Chapter 73
ALEX
My gaze is fixed on Harper Frazer as I watch the interview rerun on the ten o’clock news. The composed young woman is surrounded by her family, while the press fires questions at her and the police officers protecting her.
I drop my head into my hands, starting to understand why my mother kept Brooke’s real identity from me. My protective instincts surge to the surface, yet would I have felt this way initially? Or would I have judged her?
I sit in Enzo’s home office in London and close my eyes.
I’ve done the worst thing possible. Run a search on Harper Frazer.
And there’s a lot.
The youngest daughter of Robert and Francesca Frazer.
A potential accident, according to the press, considering the seven-year gap between her and her next-youngest siblings, Gabriel and Caleb.
Gabriel runs a highly successful hedge fund, while his identical twin, Caleb, has redeveloped large portions of London.
Then there is her eldest brother, Elijah, who is two years younger than me, and until recently, was Kris’s major competitor in Europe.
Now he’s sold up and is making a name for himself as an artist, and a bloody good one, according to all the reviews.
And then there’s Kat, the infamous Kathryn Frazer, ice queen and hotel mogul.
I think back to her saying she had to learn to stand up for herself with her siblings, to fight her corner. I can only imagine.
Quite the lineup in terms of direct family. Each sibling commands success and power in their own right.
But then I look at Harper.
A model student until she was seventeen.
That explains a lot.
Her CV never did tally with the woman’s abilities. Now I understand why.
My chest constricts as I read news articles about her father’s death.
Tributes paid to billionaire hotel CEO, Robert Frazer, after fatal late-night crash.
An article from seven years ago details how a drunk driver ran Robert Frazer off the road and killed him.
I inhale sharply.
More newspaper articles.
Intrusive pictures of her and her siblings at their father’s funeral. Telescopic lenses focusing on their grief. One of her twin brothers wraps Harper in his arms, as if he’s shielding her from the outside world.
More photos. Harper looks stoic, but there’s no mistaking the look of devastation in her eyes. It’s one I recognise. She had the same look the night they rushed her sister into hospital.
Next is a Harper I don’t recognise. Wild hair, wilder makeup, falling out of nightclubs in the early hours of the morning. The Rebel Frazer, the headlines call her.
Then comes her social media platform. An interview with a magazine discussing her three million-plus followers.
For a twenty-one-year-old, she had clout.
I find an old interview, and my chest expands as I listen to her championing the St Clair brand. She’s wearing one of my designs, released after I became CEO, long before she knew me. Her knowledge and insight for someone so young are outstanding; it’s like she was inside my head.
I skip articles about the sex tape scandal. Enzo briefed me when I landed. It’s not somewhere I want to go.
Finally, I find pictures of Harper on what looks like a university campus. Security is pushing her into a car. Her expression dead, as if her dreams had been snatched away.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
It’s dated two weeks before we met.
Then nothing. The headlines change to “Searching for the Missing Frazer.”
Shit!
She was alone and vulnerable in a strange city, with an ongoing threat to her life… and only Sophia for support! It’s not like Mother is the maternal type, even towards us, her own children.
Self-doubt niggles deep in my chest.
Was I a crutch?
Someone who was there at her lowest point? We only got together after her sister had been admitted to hospital.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Enzo asks, walking into the room and placing a mug of coffee on the desk next to me.
I sit back and close my eyes, exhaling deeply.
“The one thing I probably shouldn’t be doing,” I admit, my voice dejected.
There’s a creak as he lowers himself into the large leather chair opposite me.
“You know that’s not who she is,” he says.
Opening my eyes, I stare at my brother.
“Of course, my heart breaks for what she’s been through. But she didn’t trust me, Enzo.”
I sigh.
“Is Mother right? Would I have judged her?”
The thought isn’t sitting well with me.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
“I should be fucking hard on myself! I’ve been in a relationship with her for four months…
she trusted me with her body, but she didn’t feel she could trust me with the rest. And when the chips were down, I didn’t trust her enough either.
I accused her of fucking stealing from me.
I wouldn’t blame her if she never wants to see me again. ”
I run a hand through my hair.
“Do you love her?”
“Yes,” I admit openly without thought. “More than I thought it possible to love another human being.”
“Have you told her?”
“No, I should have, but I didn’t want to pressure her, especially when she kept saying she wanted to keep our relationship a secret.” I rub my forehead. “Then there were the stolen designs. How the hell could I have imagined she would be involved in that?”
“Opening yourself up to someone is scary, especially when you’ve been burned before.”
I stare at him.
“Loretta hurt you when she left,” he adds.
“But can you blame her? I was a terrible husband,” I say, hating the reminder.
“None of us are perfect, Alex. You made a mistake, and you paid the price.”
“But that’s the crazy thing. I was in love with Loretta, but I didn’t feel a fraction of the intensity I feel for Brooke, and she doesn’t even exist.”
I look up to find Enzo watching me.
“You know Brooke and Harper are the same person, right?”
“Are they?”
“I’d say so. It’s almost impossible to wear a mask for nine months and be someone you’re not.”
“What are you talking about? She was Brooke Feldmann, not Harper Frazer. She clearly wasn’t herself.”
Enzo slaps his forehead.
He turns to the television on the wall where Harper’s press conference is frozen, her face front and centre. “Who do you see on the screen?”
I stare at Brooke, but she isn’t Brooke, not entirely.
“Do you know what I see?” he says.
“I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
“I see a woman, shoulders back, chin up, armour in place. I see the youngest daughter of a wealthy family, behaving as she’s been reared to behave.”
“Reared? Surely you mean raised?”
“No, I mean reared, the same way we were. Moulded to fit our place in society.”
I sit back and take in his words, but he continues, a small smile gracing his lips.
“She’s the same woman who bought my daughter a journal and you a coffee warmer for Christmas.
Played charades with our family. Someone who aspired to be the best replacement PA a man could want.
Not because anyone was watching or judging, simply because…
” He inclines his head. “If you ask me, Alex, you saw the real, unabridged version of Harper Frazer.” He pauses.
“Think about what it means to be a Bianchi, what it would feel like to shed those chains.”
“I…” I open and close my mouth several times. “Fuck, little brother, when did you become so insightful?”
“Well, someone needs to be, before you let the best thing that has ever happened to you slip through your fingers.”
“She may not forgive me,” I say.
“She wrote you a letter. If she didn’t want contact, then she could have simply left. Let you find out her identity on the news.”
I run a hand down my face, gripping my lips and closing my eyes before inhaling.
I drop my hand. “What if she doesn’t want me now that she’s back with her family?”
“Life is full of what ifs. Maybe she will, maybe she won’t. But if you don’t ask, then you’ll spend the rest of your days wondering what might have been. Is that what you want?” He gets up and grips my shoulder. “Remember, sometimes the biggest risks offer the greatest rewards.”
“As I said before, who are you and what have you done with my brother?” I say, surprised at Enzo’s sudden insightfulness.
He smiles. “You can’t control everything, Alex, especially when other people’s emotions are at play. What you must decide is whether she’s worth it. Being Harper Frazer’s plus-one is not going to be easy. There’ll be a lot of scrutiny.”
“That’s not even a question.” I harrumph, making him smile.
“Then you know what you need to do.”