Serendipitous Love | ✔

Epilogue

Once again Harper woke up alone. But this time, she was on the couch. Sitting up, she stretched her hands over her head and yawned. Looking around, she realised that they had slept on the couch the previous night.

After the song was over, they had settled on the couch again to watch a movie. This time Ethan selected the movie and made sure that Harper paid more attention to him rather than the actors in the movie.

She remembered falling asleep in the middle of the movie. And she guessed that even Ethan might have dozed off, hence they ended up cuddling on the couch. She stood up and entered the kitchen.

After gulping down a glass of water, she searched for Ethan. Yelling out for him would have been an easier and sensible option but she knew that he wouldn't reply to her. It was 'the' day. The month was finally over.

The first placed she checked was the backyard. That was Ethan's favourite place in the whole house, he'd usually sit there and work or paint or go for a swim. But to her dismay, he wasn't there. Ignoring the guest rooms, she headed towards the stairs.

On reaching the top floor, she silently opened the door to their room to see Ethan sitting on the bed. He held her jacket in his hand, his fingertips caressing its material.

She shook her head and thought of leaving him alone for sometime. It was anyways getting late, she had to get dressed as well. So she opted to use the bathroom in the guest room.

Luckily, she knew something like this would happen, so she had smartly placed her clothes in the guest room. She padded downstairs and entered the guest room.

Getting under the shower, she thought of everything that had happened in her life. The way she dreamt of being an Undercover Agent one day. Growing up, detective shows always intrigued her. She'd sit with her father and watch those shows. At the same time she tried to decode the cases in her own way.

When she told her friends about it, they laughed in her face. Apparently, wanting to be an Undercover Agent seemed like a joke to them. But her parents supported her and her dream, despite knowing how dangerous it could be.

That was one of the reasons as to why she never did learn cooking. Whenever her mother asked for her help in the kitchen, her father sneaked her out and he himself helped his wife. At first, she was elated. She did not like cooking but after being proven as a disaster in the kitchen, she cursed herself for avoiding the kitchen.

Harper never thought about her love life. All she could concentrate on was to complete the training and tests. Most of her college days were spent with her juggling between getting good grades and training.

Everything was going smooth. The day she cleared all her tests, was the best day of her life. She was living her dream. Her father was proud as happy tears poured from his eyes. Her mother was happy but she knew how dangerous this profession could be.

The first year of her training, she was assigned a partner to work with on a case. Luckily for her, the partner was well experienced and a female as well. Her partner explained everything to her properly and even helped her out. Safe to say, her first case was a success. So was the second case.

Each case had a specific period of time. It ranged from a month to a year or two. The first case went on for four months and the second one went on for six months.

But when the third case was given to her by the Chief, her mother protested. Mrs. Smith didn't like that her daughter was away from them for so long. They didn't even know where she was or what she was working on. Harper couldn't tell them anything regarding the case, it was an oath they had to take.

Harper couldn't not go. She had vowed to never back down from any cases. So she had to go. This case was a lot different from the last two cases but she managed to get the criminals caught. During her search for some information regarding her case, there was a shootout at the warehouse she was at. She managed to injure two of the shooters but one of them shot her in the shoulder. The bullet was stuck in her shoulder blade and it took two months for her shoulder to recover. That is how she scarred herself above her left brow as well. A glass piece missed her eye and scratched against her brow. If not for her partner, she would have been dead. The shoulder wound wouldn't stop bleeding and she lost an access amount of blood. She was unconscious for three whole days.

When she took up on the third case, she was with Ethan. He never once told her to quit but he was always scared when she was on duty. And especially after seeing her in that condition, he knew he could never see her like that again.

After that case, she wasn't given any cases until the letter arrived. The letter clearly stated that she was to report to their headquarters in New York on the first of January. That gave her a month's time. But now that it was over and she didn't want to leave Ethan alone.

The letter also stated that she was promoted to a Special Agent rank. Her next case wasn't mentioned nor was the location. She didn't know what to expect. Waiting was the only option for her. But one thing she knew was, this was going to be a big case.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she quickly rinsed her body and stepped out of the shower. She quickly dried off and threw on a pair of black skinny jeans, a white tank top and white sneakers. Throwing the towel in the dryer, she made her way upstairs. This time Ethan was standing by the floor length window, gazing at their backyard.

Harper placed her hand on his shoulder and turned him around. All Ethan did was smile at her. Harper sighed and pulled him in a hug. Ethan relaxed under her touch and hugged her tightly.

Ethan felt a lot of emotions go through him. They included sadness, worry, pain, love and the one that stood out was fear. He didn't for a moment doubt Harper's abilities but he didn't want to see her hurt.

He didn't tell her not to go because he knew how much this means to her. He didn't want to get her in a situation where she had to choose. That wasn't him. He'd never do that. So he just opted to smile.

Ethan and Harper finally pulled away and Harper put on her jacket before they left the house. Ethan insisted on dropping her off at the airport and Harper didn't have it in her to deny his request.

As soon as Ethan parked his car in the airport parking lot, a tear slid down his cheek. Harper hugged him and rubbed his back, all the while holding back her own tears.

"Promise me, you'll be safe," Ethan murmured into her neck.

Harper couldn't help but feel her heart ache, "I promise, I'll stay safe."

Ethan pulled away and held his pinky out making Harper chuckle through teary eyes. Nonetheless, she entwined her pinky with his and leaned in to give him a kiss.

Ethan couldn't help but feel like this was a good-bye kiss. The one where he felt that she'd never come back. The thought scared him.

"This is not good-bye, Harp. You are coming back," Ethan yelled through the parking lot as Harper stepped out of the car.

Harper turned around and managed to nod, "This is not good-bye, Ethan. I will be back."

She turned around once again and walked away, hoping with all her heart that her words would be true. That her promise wouldn't be broken.

This is not good-bye!