---- Chapter 11 Harper Griffin POV: "| don't understand," Adler said, his voice a raw whisper that barely carried in the silent hallway. He looked utterly broken, his usual armor of arrogance shattered. A small, pathetic part of me, the ghost of the girl who once loved him, felt a flicker of pity. | crushed it without mercy. "We are divorced, Mr. Irwin," | said, my voice cold and precise. | tried to push past him, but he blocked my way, his body a desperate, trembling wall. The smell of expensive cologne mixed with the faint, sour scent of stale liquor clung to him. "Please have some self-respect." He grabbed my shoulders, his grip surprisingly strong. "This is a lie," he hissed, his face inches from mine. "A trick. You're trying to hurt me. Like | hurt you." The memory of our first meeting, the memory he had so shockingly retained, flashed in my mind. He, the powerful real estate tycoon, had accidentally sloshed his latte all over my white blouse. He had been so apologetic, so charming, his smile making my knees weak. | had been so young, so ridiculously star-struck. The blouse was the same, but the girl inside it was a stranger, forged in fire and grief. "Let me go," | said again, my voice flat. ---- He shook his head, his eyes wild. "Not until you explain," he begged, his voice cracking. "| know | was wrong. The basement... God, Harper, | was out of my mind. But | fixed it. | punished Juliana for you. I'll do anything. We can get your parents the best care, I'll apologize to them every day for the rest of my life-" His words were a stream of self-serving nonsense. He thought he could fix the unfixable. He thought punishing Juliana was the price for my forgiveness. He still saw my pain as a commodity, something to be bartered and paid for with grand, empty gestures. He had no concept of the chasm that now lay between us. "You think this is about Juliana?" | laughed, a harsh, ugly sound. "You think this is about my parents? Adler, you are so blinded by your own ego you can't see the truth even when it's slapping you in the face." He looked genuinely confused, like a child who can't comprehend why his favorite toy has suddenly been taken away. "Then what? What is it you want?" "l want to have never met you," | said, the words sharp and cruel. "| want my five years back. | want my four children back. | want the career | gave up for you. Can you give me any of that, Adler? Can your money and your power reverse time?" He flinched as if | had physically struck him. "| loved you," | whispered, the admission tasting like poison on ---- my tongue. "| loved you so much | erased myself to make room for you. And you just... took. You took everything and left me with nothing." "That's not true," he protested weakly. "| gave you everything." "You gave me a cage," | shot back. "A beautiful, expensive cage. And you were surprised when the bird you trapped inside it forgot how to sing." | saw the fight go out of him. His shoulders slumped, his hands dropping from my arms. He looked... defeated. "I'll make it right," he mumbled, more to himself than to me. "I'll show you." Before | could react, he lunged forward, his mouth seeking mine. The kiss was desperate, sloppy, tasting of regret and expensive whiskey. It was a violation. My skin crawled. With a surge of adrenaline, | shoved him away with all my might. He stumbled back, his eyes wide with shock. "Don't you ever touch me again," | snarled. The disgust was a physical thing, rising in my throat. This man, whose touch | had once craved, now repulsed me. "It's over, Adler. Truly over." | turned to leave, my entire body trembling with rage and revulsion. "Harper, wait!" he called, his voice thick with a desperation that bordered on madness. ---- | didn't stop. | couldn't. | needed to get away from him, from the suffocating weight of our past. "I'm married!" | shouted over my shoulder, the lie a shield against his pursuit. "l have a husband who loves me!" The words, meant to be my final blow, were the ones that finally brought him to his knees.