Page 138 of My Favorite Secret
I had the most perfect relationship with Harper. My precious, beautiful Harper. My everything. She was so vibrant and full of life. Now, she’s miserable. I don’t know if the two of us will ever find our way back to what we shared.
I had Felix. My closest friend and brother. We were going into business together to open our own speakeasy. The three of us together, we were living the dream. We were so stupidly happy.
Now, I suppose I’ll follow my father’s plans for me. Study at Columbia then join his hotel empire.
It won’t make me happy. I don’t think I can ever truly be happy without my brother. His hatred toward me rips me apart.
I’ve only ever tried to do the right thing by Harper and Felix. And yet all of my good intentions have backfired. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.Nothingfeels right.
Part of me wonders if Felix was correct, that Dad used fear to keep me from telling Harper the truth, all to protect himself from the law. Was sacrificing my relationship with Felix and Harper a price he was willing to pay for his ownself-preservation? Was I a fool and fell for his manipulation?
Have the Fergusons really bought the lie they were fed about Paul’s death, or are they suspicious? I seem to be the only one who lives with this fear. Dad says we’re in the clear, but how can we ever know?
“Please, say something,” Harper murmurs.
“I’m sorry everything turned out this way.” I pull her into my arms. “I hate seeing you so sad. What can I do to fix this?”
“Just love me. I’ve lost everything. Felix. My parents. Cindy. Ballet. The baby.” Her voice cracks, and she shudders against me. “I feel terrible admitting this, but I never truly wanted the baby. And yet now that it’s gone, it feels like there’s a part of me that’s missing.”
“I know, Harp. I feel the same way.” I kiss her forehead. “I’m always going to love you. We can try speaking with Felix?—”
“No. After everything that’s gone down, I’m too ashamed to contact him. We’ve hurt him too deeply. I chose you, even though it meant breaking his heart. I can’t crawl back to him just because our circumstances changed. He deserves better. Besides, no one knows where Felix is.” She tilts her head, looking up at me with glassy eyes. “You’re in pain too. Tell me what I can do to help.”
“Love me,” I echo her words.
“Forever. I’ll never stop. We’ll get through this, Tyler.”
My lips brush against her temple. “It’s you and me.”
“Always.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
FELIX
Water drips down my body as I step out of the ocean. The sun beats down, heating my skin, and sand clings to my feet as I walk. The Maldives is picture-perfect. A tropical paradise I never want to leave.
Up ahead, Theo is stretched out on a lounger with his girl, Olivia, straddling him as they kiss. She’s exactly Theo’s type, blonde and covered in ink. Together, they’re sun-kissed and languid, shaded by palm trees.
“Water nice?” Theo asks me, lifting his sunglasses as I approach.
“Refreshing.” I drop onto the lounger beside the two, rubbing a towel over my face.
“Glad you came, man. This is what life is about—beautiful girl, good friends, and fucking off from reality. Am I right or am I right?”
“You’re definitely right.” At least about the fucking off from reality part.
It’s been two weeks since the three of us arrived here. The day I got back from Westbridge, after all that shit went down with Tyler and Harper, I went straight to Theo. Myfather warned me to keep quiet about what got me sent to Westbridge. The difference between him and me is that I know who I can trust.
Fuck. That’s not entirely true. I thought I could trust Tyler. Fucking traitor.
I told Theo everything. When I mentioned I was skipping town for real this time, he said we’d piss off to the Maldives together
Here we are.
I can’t fathom going back to New York. Not when it means watching Harper and Tyler build their perfect little life together. Maybe I won’t go back at all. Nothing is left for me there. I changed myself for Harper, to be the man she deserved. And where the fuck did that get me?
As for my brother, I can’t stand to look at his face.
