HARPER
His lips. Oh God. His lips were everything I never imagined. Soft. Warm. Perfect against mine. His palms were firm on my waist, his mouth coaxing mine, and I melted into him, like an ice cream that had been left out of the freezer for some hours.
I was possessed. I swear, I was. There was no way in hell I had done something as mortifying as this. Kissing Owen Fletcher, forty-five years old, uncle, in the presence of a thousand guests.
You're in over your head, Harper! Stop this instance.
But I couldn't. I didn't know how to stop. And thankfully, one of us still had enough sense and self-control to know this was wrong and a terrible mistake.
My knees wobbled, my breath ragged, and my tongue rolled over my now swollen lips. I gazed into the darkened eyes of Dominic Fletcher. They fastened on mine, holding me captive.
"You whore!" A voice jarred me out of my thoughts, followed by a sharp pull on my arm.
I gasped as I was yanked forcefully away from Dominic and swirled around, meeting the furious eyes of Owen.
"Do you know the gravity of what you've just done? How could you disgrace the family in the presence of everyone?!" He growled.
"I should be the one saying that," I said through my teeth, my fingers clenched.
How dare he try to guilt-trip me? He even called me a whore when he was the biggest whore between the two of us!
God. How could I be so blind?
"I've been with you for seven years, Owen. Seven fucking years," I said, jabbing his chest, tears burning in my eyes. "And all you planned all along was to dump and go for my sister. Seriously?!"
"Stop it, Harper. This is my big day. Don't make it about yourself," Camilla butt in.
"Your big day?" I hissed, glaring at her. "Did you plan this all along? To hurt me? Woah, Camilla."
I let out a bitter laugh, sniffing back tears. "You pretended to be happy for me. Planned the fucking event, even went dress shopping with me. I should have known all that fakeness was an attempt to ruin everything. To steal him."
I turned to the quiet hall. Everyone was watching. Some wore a confused look on their faces, while others looked annoyed at their night being disrupted, and for some, it was the perfect gossip—a significant stain on the Wilson and Fletcher family.
Owen clutched my arm, attempting to drag me from the chaos I had just created. "Let's talk outside."
I resisted, yanking my hand free from his. "Don't ever touch me with those slimy, cheating hands off yours."
I pivoted, turning to Camilla, who was boiling with rage. "And for you, sister dearest, you want my scumbag of an ex? You can have him. I have someone better anyway."
I smiled towards Dominic, my pulse beating in my throat. Dominic cocked a bushy brow in my direction, observing all that was happening. He didn't step in. Not like I was expecting him to. After all, he was a cover-up for my broken heart.
"Don't be ridiculous, young lady!" Elizabeth's sharp voice cut through the air. She marched towards me and struck me hard on the cheek. My head whipped back, and my ears rang for a few minutes. I bit the inside of my cheek, reeling the tears back in.
"I told you not to disgrace the family!" She snapped.
"Should you be questioning me now? How about Camilla, who stole my Fiancé!" I snapped back.
Her hand rose again, and she slapped me for the second time, in the same spot. My vision hazed, and my head began to thump. But the tears gathering in my eyes? I refused to let them fall.
The crowd gasped, staring at what was unfolding.
"I accepted you, clothed you, fed you. What did you bring from your tramp mother that anyone can steal from you?" She said, her voice filled with venom.
"Is she a daughter of the family? I've never seen her before!"
"Don't you know she's the illegitimate daughter of the Wilson family, who was brought in eighteen years ago?"
Murmurs began to saturate the air. Elizabeth clasped my hand and silenced the crowd with her powerful voice. "Apologies to my lovely guests. The party should go on, I shall talk with this one."
She pulled me away from the crowd and into a vacant room. My father was already waiting there.
"Did you see what this shameless brat you brought in just did? Now all the damned tabloids will have it, and you know, having a scandal is the last thing we want right now!" Elizabeth paced the room.
"Yes, mother," Camilla said from behind mine. She brushed her shoulder against me, walking past me. "Especially now that Owen is going to be CEO."
I scoffed in disbelief as they conversed among themselves. It wasn't because they weren't speaking to me. I had always been invisible. It was because they were trying to invalidate my feelings.
"What did I do to make all of you hate me so much? It isn't as if I could stop the relationship between two consenting adults. I wasn't asked to be born. I wasn't the one who slept with your husband. I'm the innocent one here!"
Yet I'm the one stigmatised and ostracised.
"Stop acting pitiful, Harper. It's getting old and a bit boring now." Camilla sighed, delicately. She sat on the two-seater, her legs crossed.
"How dare you say that when you stole something from me? Have a little dignity, Camilla. At least, pretend to be sorry for what you did!"
Camilla jumped to her feet, her eyes narrowed. "Do not raise your voice at me again, bitch. And, as a point of correction, I stole no one. Owen asked me out and I agreed."
"Can you hear yourself? At least, listen to the nonsense you're spewing!"
"Enough!" My father's voice echoed in the room; his gaze hardened, and for the first time since we stepped in, he set aside the paper in front of him, rising to his feet.
Anger once again unfurled inside of me. I didn't know who to direct it at. Owen? Camilla? Elizabeth? Or my father? Maybe all of them.
"What did I hear about you kissing Dominic Fletcher?" My father asked, his voice low and cold.
Camilla gasped dramatically, then chirped, her voice poisoned. "Yes, daddy, she did. She kissed Owen's impoverished uncle. Even declared her love for him! Said she'd fuck him again just to spite Owen. She's been sleeping with him all along—and now she has the nerve to act innocent. Can you imagine that?!"