---- Chapter 13 Erin Calhoun POV: | did exactly as they asked. | signed the papers to transfer the apartment and car back to the family name. | drained my savings account, two years of hard work and careful budgeting, and handed my parents a cashier's check. It was my final payment for the cost of raising me. Now, my future was my own. As | walked out of that house for the last time, the signed agreement to sever all ties was thrown at my back, fluttering to the ground behind me. | moved into a small, cheap rental apartment and tried to piece my life back together. Harvey texted and called. | always replied, but kept my answers short, clinical. The pain is better. The new medication is working. He asked to see me, and after a long, agonizing pause, | told him no. | was afraid that if | saw him, | would lose what little control | had left. | would want to kiss him, to touch him, to fall into his arms and claim him as mine. But | was also terrified that this beautiful, impossible dream was just that-a dream, destined to shatter. ---- He didn't push. Sometimes, late at night, | would scroll through his social media. He rarely posted. But | would find a photo from a medical conference or a charity event and zoom in, greedily tracing the lines of his face with my finger. Things at my job got harder. Deadlines were moved up, projects were mysteriously canceled, clients became difficult. | knew it was Carlton, pulling strings from behind the scenes, punishing me for my defiance. | couldn't afford to quit, so | gritted my teeth and endured, even as my salary was cut, and then cut again. One evening, | was walking home from the subway, exhausted and defeated, when | saw him. He was standing under a streetlight in front of my building. It was autumn now, and a cool wind was blowing. He wore a dark grey trench coat, the collar turned up against the chill. He was tall and straight, a cigarette held between his fingers, the smoke curling up into the night air. |' d never seen him smoke before. He saw me and immediately dropped the cigarette, grinding it out under his shoe. | froze, the cheap sandwich I'd bought for dinner slipping from my numb fingers and falling to the pavement. He crossed the distance between us in three long strides. He ---- didn't say a word. He just pulled me into his arms and kissed me. It was a deep, desperate kiss, tinged with the bitter taste of nicotine and something that felt like longing. It was intoxicating. | rose on my tiptoes, my arms wrapping around his neck as | kissed him back with all the pent-up loneliness and desire of the past few weeks. "| missed you," | breathed when we finally broke for air. "God, | missed you." We stumbled up the stairs to my apartment, our mouths still locked together. | fumbled with my keys, my fingers trembling so badly | couldn't get the key into the lock. He held me from behind, his lips exploring the sensitive skin of my neck, his hands sliding under my coat to rest on my waist. When the door finally swung open, he lifted me up, kicking it shut behind us and pressing me against the wall by the shoe rack. My hands were everywhere-in his hair, on his back, my fingers tracing the hard muscle of his abdomen through his shirt. A current of electricity shot through me. A low moan escaped my lips, and he swallowed the sound, his kiss deepening. Just as things were about to spiral out of control, he pulled back, his breath coming in ragged gasps. ---- "| need a shower," he said, his voice raw. | loved seeing him like this, undone, all for me. As he turned to go, | wrapped my arms around his waist from behind, pressing my cheek against his back. "Harvey," | whispered. "Take me with you." Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!