Chapter 71
~Late in the evening~
Harrison's room is quiet, with soft beep of the monitor being the only thing breaking the silence. Harper is asleep in the chair beside Harrison's bed, her hand still wrapped loosely around his.
The door creaks open, and Robert steps inside. He pauses for a moment, eyes landing on the sleeping girl before shifting to the man in the bed.
"She hasn’t left your side" "I wouldn’t have either, if it were her" Robert nods slowly, walking closer. He stops at the edge of the bed, his expression unreadable.
"I heard the voicemail" Harrison tries to speak, but Robert holds up a hand. "It was… hard to listen to. Not because of what you said, but because I could hear it. Every word—every pause—you meant it."
He looks down at his granddaughter’s sleeping form for a moment, then back at the man lying in the bed. "You wanted her to move on. To forget you. That was brave… and foolish. Because she never would have.
She loves you, boy. And whether I liked it or not, I started to see why"
"I never meant to hurt her. I just… wanted to protect her from the mess that is me."
"And yet, even after all of it, she’s still here. And so am I"
"You’ve made mistakes. But you’ve also made her happy. That voicemail… it broke something in me. Because for the first time, I realized you weren’t just a man who loved her. You were a man willing to give her up for her own good. You have my blessing. Not because you saved her, not even because she loves you—but because I finally see that you love her the right way.”
Robert slowly stepped forward and placed a hand on Harrison's shoulder "Just… don’t make me regret it"
Harrison swallowed hard. His chest rose with a shaky breath as he blinked rapidly, his eyes glistening. He turns his face slightly toward the sleeping woman beside him, as if grounding himself with her presence.
"Thank you… I didn’t think I’d ever hear that from you."
His voice cracks at the end, and he quickly looked away, pressing his lips together to stop them from trembling. One tear slips down, trailing along his cheek as he struggled to pull himself back together.
Robert noticed but says nothing. Instead, he gave a quiet nod and turned to go, leaving behind a silence filled not with tension, but with peace—finally.
Just as the door clicks shut behind him, Harper stirred. She stared at Harrison with hazy eyes as she asked in a sleepy voice "Was someone here?"
He quickly wiped at his face, forcing a small smile as her sleepy eyes meet his.
"Just your grandfather."She straightened up a little, feeling confused.
"Grandpa? What did he say?"
"He heard the voicemail… and he gave us his blessing."
Harper's eyes widened slightly, and she blinked as if unsure whether she heard right. She asked in a soft whisper
"He did?" "Yeah. He did.”
She smiled, leaning in to press her forehead to his gently. "Then maybe… this really is our second chance."
Harrison closed his eyes, breathing in the moment as if it were the first time he was able to breathe in weeks. He looked at her and spoke in a soft whisper "I love you, Harper". Harper pulled back to look into Harrison's eyes with hers overflowing with the emotions she had been holding back. "I love you too Harrison, I always have"
They intertwined their fingers again, even tighter this time. This time, there was no holding back. Just love— raw, real and fully returned.
There was a knock at the door and someone came in. The couple turned their heads and what they saw made them freeze. In front of them was William Carson, who had his hands in his pockets and looked at them with a sly smile. What in the world was he doing here?!