26. Elliot #2
The words were quiet. But Harper heard them; everyone did. Rowan went still, and Caleb's eyes closed briefly. Theo muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like, "Oh, buddy."
Harper turned to me, and for the first time that night, she really looked at me. Her eyes were calm, and I think that was worse. Anger, I could have handled. Anger would have meant there was still something hot enough to burn.
This was something else; her voice was quiet but resolved when she said, "No, Elliot."
My chest tightened, and I swallowed hard, saying, "I got scared and f… messed it up, but it was better we were Us."
“Please stop." She studied me for a moment, as if she were trying to decide whether saying more was worth the effort. Then she did, "Julian chose Lucy."
The words were simple but devastating. I couldn't speak. Harper's eyes held mine when she added, "You chose to hurt me." I flexed my hands to stop myself from reaching out and pulling her to me, but Harper stood her ground and continued, saying, "I do wish you well, Mr. Vale."
I felt like I couldn’t breathe; she was right there in front of me but so far away.
The room kept moving. People laughed. Glasses clinked. Music played. But around us, everything went quiet.
"Harper," I said.
Her name came out wrong. Broken.
She shook her head once, saying, "Not tonight ."
Then Alexander appeared at her side, his gaze landing on me.
He looked at me like he knew exactly who I was to his daughter, as if he were assessing whether I should be allowed to be in the same space as her.
And for the first time in my adult life, I understood what it felt like to be weighed and found lacking without a single word being spoken.
"Mr. Vale," he said.
I forced myself to meet his eyes. "Mr. Montgomery."
He looked at me a beat too long, then turned to Harper. "My angel, the board is waiting."
She nodded, then looked back at me once with a look I didn’t know how to interpret, and walked away with her father. I stood there, unable to move.
Theo exhaled slowly. "That went well."
No one laughed, not even Theo.
I tried to take a deep breath, but it wasn’t working. "I need air."
"You need a lot more than air," Rowan muttered.
I ignored him and started toward the edge of the ballroom, but I barely made it ten steps before an older man stepped into my path.
"Vale, isn't it?"
I blinked at him. "Yes."
"Edward Carlisle."
The name registered somewhere through the fog. One of the foundation board members, old money, with strong political connections, the kind of man who knew everyone.
He shook my hand. "Northwell, yes?"
"Yes," I answered, still feeling the need to escape and get a grip on my spiralling thoughts.
"Your group did excellent work on the children's hospital initiative last year."
"Thank you."
I had no idea what he was talking about, not because Northwell hadn't done the work, but because my mind was still on Harper walking away from me over and over again.
Carlisle glanced toward where Harper now stood beside Alexander, smiling at a couple I didn't recognize.
People were coming up and shaking hands, having pictures taken, and she stood at the centre of it.
"Remarkable, isn't she?"
"Yes." The word left me before I could stop it.
He smiled. "Sophie would have loved this."
My attention snapped back to him. "Sophie?"
He looked mildly surprised. "Her mother."
Right, Sophie, of course.
"I didn't realize..." I stopped.
I didn't realize what? That Harper had a mother, had a life… That Harper was not created in the moment she entered my life?
Carlisle's expression shifted. "Tragic business."
My stomach tightened. "What was?"
He looked toward Harper again. "The accident."
The word landed strangely.
"Accident?" I parroted because I felt like I was missing something, something that was within reach but I could not put my finger on it. Carlisle frowned slightly, like he were trying to determine whether I was truly ignorant or simply impolite.
Then his expression softened. "Forgive me. I assumed everyone knew." I couldn't speak. He lowered his voice and continued, "After the scandal, the press was relentless. Paparazzi everywhere. At the house, the school, the foundation offices."
My skin went cold. "What scandal?"
Carlisle's brows drew together. "The allegation of an affair against Alexander."
My stomach dropped hard. But I still asked, "The what?"
"False, of course," he said immediately. "Anyone who knew Alexander and Sophie knew that. He adored her. Still does, if I'm being honest. Some men only love once."
The room tilted. False cheating allegation. Media frenzy. Paparazzi. Pieces were clicking together, and I felt bile rise in my throat.
"Once the story broke, Sophie was worried about the children," Carlisle continued, voice quieter now. "Especially William. He was at Blackridge then. She went to get him herself."
Blackridge. The word hit hard, and everything was becoming so much clearer… Caleb, who I hadn’t realized had followed me, froze at my side.
Carlisle kept speaking, unaware that every word was stripping skin from bone. "The photographers followed them; it was an absolute frenzy." No. No. "Roads were icy. The driver lost control." No. "Sophie and William died at the scene."