Chapter 44

"Do you want me to come with you?"

Harry and I realized there was no reason to go back to the arena again since it was already four in the afternoon, and everyone was most likely heading home. I felt bad for running off and leaving my group without a word, especially this week when things were more important than ever. It didn't make me feel better that I had made Harry leave too. I just hoped Perrie had come up with some excuse for why we were missing.

I ran a hand through my hair as I grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl in the kitchen. Harry was standing in the doorway, leaning with his shoulder against it while poking his hip out. His eyes were following my every move, looking at me expectantly.

"I'd love you to drive me there," I replied as I walked over to him. Placing a gentle hand on his hip, I tilted my chin up to press a sweet kiss to his lips. "Come on. We've got to hurry."

He sent me a small smile before following me to the front door. I was still wearing both my shoes and jacket, and Harry was still wearing his shoes, so it didn't take long until we were sitting in his Range Rover, backing out of the driveway. Seeing my car reminded me that my bags and Clifford's food bowls were still in there, but that was something I would have to remind myself of later because what I was about to do was much more critical.

I could tell Harry knew how much this whole thing affected me by the way he kept glancing at the side of my face and reached out to squeeze my thigh reassuringly. I would be a nervous wreck if I were him, which he probably was. He was just good at hiding it, and he probably wanted to be there for me right now.

When he parked the car outside the familiar tall building and turned off the engine, a silence fell between us. I was too worked up to move. I knew I had to calm down before I even thought of exiting the car, or else this would end in a disaster.

Harry was looking at me in deep thought, and I could only imagine what was going on inside his head. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know.

I eventually reached my hand out to turn the door handle, but Harry grabbed my forearm before I could swing it open, stopping me from getting out. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" He asked, worry lacing his voice.

Turning my head to look at him, I could feel my heart clench at the look on his face. He looked like he was in pain, his features scrunched up. "I have to do this alone, love," I reminded him, sinking my teeth into my lip.

I knew he was expecting my reply, but that didn't mean it didn't make him sad. "I know..." He sighed. "Just be careful, alright?" And yes, he had definitely been hiding his nervousness before.

"I promise," I said, reaching over to press a kiss to his lips. "I love you."

He cracked a small smile. "Love you too."

When I got out of the car, the first thing I did was get rid of the apple. I didn't even know why I had grabbed it in the first place because I had only taken a few bites of it. Maybe I thought it would calm me down, distract me from the anger that was building up inside me. I was honestly surprised by how calm I had managed to stay, but Harry was not the person I wanted to get my anger out on, so maybe that was why.

The second I walked into the building, I could feel everyone turn their eyes to me. It was almost as if I was expected, yet at the same time, they seemed surprised. It was weird, and their looks made me shudder uncomfortably, my strides only quickening towards the elevator.

I didn't spare them another glance when I walked inside, letting the doors close behind me.

I was brought up to the floor I knew by heart, and the second I stepped out, I exhaled a deep breath. I should have probably smoked a cigarette before going here, but maybe having built-up frustration would make this easier. At least I hoped so.

Any other day, I would have knocked on the familiar wooden door, but today, I didn't think twice before turning the door handle and barging into the office.

Simon was sitting in his seat by the desk, his glasses on the tip of his nose, a black custom suit covering his body. He didn't even seem fazed that his door had just been swung open, his gaze remaining on his paperwork.

His reaction only made me even more frustrated. This man had no respect for other people whatsoever. In his eyes, he was the king of the industry, the man who everyone should look up to. It was disgusting. He didn't even deserve his title of being a manager.

He didn't look up until I slammed the door shut and walked over to him, hovering over his desk. But he remained calm, his features not giving away what he was thinking. "Tell me what the fuck is going on," I demanded, boring my eyes into his while clenching my jaw.

He tilted his head to the side. "Excuse me, Louis. I have a job to do. If you want to talk to me, you'll have to call first. You should know this by now," he said with a sickenly sweet tone, making my blood boil.

"I swear to God that this will be the last time you see me if you don't drop this stupid act. I don't give a shit about any contracts. I'll fucking quit if that's the only way out of this shit," I snarled, and yes, it was definitely a good thing that I didn't smoke before having this conversation. He, if anyone, deserved to have my anger directed at him, especially since he was the reason for it in the first place.

An amused smile formed on his lips, making uncomfortable chills run down my spine. "Louis, Louis, Louis. It seems like you'll never learn how to keep yourself together. It's really a shame," he snickered. "But fine, take a seat. I'll spare you a few minutes."

