Chapter 194: MY FATHER

Harper’s POV

Emma stared at me, looking genuinely baffled. "What? Harper... why are you protecting that man from the natural consequences of his own terrible choices?"

I looked down at our hands.

"You had one of the best job opportunities in the very city where Dad lives," Emma pointed out softly.

I looked back up at her.

"And you completely refused to take it," she said.

"Because I didn’t want him to find me!"

"Exactly!" Emma shook her head. "We cannot keep running away like this. We cannot keep living our lives like someone is constantly hunting us down in the dark."

I couldn’t answer her. The truth of her words felt like a heavy weight resting on my chest.

The soft click of a bedroom door opening made us both turn toward the hallway.

Our mother stepped out into the hall. She looked exhausted, pale, and small in her soft nightgown. "What is all this noise?"

Emma stood up quickly. "Nothing, Mom."

Mom frowned, her soft eyes narrowing slightly. "I heard Noah shouting all the way from my room." She looked at me, then at Emma, then at the front door where Noah had left. "What happened out here?"

I opened my mouth to explain, but no sound came out.

Mom let out a soft sigh. "Come here, Harper."

I stood up on shaky legs. She opened her arms wide, and I walked straight into them. She wrapped her arms tightly around me, holding me against her chest.

"I actually agree with your brother and sister," she whispered softly.

I closed my eyes, fresh tears soaking into her shoulder. "Mom..."

"Justin definitely should have asked for your permission before he ran those ads," she said.

I swallowed hard. "...But?"

"...But he had good intentions in his heart," she rubbed my back gently. "He wanted you to finally stop living in the scary shadow of your father."

A heavy sob tore through my chest. "I just wanted to protect everyone... I was so scared."

"I know, sweetheart." She kissed the side of my head. "I know."

"I was scared they would find us and ruin everything again," I wept.

Mom held me even tighter. "I understand."

"I thought his new wife’s family would destroy our lives..."

She pulled back slightly, framing my face with her warm hands and looking straight into my eyes. "They might be rich, Harper," she wiped a stray tear from my cheek. "But no amount of money can ever swallow the collective voice of the masses."

I stared at her, blinking through my wet lashes.

"Have you gone online to read what people are saying?" she asked.

"No..."

"Have you seen the comment section on your video?"

I shook my head.

"Everyone is supporting us, Harper," she smiled faintly, her eyes shining with soft pride.

My eyebrows lifted in shock. "What?"

"Thousands of people are asking hard questions," she said softly. "They are demanding answers from him." She took my phone gently from my hands. "You posted your story with real proof. You showed evidence. You didn’t just throw mindless accusations around—you told your truth and showed people why you were telling it." She placed the phone back into my palm. "Please, my sweet girl... don’t hide yourself away anymore."

Her voice grew even softer, filled with old pain. "I know what my broken marriage did to you children."

Tears rolled down my face uncontrollably.

"I know," she whispered. "But please, do not let what your father did to us dictate the entire rest of your life." She touched my wet cheek. "We need to stand tall with our heads held high."

I nodded slowly, my throat tight.

"We need to start taking real opportunities without fear," she squeezed my hand tightly. "And we need to stop shrinking ourselves down just because we are afraid he might see us."

I looked into her tired, gentle eyes. "We can’t keep living this way..."

"No, we can’t," she agreed.

I nodded again. "Okay... okay."

She leaned up and kissed my forehead tenderly. "Good girl." Then, she let out a long, heavy yawn, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "I heard Noah screaming his lungs out, so I had to come check on you two." She pointed toward her room. "But I really need to go back to sleep now. I’ve been looking at job listings all day, and I am completely exhausted."

I almost let out a small laugh through my tears.

Mom turned around and began walking back down the hallway. I watched her frail shoulders, a sudden rush of love washing over me.

"Mom?" I called out.

She turned around at her door. "Yes, sweetheart?"

"Thank you."

Mom gave me a beautiful, warm smile. "Get some sleep, Harper."

She stepped inside and closed her door softly.

I turned back around to face Emma. "I thought you were supposed to be on my side."

Emma stared right back at me, unbothered. "I am on your side."

"You’re really not acting like it."

"I am supporting you," she walked toward the hallway, stopping near her room. "But I am not going to support you hiding from Dad for the rest of your life."

I frowned at her. "Emma..."

"Please text Justin," she said quietly, looking back at me. "Apologize to him for harsh words."

I looked down at the dark phone in my hand.

"You two really need to talk this through," she added.

I didn’t answer her.

Emma started to walk into her room, then stopped halfway through the doorway and turned around again. "Oh, and another thing."

I looked up at her.

"We all need therapy," she said completely seriously.

I blinked.

"All of us," she pointed her finger around the living room. "Every single person in this house."

Then she stepped inside and shut her door, leaving me completely alone in the quiet room.

I sat back down on the soft cushions of the sofa. The apartment was dead silent now, save for the hum of the refrigerator.

I stared down at my phone. The unknown number kept popping up on my missed call log, ringing again and again, but I refused to answer it ever again.

I looked at the long string of desperate, loving text messages from Justin.

I opened YouTube and looked at the glowing view count under my mom’s video.

1.5 Million Views.

I thought about Noah’s angry, cracking voice. I thought about Emma’s calm logic. I thought about Mom’s tender hug and her soft plea for me to stop shrinking.

And why did I keep calling him my father in my own head instead of our father? He abandoned all three of us equally.

I shook my head at my own foolishness and lifted the phone into my hands.

Justin’s contact name was still sitting right at the top of my recent messages.

My thumb hovered over his name.

For the very first time since I had walked out of his penthouse apartment and stepped into that elevator, I didn’t feel the burning rage or the blinding panic anymore.

I just felt completely exhausted.

And maybe...

Maybe it was time I finally called him back