Unlikely (H.S.)

thirty-five

~Harry~

The cold air stung my lungs as my feet pounded against the pavement. I pushed harder, faster, trying to outrun the thoughts clawing at my mind. My breath came in sharp bursts, fogging in the crisp London night, but it wasn't enough to drown out her voice.

Her laugh. Soft and teasing, floating through the air like it belonged to another life.

"Bloody hell," I muttered under my breath, shaking my head as I rounded a corner.

I shouldn't have thought about the video. I shouldn't have let it in. But it was always there, lingering like a shadow I couldn't escape. Harper, laughing in my kitchen as I flipped pancakes. A moment that had been ours—private, intimate.

And now it wasn't.

The whole world had seen it.

I pushed harder, my legs burning as I picked up my pace. Anger roared through me, hot and suffocating, and I welcomed it. I needed it. Anything to smother the ache underneath.

"How could she do it?" I hissed, my voice breaking the stillness of the street.

She'd looked at me like she didn't understand. Like she had no clue why I was furious. As if it wasn't obvious. As if she hadn't shattered my trust into pieces I didn't know how to put back together.

I slowed as I reached the edge of a small park, the trees casting long shadows across the path. My breath came in uneven gasps, and I leaned forward, bracing my hands on my knees as I tried to pull myself together.

But the memories wouldn't stop.

"Get out, Harper."

My own voice echoed in my head, hard and cold. I'd never spoken to her like that before. I'd never thought I'd have to.

But she'd left me no choice.

Had she?

I stood up, dragging a hand through my hair as I started walking, my pace slower now. My thoughts raced, one crashing into the next.

I didn't want to think about the way she'd looked at me, her eyes wide and brimming with confusion. Or the way her voice had trembled when she tried to speak.

Because it doesn't matter.

She'd taken that video. She'd let it get out. Whether she posted it herself or sold it to bloody TMZ, it had come from her. It had to have.

"Did you even think about what this would mean for us?" I muttered, my own words from earlier replaying in my mind.

I hadn't given her time to answer. I hadn't wanted to hear her excuses. But now, in the quiet of the night, the doubt started creeping in.

She'd seemed so... blindsided.

I stopped walking, my fists clenching at my sides.

Buzz.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I yanked it out, half-hoping it was nothing.

It wasn't.

Jeff: Still looking into the video. There's no official link to Harper yet, but we'll figure it out. Hang tight.

My jaw tightened as I stared at the screen. No official link? What was he even saying?

I typed out a quick reply, my fingers flying across the keyboard.

HS: What's there to figure out? She took the video. It's on TMZ. End of story.

I shoved the phone back into my pocket, my heart hammering in my chest.