There was no way in hell I would sit right now. I was not here to have a nice and sweet meeting with him. I was here to make him explain what the fuck was going on. So instead, I fished my phone from my back pocket, going onto Twitter to find the picture I would rather not see again. I then shoved the device in front of his face to make him look at it.

"Tell me what the fuck this is, and don't tell me you don't know because I know you're behind it," I sneered, glaring at him.

His eyes flicked to the screen for a few seconds, his lips curling slightly. "I don't know what you're trying to accuse me of, but I think it's pretty obvious what's going on in this picture," he smirked, making me want to slap it off his face, but instead, I clenched my hand into a tight fist.

"Just tell me why the fuck you would publish this now, three years after it happened," I required, boring my eyes into his again.

He rolled his eyes. "Louis, I haven't done anything. Harry and his label are the only people who can consent to these things now that he isn't under my label anymore," he tried to explain, but I shook my head.

"That's bullshit. You always find your way to get through with whatever you want. I just don't understand why the fuck you would do it now, three years after we broke up. It doesn't even make any sense."

He raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Doesn't it, though? There's clearly a reason why you're getting so upset about it, isn't there? You and Harry broke up years ago, so you wouldn't have cared if you didn't still have feelings for him."

I dropped my phone on the desk to point my finger at him, not even affected by his words. "You and I both know that is not fucking true. Anyone would get fucking pissed if they found out their ex cheated on them, even if it's after they have broken up."

He tilted his head to the side, a smirk playing on his lips. "But you already knew he cheated on you when you broke up, didn't you?"

I could feel all color drain from my face, his words catching me completely off guard because never once had I mentioned to him why Harry and I broke up. But now that I thought about it, it made sense that he was aware of it because that meant he knew exactly what hell would break loose once the picture was published.

"You didn't know that I knew, did you?" He laughed, making me swallow hard.

When I didn't reply, he kept going, "I know more than you think, Louis. Have I never told you that you can't keep secrets from me?"

I just stared at him, letting his words sink in. If he knew everything, he was aware that Harry and I were back together and that he never did cheat. For some reason, I felt as though he didn't know the latter, but the fact that he could be aware of the prior made uncomfortable shivers run down my spine.

"I never told you what happened between us. In fact, I haven't told you shit about him, so how the fuck would you know?" I asked, the shock subsiding and being replaced by anger again.

A knowing smile made its way to his lips, stretching across his face. "I have my sources."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Your what?"

He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. The knowing smile was still playing on his lips as if he was mocking me. "You didn't think I would let you do the show without keeping an eye on you, did you? Especially not when you're working with Harry again."

It was as if he was pouring a bucket of ice-cold water over my head, revealing secret after secret that caught me off guard. I wasn't sure if I wanted to know more. This man was a fucking creep, keeping an eye on people behind their backs. It should be illegal, for fuck's sake.

"I have to say Leah did a pretty good job with Harry, although she fell for him in the process. She got a lot of stuff out of him," he continued, smirking now.

I was not expecting that. Hell, I wasn't expecting it at all. Leah had been working undercover for Simon all this time? How was that even possible? I thought she was just a woman in the crew who was a bit too interested in Harry and couldn't let him go even when he turned her down. But now that I thought about it, she had asked him about me a few times, and why would she do that if she was interested in Harry?

The realization made me feel sick, knowing a girl Harry had been close with lately was working for this man. Harry would be devastated when he found out. Fuck, he actually thought they were friends. He thought he could trust her, when in reality, she just wanted to get information out of him.

And what kind of information were we talking about here? Because as far as I knew, Harry hadn't told her more than necessary. He had told her we were friends. That was basically it. I was sure he had never mentioned that we were or had been together, let alone why we broke up.

Feeling the anger leave my body, I sat down on the chair Simon had told me to sit on earlier, running a hand through my hair. "What 'stuff' are you talking about?" I asked, almost feeling defeated. I hated that he was always one step ahead of me.

He almost looked smug where he was sitting, leaned back against the chair. "He told her pretty much everything, that you two were together back when you were in One Direction, that you guys started drifting apart and that he cheated on you," he explained.

I shook my head slowly, a flat laugh escaping my lips. "You're lying."

He raised his eyebrows in amusement. "Am I? Then how do I know what happened?" He challenged.

