Chapter 22
A knock breaks through the silence, threading along the dark edges of my dream.
It’s faint at first, almost distant, but then it grows, harder and louder, yanking me awake.
I blink into darkness, sluggish and disoriented, the silence pressing close.
Then it comes again. No mistaking it this time. Someone’s at the door.
Shifting, I squint at the clock glowing on the nightstand. 3:07 a.m.
“What the hell…” I roll toward the other side of the bed—only to find it empty.
Through the shadows, I can just make out Linc’s broad frame, muscles flexing as he shoves his legs into a pair of jeans.
“You expecting someone?” he asks, the rasp of his zipper cutting through the room.
“Yeah, my other boyfriend down the street.” My tone is flat, all sarcasm.
He grunts, unimpressed. “Funny, Goldilocks.”
My smile is slow, still tangled with sleep when another round of pounding rattles the stillness like a warning shot.
I shove upright, irritation sparking through my chest. “Who the hell would be here at this hour?”
Linc drags a shirt over his head, movement clipped. “I don’t know, but I’m about to find out.”
He’s already heading for the door, all purpose and grit.
“Wait for me.” I swing my legs over the edge of the bed, reaching for my robe.
“No.” His tone cuts through the air. “You stay here.”
I stiffen at the order. “I don’t think so, Masters. This is my house. Now, let me grab my robe, and then you can go all He-Man on whoever’s at the door, okay?”
His mouth snaps shut, jaw ticking with that familiar stubbornness. “You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?”
A slow smile curves my lips as I pull the silk robe around me, knotting it at my waist. “But I’m your pain in the ass. And that’s what matters.”
In the dim light, I catch the faint twitch of his lips, a flicker of something lighter…until I step out of the room.
His hand halts me mid-step. “Stay behind me.”
He doesn’t wait for an answer, just turns and stalks down the hallway like a man braced for a fight.
I roll my eyes but keep enough distance to soothe his pride.
The knocking grows more frantic with every step, each pound reverberating through the house like a hammer.
“We’re coming!” Linc snaps, his voice a growl.
The moment he wrenches the door open, the world stills.
My breath catches, shock pinning me in place at the sight of Hattie on my front steps.
She’s soaked to the bone, rain-slick hair clinging to her pale cheeks, mascara smudged beneath red and swollen eyes. She looks sad, lost, and utterly broken.
“Hattie?” My voice is thin with disbelief, as I step around Linc. “What on earth are you doing here?”
“I’m sorry,” she chokes out, her bottom lip quivering with the rest of her body. “I needed to see you. It can’t wait.”
Concern drives me forward, my hands already reaching for her. “Come on, you’re freezing.” I draw her inside, pulling her out of the storm’s grip.
She follows numbly, letting me tug off her wet coat.
Linc swings the door shut behind us while I grab a blanket from the couch and wrap it around her shoulders.
Her eyes finally lift to mine, brimming with sorrow so heavy it nearly buckles me. “I did it,” she whispers. “I left him.”
For a moment, all I can do is stare, surprise surging through me before hurt and betrayal take its place.
“There’s so much I need to tell you, but…you were right. About everything.” Her breath falters, voice thinning. “And I’m sorry. God, Harlow. I’m so sorry.”
The apology ends on a gut-wrenching sob. The sound is so raw, and devastating, that not even my hurt feelings can hold me back.
I pull her into my arms, clutching her tight. “Shh, it’s okay.” My words fall softly against her damp hair. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
I don’t know if that’s true, but it’s all I have to give her right now.
Linc’s voice breaks the moment. “Does he know you’re here?”
The hard edge of his voice drags my gaze to him. His jaw is locked, shoulders squared, like he’s bracing for a fight he already plans to win.
Hattie pulls from me, shaking her head. “No. No one does. At least…not yet.” She sniffles, wiping her cheeks. “I didn’t plan it. I just…ended up at the airport and caught the first flight here.”
Her confession only deepens the questions churning inside me.
Linc nods, satisfied with her answer. “I’ll give you two some time then.”
I move quick, edging around Hattie. “You don’t have to do that.”
His smile is quiet and reassuring. “It’s all good, Goldilocks. You two have things to discuss. I’ll check in later.”
Disappointment flashes through me before I can hide it.
He catches the reaction, drawing me in for a deep, hard kiss. His hand stays warm against my cheek, steady and grounding. “Call if you need me, and I’ll come back—no matter what. Okay?”
I nod. “Thank you.”
He grabs his wallet and keys, then slips out, locking the door behind him.
Once the latch clicks shut, I turn back to my sister and guide her toward the couch, her frame still trembling.
“Okay,” I start gently, settling beside her. “Talk to me. Tell me what happened.”
She clutches the blanket as if it’s the only thing keeping her together. “I went to his office tonight. Thought I’d surprise him with dinner.” Her voice is flat, hollowed with pain. “He wasn’t alone.”
My heart twists in my chest. Even if the words come as no surprise, I still feel bad.
“I thought about walking away, pretending I hadn’t seen it. But I couldn’t. Not this time.” Her voice unravels, every word shadowed with pain. “I told him I wanted a divorce, and do you know what he did?”
I shake my head, dread settling over me at the pause.
