Damaged Queen (Darkness Within Duet 2)

Tears filled her eyes, and she looked at him and smiled. This was why she shouldn’t be with him. He loved her. He was willing to do whatever it took to make her happy. Ethan was a good guy.

Knowing all of this, she should walk away.

She shouldn’t give him false hope, and yet, knowing how serious this was for him, she did. She told him yes, and the rest of the weekend was filled with celebration.

His parents were happy. His sister- and brothers-in-law were happy. His siblings were happy. Everyone was so fucking happy.

All the time, Harper played her part well. She kept her smile in place, and no one knew any differently. They didn’t know she was breaking apart or that this wasn’t in fact what she wanted. Everyone around her only saw what they wanted to.

So, she celebrated.

She got drunk, and Ethan carried her to bed, and he was sweet. He didn’t try to have sex with her.

No, the perfect gentleman.

He was the only guy she had slept with since leaving Stonewall.

She’d never been the kind of woman to enjoy casual sex, and even though there’d been offers, it hadn’t been anything she’d taken up. From the moment she’d been forced out of her town, she’d felt dead inside. No one could compare to the men she once knew, not a single person.

By Sunday evening, she wore a ring, her stomach was full, and the apartment looked so dreary compared to the house she’d been in. Ethan was in a particularly chatty mood, so she didn’t even have to make the effort there.

Not bad really. Her life was perfect. Only she was the one that didn’t think it was.

One day soon, she’d see it was better. She’d have faith once again.

That day wasn’t today, or even next week.

She only hoped it would happen soon.

Chapter Two

One month later

Harper was grabbing down a box of decorations that Stephanie wanted to use to fill the shop to make it look all pretty.

There was dust on top, and she used a cloth to wipe most of it off. A sneeze broke out. Stephanie had lost her mind the moment she saw the ring, and for Harper, it was getting easier to wear it.

She tended to ignore it, but every once in a while, it caught the light.

With time passing, she had started to come to terms with the new future. She needed to let go of the past, to stop thinking of herself as ever going back to Stonewall.

Opening up the box, she stared inside at all the seasonal decorations that ranged from pumpkins to Christmas fairy lights, and there was even a witch in there somewhere. For some odd reason, she thought about her father.

She’d not given him much thought in so many years.

He was the last person she often thought about, and yet, right now, she wondered how he was doing.

If he’d like to know that she was still alive and safe.

That she was going to get married.

Moving to the desk, she stared at the phone, and before she could chicken out, she dialed the house number she remembered. She was shocked to find that it was ringing.

“Hello,” a female voice said after a few seconds.

It had been so long since she heard Hannah speak that Harper didn’t even know if it was the right voice.

“I was wondering if a Mister Ian Miller is there?” she asked.

“Of course. Who should I say is calling?”

This made Harper panic for a split second. “A client.”

“Certainly, just a moment.”

She heard noise as if someone was walking. Then the muffled voices until finally, he was on the phone.

“This is Ian Miller. Who may I ask is calling?”

Her hand fisted at her side. Even as there was a chill in the air, panic gripped her. She took a deep breath. This wasn’t her talking to Draven, so Alan shouldn’t hurt him. She was only reaching out to her dad.

“Hey, Dad,” she said.

“Harper!”

He sounded shocked, desperate almost. “Fuck, it’s Harper. Honey, are you okay? Where are you?”

“I … erm, I’m fine. I’ve been fine for some time. I just, I needed to call you. I shouldn’t really be calling you.” What if this did, in fact, break the rules? She didn’t want Draven to end up hurting because of her selfishness.

“Are you coming back?”

“No. I don’t think so.”

“Don’t come back, Harper. I mean it. Stonewall isn’t what it was. I mean, it’s … just don’t come back.”

Tears filled her eyes, but she didn’t argue with him. “So, I’m going to be getting married.”

“Married?”

“Yes. I met a great guy. He’s wonderful, and I know this is weird, but I felt the need to call you. I really shouldn’t have called you. I know that now. I’m going to hang up now.”

“Harper, wait. Why did you leave?” Ian asked. “Why didn’t you say anything? Call sooner?”