Closing my eyes for a few seconds, I shook my head again, this time quicker. "I don't care how you found out about it, but I know he would never do that." He wouldn't lie. Not again, especially about something like this.

The corners of his lips twitched. "You sound awfully sure about it considering you're not supposed to be dating anymore, don't you think?" He asked tauntingly.

I didn't say anything because I realized then that somehow, he was aware that Harry and I were back together. The fact made me feel even sicker. I wanted to escape, run out of this office, and never face this awful man again. He had already ruined so much in my life, and now that he was aware Harry and I were back together, I was sure he would want to ruin it even more.

"Logan made sure to update me on everything between you and Harry," he continued when I stayed silent. "And it became blatantly obvious that you are back together when you turned him down and refused to tell him that you were seeing someone else."

If he didn't shut up, I was sure I would throw up. I couldn't deal with more stuff being thrown at me. It was too much, too overwhelming. Logan had been working for Simon all this time as well? What was this? Some kind of twisted game?

Because that was exactly what it felt like. I had never felt more of a piece of someone's game as I did now, and then Harry and I had been through hell when we were in the band. This was different, though. We had never been watched like this before, without being aware of it.

However, looking back to how Logan had treated me since the start, maybe I shouldn't be surprised. He had been quite nosy at times, wanting to know stuff about me that a person like him shouldn't want to, and he had always thought we were closer than I considered us.

And here I had been, feeling guilty for turning him down when he never even wanted to go out with me in the first place. I felt dumb for not realizing it, but at the same time, he had never really given me a reason to question him. He must be one hell of an actor, that lying piece of garbage.

"So what?" I scoffed, trying to come off strong, when in reality, I was shaking with fear. This man was willing to go to the most extreme extent to get what he wanted, and it was scaring the hell out of me. "Leah tried to get information out of Harry while trying to make him like her, and Logan tried fishing for what was happening between us? Is there anyone else I should know about? Or are these the only people you've hired to follow me and Harry around?"

His smile faltered slightly, clearly not expecting me to collect myself so quickly after what he had just dropped. "Louis, you have to realize I'm doing this because I care about you. Harry cheated on you, he even told you so himself, and this picture makes it obvious. You are better off without him. I mean, he even dated Leah while you were around. What more evidence do you need to understand that he doesn't love you anymore?"

I couldn't help but let out a loud, humorous laugh. This man was crazy, and he was only proving himself more every second. "Simon," I said, looking at him intently. "You have to realize I'm not the same stupid kid I was three years ago. You can't manipulate me into thinking Harry doesn't want me. I know him more than anyone, and you have no bloody idea what we've been through these past few years and months. There have been so many misunderstandings, and I'm done listening to anyone but him. I know he loves me. I know that he doesn't want anyone else, let alone some blonde, random girl you've always said he'll leave me for. Let's be honest here. Your attempts at keeping us away from each other are getting ridiculous, more ridiculous than ever because you will never fucking win. Harry and I will find our way back together no matter what you fucking do. So whatever game you're trying to play, end it. It's game over." I finished, clenching my jaw.

He swallowed visibly, and it was obvious he was having a hard time keeping on track. I was making more resistance than I was sure he had expected me to. "He cheated on you, Louis. He lied to you about not telling Leah what happened between you. How are you taking it so well? You're an emotional person. You would never let it slip so easily," he continued, sounding slightly frustrated.

I let out a snort. "Harry didn't cheat, and he never told Leah what happened between us either because clearly, she doesn't know that he only said he cheated because he wanted to hurt me just as much as I hurt him. Maybe you already know that. You probably just want me to think otherwise, but as I said before, you can't manipulate me anymore. I know you lied to me last time, and I've learned from my mistakes. I'll never believe a single word you say again, so just do yourself and everyone else a favor and quit fucking trying."

A long, thick silence followed after that. Simon stared at me with pursed lips while I held his gaze steadily. I wasn't going to give in this time. He wouldn't be able to stomp on me and do whatever he wanted. The fact that I had let him do it once haunted me and would probably do so for a long time.

"Can you just tell me why you're so against me and Harry these days? We're not teenagers anymore. We're not aiming for our fans to fall in love with us. We only want them to like our music, so it shouldn't matter who we're together with. Sure, some fans might not like the fact that we're in a relationship, but so what? I'm sure most of them will only be happy that we're happy, that we're finally getting to show who we really are and who we love."

