would it kill you to give a little?"

The moment the hot water came down, the exhaustion in my body wrapped around me completely, like a rising tide.

I remembered the first time I'd stopped him from lying in the same hospital bed as Aria. He'd called me selfish then, too.

A year ago, the eldest son of the Fox family had gone off a cliff racing on the winding mountain road.

By the time he reached the hospital, the window to save him had already passed.

Outside the operating room, Aria collapsed against Harry, sobbing.

"Harry, my brother's left me."

Harry's eyes reddened as he patted her back to soothe her.

"He may have left you, but I won't."

"Connor Fox was my best friend. From now on, I'll look after you in his place."

Jonathan and Vivian took his hands too, their mouths full of thanks and relief.

I stepped forward to pat Aria's shoulder, wanting to comfort her, but she slipped away from me without making it obvious.

They held each other so tightly there was no room left for anyone else to get near.

In the end, Aria cried herself into a faint in Harry's arms, her hand still gripping the hem of his shirt so hard no one could pry it loose.

Harry lifted her up, laid her gently on the hospital bed, and then made to lie down beside her.

Something in me went hollow, and I reached out to stop him.

"This isn't really appropriate."

He turned to look at me, brows drawn tight.

"At a time like this, you've still got that man-and-woman nonsense on your mind."

"Lena, don't be so selfish."

The cold in his eyes pinned me where I stood.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aria's eyes darting wildly beneath her lids.

She was faking it.

But I didn't call her out. I even considerately closed the door of the room for the two of them.

The draft in the hallway blew straight through me and left me cold all over.

In that moment, it hit me.

Aria weighed far more in Harry's heart than I had ever imagined.

As I came out of the bathroom, a message popped up on my phone.

"The divorce papers are drawn up and sent to your email."

Harry was standing in the doorway, I didn't know since when.

"Who's messaging you this late?"

I pressed the screen dark, my tone flat.

"Just spam."