“He laughed at me.” The words fall on a broken breath. “They both did. Like I was nothing but a joke. He said I’d never last a day without him.”
Rage claws through me, jaw clenching tight. His audacity shouldn’t still surprise me, but it does.
“I snapped, Harlow,” she admits, gaze falling away. “Threw the lasagna at them, then smashed the plate into his face.”
My mouth drops open. “You didn’t.”
She nods, a little dignified. “Pretty sure I broke his nose.”
A soft laugh escapes. “God, I wish I’d been there to see it.”
Her lips twitch, but the act fades as fast as it comes, swallowed by regret. “And I wish I’d left with you that day.”
The ache I buried claws free, jagged and painful. “Why didn’t you? You knew the truth, Hattie. I was ready to fight for you—even after everything—and you just left me out to dry.”
Her eyes fall shut, fresh tears breaking loose. “I know and you’ll never know how sorry I am. I wanted to go with you—god, I did—but I thought I had to stay. To at least try. Not for me, but…” Her throat works as she swallows. “For my baby.”
Every part of me goes still, including my breath. “I’m sorry…what?”
Her gaze lifts, filled with sorrow. “I’m pregnant,” she whispers. “I found out a few weeks before the wedding.”
The words hang in the air, sharp and disorienting.
“Truth is, I was going to call it off months ago,” she confesses.
“But then I saw those two pink lines and I thought it was a sign. That if I held on, maybe he’d change, and I could give my baby a real family.
” Devastation laces every word. “But after tonight…seeing it with my own eyes…I can’t.
I won’t. I don’t want my daughter to believe this is love.
Or my son to think this is how you love a woman.
They deserve better.” Her hand clutches her chest, as if she’s bracing against the ache inside. “Even if better is just me.”
The sob that follows rips through me. I pull her in, holding her close. “You’re right, Hattie. Your baby deserves more. And so do you.”
For a moment she stays there, trembling against me, until finally she drags in a shaky breath. Her hands tighten in the blanket like she needs the anchor before she dares to look up. When she does, her eyes are swollen, rimmed with regret that cuts as deep as the tears.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “For all of it. I can’t regret Finch, not with this baby, but I’ve always regretted hurting you.”
The apology slices through me, reopening wounds I’ve kept buried. “Finch is the least of our problems.” The words are barely a breath. “I lost you long before him—when you became their trophy child.”
She doesn’t deny it, just a sad smile skimming over her face. “You say that like it was a privilege.”
Bitterness rises in my throat. “You seemed happy enough.”
She shakes her head, slow and sad. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to live under their expectations?”
“Yes,” I snap. “That’s why I stopped trying. You didn’t have to either. You chose it.”
Her eyes dull, tired and wounded. “Yeah, so you wouldn’t have to.”
Confusion halts me, the words making no sense.
“What are you talking about?”
Her gaze holds mine, steady through the tears.
“Face it—you were the one they really wanted. You had the spark, the fire. They pushed for you first, and I watched it crush you. You were too wild to survive under their thumb. So, I stepped in. Became who they wanted, hoping they would leave you alone. And they did.”
I want to deny it, write it off as an excuse, but the memories won’t let me. The endless lectures about my potential. The pressure for dance, the violin, even pre-med. And then Hattie stepped in, quietly agreeing to it all…and just like that, the weight shifted. The pressure on me disappeared.
“You should have told me,” I whisper.
All the years lost between us, wasted on anger and silence, when underneath it we were both just bleeding in different ways.
“What good would that have done? You would’ve fought for me, and then it would’ve defeated the purpose.
” She shrugs, but the motion is nowhere near as careless as she wants it to be.
“It was better me than you. I wasn’t born with your fire.
I was just boring old Hattie. I won’t lie, their expectations gave me a place, something to cling to when I felt like nothing, but it came at such a sacrifice. ”
Her pain threads through the quiet like an echo before a soft smile takes over.
“But then I’d watch you out there, laughing, running free, chasing everything you loved…and it made the weight a little easier to bear. At least for a while. Until…Finch.”
She swallows, her throat working hard.
“You didn’t know how I felt, I know that. But it was one more thing you had that I didn’t.” She shakes her head. “That envy rotted me, Harlow. Made me become a shell of who I was, and in the end, it cost me the only real friend I had, even from a distance—my sister.”
My vision blurs, every word she confesses stabbing me in the chest.
“I don’t want that anymore,” she whispers.
“I never really did. I know I hurt you, Harlow—I betrayed you in ways you didn’t deserve, and I’ve regretted it every day since, but I want my sister back.
I want my baby to know their aunt, to grow up with the kind of love we didn’t.
I’ve missed you so much, and I’m sorry. God, I’m so sorry. ”
I hug her again, my own tears breaking loose as I hold her tight. “I’ve missed you too. You’re better than you know, Hattie. Better than their expectations. And you’re going to be the best mom.”
We cling to each other, like two little girls did so long ago when they had no one else but each other.
All this time, I thought she had it all—that being the favorite made her whole in ways I could never be. But I was wrong. Hattie hadn’t been living a charmed life; she’d been surviving one that hollowed her out, clinging to a love that chipped away at her, piece by painful piece.
No more. This is where it all changes.
For both of us.