I inhaled a deep breath, feeling relieved to finally get that out. It was something I had always wanted to say to him, but I had never found the guts to do it, always too afraid that he would bite back at me.

He let out a loud bark of laughter, clapping his hands together as if what I said was hilarious. "After so many years in the industry, I thought you would understand it by now. It doesn't matter that you're not aiming for teenage girls to fall in love with you anymore. They are still the ones who listen to your music, and you would lose a bunch of money if you came out. Not only because some of them would stop listening to you, but you're still famous for being in One Direction, and if it came out you and Harry were dating the whole time, people would flip. You'd be hung out in media. They would call you names you'd never thought you would ever be called, and they would treat you like shit. So what I'm saying is, it would never work, Louis. You have to understand that."

I scoffed, raising my eyebrows at him. "That's funny because last time we talked about this, you told me that the main reason we couldn't come out was that every single one of our fans would hate us and feel betrayed. Have you figured since then that most of them won't?" I asked, waiting for an answer.

When he didn't say anything, I took it as a sign to continue. "You also said that we couldn't come out due to the contract we signed with you, so I think it's pretty obvious that you're only trying to save your sorry ass here. Your career would be over if you were exposed for having kept us in the closet all these years. You would have no one to work with because nobody would want to work with a homophobic dickhead like you."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You think you're so clever with that smart mouth of yours, Louis, but you can't win over me. You're under my label, and it's clear what the contract says. You can't tell a soul what's going on within these four walls. And whether you believe it or not, I'm not homophobic," he finished, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

I let out a loud laugh. "You have a very funny way of showing it, Cowell. Keeping two guys in the closet isn't homophobic at all," I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"I'm doing it for you," he pointed out. "I'm doing it so that you'll earn as much money as you deserve."

I clenched my jaw, leaning forward in my seat. "Yeah? Well, neither Harry nor I ever asked for it. We never fucking cared about the money. We cared about living our dream and doing it alongside Liam, Niall and Zayn. They didn't care either. They only wanted what was best for us. You have always been the only one caring about it, so don't come here and say you have done anything for us."

I was furious. It felt as though I was going to burst any second. All this built-up anger I'd had the last eight years was coming to life, and I couldn't stop it. I didn't want to stop it because I had been waiting to have the courage to confront him about this for so long.

"I gave you fame, Louis. You would be nowhere if it weren't for me," he snapped, his nostrils flaring.

"You didn't give us shit," I disagreed, swallowing. "Do you seriously think signing us is what made us famous? That's bullshit. It's about personality and talent, Cowell, something you obviously lack."

His face turned a dark shade of red, and if it wasn't already obvious he was angry before, it certainly was now. "I put you in the band, Louis. You wouldn't even be famous if it weren't for me."

I shook my head, a feigned smile forming on my lips. "We both know that's not true. You were not the one suggesting to put us together. You have just taken the honor for it all these years, and honestly, you should be ashamed of that."

He looked down at his paperwork, his face still flushing red. "I see we have two different perspectives of this, Louis," he said slowly. You could hear that he was trying to remind himself to stay calm. "And even if you think I'm a talentless prick, I have a huge say in your career. I could make you do anything, and you wouldn't be able to do a thing about it. It's funny that even though you must know this by now, you still have the guts to say all this shit to me. I could end your career right here, right now," he reminded me, raising a taunting eyebrow.

I could feel uncomfortable chills run down my spine again, and I had to look away from him. How come I could never win over him no matter how hard I tried? It didn't matter what I said. He always had the upper hand.

"But," he said, his face turning neutral. "After all these years of trying to keep you and Harry apart with no real success, it's disgustingly clear that I have done it all in vain. I'm sick and tired of spending energy and money on you two, so as long as you stay the fuck out of the spotlights, I won't try to sabotage your relationship anymore. You will obviously still have to date Eleanor publicly, and if I so much as see an article about you and Harry spending time together, I'll end your career. Understood?"

I stared at him for a few seconds, trying to process what he had just said. I had to admit it was hard. After all this time, I never thought I would get to hear him say those words. It was almost surreal.

Trying not to show how surprised I was, I cleared my throat, furrowing my brows. "So you're confessing you are the one who published the picture to sabotage my and Harry's relationship after all?" I concluded. Not that I didn't already know, but I wanted him to confess.

He rolled his eyes, letting out a chuckle. "If it still matters... Yes, I did. I called a few people to see if they had any pictures of Harry from a few years ago. I remember how he started going out a lot, and that there were a few photos we never published because we knew they would ruin his reputation. They came in handy now."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Oh, so you thought it didn't matter that you ruined his reputation now then?"

