Ever After | Book 2 of the Selected Series

17.2

DAY 10. 3:00PM. Royal Castle.

Hours felt like decades for Harry as he sat by his desk, on the floor,  in a miserable puddle of his own tears. He was in pain, it hurt to breathe, it hurt to think, it hurt to even move. He felt like absolute shit, he was shit, the worst piece of trash. He was thoughtless, selfish, he was a damn coward who couldn't face his own girlfriend. His weakness probably made him lose the one good thing he had left. But he was angry too, absolutely livid, because even from miles away, Judith was ruining him. And he was letting her, against his very will.

He was angry at her, at himself, at the situation. He didn't know what to do, he didn't know where Madison was, or how to explain everything to her. Even if she learned the truth, there were no good outcomes out of the situation. She would know he was ready to let her go because he thought he had cheated, she would know how much of a coward and a prick he was, if she wasn't aware of it already. Absolute shit.

He should've burned the pictures when he had the chance, he only kept them as evidence for future investigation but now his reasons seemed so stupid. The way he acted was just...He should've burned those damn pictures.

Harry could hear his phone ringing in the room, but he didn't care less. It wasn't Mady calling, that he knew from the tone. He covered his ears, trying to down the sound and ease his headache. He wanted to be left alone, for the rest of his life. If he couldn't have her, he didn't deserve anyone else. But Madison deserved the better.

DAY 10. 3:15 PM. Limia General Hospital.

"Son of a bitch, pick up your phone." Niall mumbled, frustrated, calling Harry for the umpteenth time and still getting his voicemail. He had already bitten his nails to the bone, pacing back and forth in the hospital waiting room, but no one was answering his calls. The nurses had relied on him to contact the royal family, but they didn't know Niall only had Harry's, and Madison's, number and he felt absolutely useless.

Minutes felt like hours and he was still worryingly aware of his churning stomach. He was blind to the horrified looks the people around him gave, eyeing his bloody clothes and hands. Niall felt absolutely feverish in panic, he didn't know what happened or what to do, how things got to this point. And Harry wasn't answering his fucking phone.

"Sir." He spun around at the hail, coming face to face with a security guy glaring at him. Niall swallowed down the bile coming up his throat and followed the tall man to a quiet room where he was given a change of clothes. Stepping in cleaner pants helped him breathe better and the security guard sat him down to question him.

"What happened? Who was there? Why was she at the pub? Did you know about her condition?" The questions flew over his head, he was still stoic in shock, mind replying the earlier events until his fragile guts couldn't take anymore and he emptied his stomach on a garbage can nearby.

"The Royal family has been contacted." He managed to hear between gags and a slight sense of relief washed over him. She wasn't going to be alone.

DAY 10. 4PM. Royal Castle.

"Harry? Where the bloody hell are you?" Louis scanned the royal suite, seeing the bed unmade but the quiet room was unsettling. He frowned, holding his breath as he stepped in and tried to listen. He thought he could hear a faint sound, it could've been anything, but he decided to trust his intuition and search the room. Walking in Harry's private office, his eyes widened once he spotted his friend hidden in a corner, head between his knees and body trembling. "Harry?"