Taken // h.s

Home is Where the Heart is. Or Maybe Not

When we got back home, I checked my inbox for an email from Dad. There wasn’t one. And I wasn’t surprised either. He really didn’t care about me and that was that. I sighed, feeling a little down. Even if he didn’t care about his own daughter, he should at least care enough to email me back to see about his grandchildren. I guess that didn’t matter either.

Harry came towards me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s go to bed. He’s in a different time zone than we are, so maybe he’ll contact you tomorrow.”

I looked up at him and smiled. Then, I followed him to our bedroom and changed into some pajamas. They were Harry’s clothes of course. Climbing into bed, I felt the exhaustion of today hit me hard. Once I was situated in bed, it didn’t take me long to fall asleep. The last thing I remembered was Harry leaving a small kiss on my temple.





I woke to a loud pounding on the door. Groaning, I turned to face Harry who was slowly crawling out of bed to answer it. He didn’t bother to put a shirt on as he went down the hall. I stayed in bed and listened to him unlock the door.

“Where’s Veronica. Where’s my daughter? Is she here?” I heard a frantic, deep voice ask. That voice belonged to my dad.

The next thing I knew, I heard a loud slam and some bustling. “Hey!” Harry shouted. “What do you think you’re doing?”

I immediately shot out of bed, almost tripping over my own feet in my rapid sprint down the hallway. When I made it to the living room, I spotted Harry still standing at the door, looking shocked and appalled. Then I spotted Dad. He was standing in the kitchen, eyes wide and mouth slightly ajar. He turned his head and we locked eyes. My first instinct was too run to him, but I held back.

What exactly was he doing here? And how did he find me?

“Veronica,” he whispered, “it’s really you.” His tone sounded genuine, almost relieved. He ran to me, enveloping me in a tight hug. I didn’t hug back. How could I?

“I’ve missed you so much,” he confessed. For a second, I almost believed him. He actually sounded like he had missed me. I looked over his shoulder to Harry. His expression was hard and distant, his mouth drawn into a tight line.

“How did you find me?” I asked, not bothering to tell him that I missed him too.

“I traced your email. I needed to see you,” his words were sincere and so was the look on his face. But I knew to think otherwise.

“Why did you come?” I interrogated. I was trying my best to show no emotion even though I was breaking inside.

“Since you’ve been gone, I’ve been an emotional wreck. It took me forever to finally work up my appetite back and even now I don’t eat all that much. I tried making your favorite once, but that only added to the agony I was feeling,” he paused, looking down to wipe a tear away. “I was so spaced out at work that they asked me to take time off. Of course, I took it. I didn’t want my patients to suffer on my behalf.”

I wanted to cry, to hug him and say that I had missed him too. But what if this was all an act? What if he was just saying these things? But what if they were true? Harry still stood next to the door, expression never wavering.

“After I got your letter in the mail, I had hope. Hope that I could find you, but you didn’t leave a return address. I reported the letter to the police and they took everything overboard. They made you out to be some heartless teenager.”

I listened to his story and my expression began to soften. I was starting to believe him.

“Then I received your email. After I read it, I couldn’t believe that you were pregnant. I traced the email next. Once I found where it was sent from, I was completely shocked. I asked myself, why would she go to London? But I could never figure it out. So, I booked the first flight I could find and now I’m here.”

He placed his hands on my shoulders, looking straight into my eyes. “How could you think that I don’t care about you, honey? You’re my heart. And always will be.”

He hugged me again and that’s when I broke down. The tears started streaming down my face so I instantly hugged him back. He rubbed soothing circles up and down my spine. It was comforting.

“B-but,” I started to confess, talking around my loud sobs. “W-we saw you. You were grilling and laughing and having a great time with your friends. It was like I didn’t even exist. Like you were glad I was gone.”

He pulled away, looking horrified. “Veronica, listen to me. That was all an act. I was trying to convince myself I was having a good time, but I failed. I thought about you the whole time.”

He never asked how I had seen him do that, so I didn’t explain. Then, I wondered something. Had Harry lied to me? Did he just say those things to get me to stay with him? I glanced to see him still standing near the door. Although this time, his eyes were narrowed and he looked angry.

I had calmed down now. Wiping a tear away, I sniffed. “What about Ava and Laney?”

Dad smiled. “They call everyday to see if I’ve heard anything from you.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How could I believe Harry? How could I take his word over the love of my friends and Dad? I must’ve been extremely insane to do so. But that was the past. And now I couldn’t do anything about it. I was pregnant with Harry’s children.

“I love you, sweetheart,” Dad said.

I smiled back at him. “I love you too.”

He then turned so that we were both facing Harry now. His expression was calmer and I was glad of it.

“So,” Dad started, “is this the father of my grandchildren?” I watched, as he looked Harry up and down. I couldn’t tell if he approved or disapproved.

I walked towards Harry, joining my hand with his. The tension he held eased and his shoulders slackened. I nodded in response. “Yes. Dad, this is Harry,” I introduced them. “Harry, this is my father.”

They shook hands in a manly manner. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Harry spoke, sounding veritable.

Dad nodded in approval. I then nudged Harry in the side. “Go put on a shirt,” I coughed.

“Oh, uh,” Harry said nervously, “I’ll be right back.”

With that, he went to the bedroom to quickly slide on a shirt. Dad looked to me again. “He seems promising.”

I huffed a laugh. I was surprised that he hadn’t gone off on Harry for getting me pregnant. I was his only daughter after all. “I have so many things to tell you,” I beamed.

“Shoot,” Dad showed his toothy grin.

I told him how I had fallen hopelessly in love with Harry, leaving out all of the kidnapping details. Then, I confessed what happened yesterday and how we were getting married. The date was still undecided. Harry returned soon after, smiling.

“I’m going to hop in the shower. I’ll fix us all breakfast when I’m finished.”

I nodded and he went to the bathroom. I continued my conversation with Dad.

“So, how did you mange to get off work?” I asked, wanting to know more about how he got here.

His expression hardened. “I want you to come back home with me.”

He didn’t answer my question. I was taken by surprise by his statement, rendered speechless. I tried to form words in my mouth, but they just wouldn’t come out.

What was I going to do?

AN~ 2 updates a day. YAY! and dont worry guys, this book will have a sequel x