A smirk formed on his lips as he shook his head. "Harry's not under my label anymore. I don't care. I was just happy I still had permission to those pictures."

I sent him a dark glare. "You're the most heartless person I've ever come across," I snapped.

He continued smirking at me. "Watch your mouth, Louis," he reminded me. "You don't want to lose your career, do you?"

Shaking my head, I got up from the seat, picked up my phone and slid it back into my pocket. "I'm fucking done here. Tell your precious undercover workers that if they so much as think of coming back to the arena this week, I'll kick their fucking asses out," I muttered. "And if you decide to drop me from the label, you, if anyone, won't have much of a career left because let's face it, I'm the only one here who brings in the money."

Without even waiting for a reply, I left the room, shutting the door soundly behind me. I could kick a wall. That was how angry and frustrated I was. I couldn't believe I had once looked up to this man, thinking he was someone who made people's lives better. Like hell he was. He had ruined more people's lives than he could probably count. He was a sick, heartless person who should be in jail for what he had done. It shouldn't be legal to do all these things just because you had signed a contract.

I was about to take the elevator back down to the bottom floor when I looked up only to see Harry sitting on a chair across the hallway. His hands were covering his face, his body hunched over as if he didn't want anyone to see his state.

He looked up the second I inhaled a sharp breath, his slightly bloodshot, green eyes coming into view as he raised his face. His dark curls were a mess on top of his head, looking as though he had run his hands through it one too many times.

It crushed me to see him like this. I knew that he didn't like the idea of me going into a meeting with Simon, especially after everything that had happened today, but I didn't realize it was this bad. If I did, I would have made sure to assure him that nothing would happen in there, that there was no way I was ever going to believe a word Simon said again.

"Jesus," I breathed, and he instantly got up from his seat to walk over to me.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, furrowing his brows in shame. "I couldn't wait outside. It was driving me crazy, not knowing whether you would come back or not."

Reaching up to take his face in my hands, rubbing my thumbs against his soft skin, I shook my head. "Of course I would come back," I said, swallowing down the tears. "I told you I would."

He pursed his lips, looking conflicted. "I couldn't be sure. I'm sorry I didn't trust you, I just... I felt so helpless out there."

"It's okay," I smiled, moving my hands down to wrap my arms around his waist. "I'm glad you're here."

He wound his arms around my shoulders, pulling me close to him. I burrowed my face in his neck, placing a light kiss on his skin. "Thank God for that because I had to go through hell to get up here," he chuckled, his voice breaking a little.

I pulled back to look at him in confusion. Then it dawned on me what he was talking about. "Oh, they wouldn't let you up?"

He shook his head, grimacing. "You can say they weren't very pleased when I walked into the building and demanded to let me go upstairs. I kinda had to push my way through."

A smile spread on my face. "Doesn't really sound like something you would do."

He shrugged. "I didn't care if I'm honest. I just had to be here when you came out," he said. "So, how did it go?" His eyes searched my face, trying to read me.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I let my hands play with the hem of his jacket. "He confessed that he was the one publishing the picture," I started slowly, looking into his eyes. "He uh... He also told me that he hired two people to keep their eyes on us while we've been working on the show."

Confusion crossed his face, his eyebrows pulling together. "Who would that be?"

I swallowed, averting my gaze for a few seconds. "Leah and Logan," I confessed, tightening my hold on his waist when I felt him tense under his jacket.

He looked as though he had just seen a ghost, the color draining from his face. His cheeks were still a little flushed from the cold weather outside, though.

When he didn't say anything, I continued, "He tried to make me believe that you told Leah about us, that you explained what happened when we broke up, but I obviously didn't fall for it. They must have overheard us talking about it sometime or something."

His features turned into a look of realization as he processed my words. "The bathroom in Ibiza," he echoed, looking as though he would be sick. "They were there."

My eyes widened. "Shit."

I didn't know how many times I had thought of that encounter today, but it didn't once hit me that Leah and Logan had been there that night as well. It made sense that it was from there Leah had gotten the information since she didn't know it was a lie, that Harry had only said it to hurt me.

"That also explains why Simon sent you that text when we were going to Manchester. They told him we were heading there, just the four of us, and he knew we were getting closer and didn't want you to get back together with me," he continued, shaking his head in disbelief. "This is so disgusting. I actually thought Leah wanted to be my friend."

I nodded sadly, reaching up to brush back a few curls that had fallen in his eyes. "I know. I can't believe it either. I mean, Logan always acted a bit strange. He thought we were closer than we were, but I didn't think he was working undercover for Simon. It's probably worse for you, though, since you practically dated Leah," I grimaced, not really wanting to think about that time.

A faint smile formed on his lips as he shook his head. "We never dated, and I never thought of her as more than a friend, so it's not really about that. It's just... She seemed so nice, and she didn't judge me. If anything, she was supportive," he sighed, looking away from me.

I pursed my lips. "She grew feelings for you, you know? Simon told me," I confessed against my will, keeping my eyes on his features.

He looked back at me in surprise, his eyebrows arched. "You sure that wasn't made up too?"

"There would be no reason for him to say that if it weren't true. It was almost as if he was disappointed in her for it. He tried to tell me that you didn't want me anymore since you were dating her when I was around, though."

He furrowed his brows, shaking his head. "He always tries to find ways to make you leave me. I hate it. I hate that he even has the opportunity to come up with ideas like that. I wish there were nothing that would make you doubt how much I love you. I wish everything I've done these past few years would make it obvious that I've only been thinking about you and how much I've missed you even when I didn't want to," he said, cupping the side of my neck, his fingers dancing over my chin.

My heart fluttered in my chest, butterflies erupting in my stomach. I couldn't help the smile that broke out on my face as I wrapped my arm around his back to pull him closer, my other still laced around his waist. "It doesn't have to be obvious to anyone else because it's obvious to me. I can see it in your eyes, I can hear it in your music, and I can feel it when you touch me. I know you love me, Harry. Nothing that man says or does will ever make me doubt that."

He leaned in to brush my nose with his, his lips ghosting over my own. Both his hands were now gripping the side of my neck as he looked into my eyes with so much fondness I was afraid he was going to burst. "You have no idea how happy that makes me. I was afraid you would start distancing yourself from me again, and I couldn't even handle thinking about that possibility," he admitted, sinking his teeth into his bottom lip.

I nudged my face closer to his, making my lips brush over his mouth again. He released his bottom lip and let them both slide with mine. It wasn't really a kiss, but it was almost better than one. It felt more intimate, more intense, especially the way he exhaled through his nose against my cheek while his curls tickled my forehead.

"I'll make sure you'll never be afraid of that again. I love you, and I promise that nothing or no one can ever make me leave you again. You're the love of my life, and I plan to keep you forever," I whispered against his mouth, leaning in to add a bit more pressure.

He reciprocated the kiss with ease, his lips moving as though they knew my every thought, my every move. "I love the sound of that," he said, pulling back a little to look into my eyes. His were glowing with both love and happiness, catching the dim lights in the room perfectly.

He was just about to lean in for another kiss when the door across the corridor swung open. We quickly turned our heads in the direction only to see the man himself coming out of his office, his glasses sitting further up his nose now. He stilled the second he saw me and Harry, pressing his lips into a tight line while the muscles in his face hardened. He didn't say a word, though, and the next second, he was walking away, down the corridor.

I could feel Harry tense against me, his back muscles going completely rigid. When I turned to look at his face, I noticed that his features weren't any better. I could almost feel the anger radiating from him. "I want to kill him," he muttered in a dark tone.

Placing a gentle hand on his cheek, I made him meet my gaze. "It's not worth it. Besides, you're not a violent person, Harry," I reminded him.

He closed his eyes, furrowing his brows. "I would still hurt him. He deserves it after everything he's put us through."

"True," I said, nodding in agreement. "But he's not worth the time or thought, love."

He opened his eyes, still looking ready to follow Simon and take him down, but it seemed as though my words had calmed him at least a little. He wasn't as tense anymore.

"Come on, let's go home."

And there was something about those words that made Harry forget about everything that had just happened, and he relaxed completely.

------

So, it was pretty obvious all these people were involved in this drama, I know, but now you at least know how they were involved and what they did. I hope you liked this chapter, and I'm sorry for including Simon like this, but I don't really like him irl anyway haha.

I'm pretty sure a lot of you have been looking for what's going to happen in the next (and last) chapter before the epilogue. I finished writing the epilogue yesterday and I'm getting really emotional that this story is coming to an end. I've really loved writing this fic.

Alright, stay amazing, guys. See you next week. I love you.

Pauline .xx