A/N; hey everyone. I know it's been nearly a month and I'm so so sorry about that. For those of you who don't follow me or just missed my announcement, my university got really busy for a couple of weeks and it completely took over my life. And then just as the dust was settling on that, last week we had to put down my beloved dog molly. She was with us for 14 years and I've been pretty miserable ever since. I didn't have it in me to write anything worth publishing, and I care about this story too much to just push out chapters that I don't believe are up to standard. I've taken some time and just tried to write a little everyday. I hope it's okay.

I'll be trying to publish more often from now, I just needed a bit of time. I'm sorry if you've been waiting and I've let you down.

Be kind to each other and keep safe. More soon. X

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"You're seriously quitting?" Luke asks with a slight hiss, surprising me as I leave my boss' office having just told her that I'm quitting my job at the bookstore. She took it surprisingly well, I guess maybe she saw it coming as I'd talked to her about my full workload coming next semester. I suppress a groan as I walk past Luke to head towards the storefront.

"Yeah I am. I have taken really big course load next semester in order to graduate early, and if I want to pass I need to have less stuff on my plate" I explain monotonously, I had really hoped after yesterday's confrontation between him and Harry but I guess not.

"Like a job?" His voice drips with sarcasm, and I don't like what he's implying so I give him a slight shrug of my shoulders as I move behind the counter and log into the computer system.

"You know you could just dump the boyfriend. Is he making you do this?" He cruelly insinuates. Sure; if I wasn't dating Harry I wouldn't be quitting my job, but I would want to quit. I had the motive and now I've been given the means, what's wrong with that?

"No! Why would you think that?" I say defensively, perhaps a little too defensively. A small smile flickers across his lips but he quickly masks it as he leans against one of the bookshelves opposite the front desk where I click through orders.

"Because I know the kind of things that guys like him do" He states proudly.

"What are you talking about?"

"Older rich men. They find young beautiful women and they make them so dependent on them so that they feel like they can't live without them. They make them quit their jobs, they cut people out of their lives that they don't like and make sure that they have no where else to go" He states proudly as I avoid his gaze, wandering out among the shelves to collect the books students have ordered. The words sink in, that may be how Harry and I started but that's certainly not where we are now.

"That's ridiculous, we're in a relationship, it's all equal" I counter, collecting a handful of books into my arms.

"How could it be equal? He's a billionaire and you're in university" He hisses as he starts tidying up a row of books on the other side of the shelf.

"Because our relationship isn't about money, and it's also none of your business" I bite back, carrying the books to the counter.

"Look I'm sorry if I'm stepping over some sort of line here, I just hope you know that you're so much more than just a pretty thing for him to parade around town" He continues, he really just doesn't get it. What does he even want me to do? Fall into his arms and cry about how Harry is just some gross old man that pays my bills?

"You are, you are stepping over a line. Harry is my boyfriend. I love him, and he loves me. Our relationship has nothing to do with money. And even if it did, it would still me none of your god damn business" I snap at him in a quiet and angry tone. He stares back at me, almost in disbelief that I have stood my ground. He still thinks he's right. A look of determination suddenly flickers across his face.

"You know this morning, the man that you love threatened to ruin my whole life if I ever came near you again. Basically threatened to have me expelled and bar from future employment in this town if he ever heard my name again." He chuckles slightly. "That's the man you love?"

The ground feels as though it slips away from under me. I know Harry is protective, but I can't believe he did that. I shake my head, I won't side with Luke against Harry, I won't give him that. I brace myself against the counter and manage to roll my eyes somewhat convincingly.

"Then you should listen to him" I say pointedly, picking up the books and taking it to the back room to package, just in time to hear the bell chime as customers walk through the door.

I manage to waste the rest of my shift in the back room, slowly packaging up the books ready for delivery and going over the inventory from the previous shift. I hear the bell chime a few more times as customers come and go, hopefully they'll be keeping Luke busy. I check the clock, five minutes left on my shift, that's my cue. I remove the name badge from my chest and leave it on the desk before signing out of the computer system, collecting my belongings and sneaking out the backdoor to avoid running into Luke again.

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"Heather, you home?" I call out as I unlock the front door and walk in, trying to shake off my last interaction with Luke. Heather appears from her bedroom wearing a pair of leggings and a soft pink sweater, as well as a bright shining smile.

"Oh my god you have to tell me everything about Francesca Sutton!" Heather gushes as she wraps her hand around my arm and drags me over to the couch. Of course, Heather wants to talk about this more than her current situation.

"What was she like? Was she a bitch or was she super sweet and genuine. She follows you on insta now, you can totally post a photo of you two together and you can become one of those influencers. Oh my god I can become one of those influencers!" She excitedly chirps on as I shrug off my jacket and settle down onto the couch.

"Woah woah slow down, we need to talk about your meeting with Brad last night before we get into any Francesca stuff" I tell her calmly, to which at first she rolls her eyes but clears her throat and begins to explain.

"Alright, fine. It went okay. He said at first he didn't want me to have the baby because he was scared about the scandal it would cause and even though he's not in love with his wife anymore, he still loves her and doesn't want to hurt her. But now he wants us to have the baby, together, as a couple" She states as she plays with a loose string that's frayed at the bottom of her sweater.

"Wait, a couple? As in, him leave his wife and be with you?" I ask in disbelief. She nods her head slowly and mirrors my shocked expression.

"I know right! I didn't expect him to say that, I figured he would offer me some money to support it or make me sign some kind of extended NDA so that I'd never reveal to anyone that he's the father. But yeah, he was talking about us getting a flat together and him officially filing for divorce and moving out of his house"

"What did you say to that?" I ask, her situation with Brad has always been confusing to me but never more so than right now. She shrugs her shoulders.

"I told him to slow down, that I'm not sure if that's something that I want. Like, I'm glad he wants to be involved because well, doing this parenting thing alone is mildly terrifying and he's done it before so that's always a bonus. But I also don't want to get myself into a permanent place where I'm stuck with him" She begins to talk me through her thought process, standing up and pacing slowly in front of the coffee table.

"Well if you don't love him, then don't settle down into a house with him. People do split custody parenting all the time" She shakes her head in response to my suggestion.

"But that's not how it's supposed to go, right? Kids should have two parents that love them in the same home giving them love and support" In the instant that she says it I can see that she regrets it. I smile and shake my head, I get where she's coming from. She grew up in a nuclear family, she doesn't quite get that this split parenting thing is also a good option. Now that's not exactly how it went with my situation but that's what I'd always hoped it would become.

"Well sure that's traditional, but your relationship isn't traditional. You can't expect to just fall into a traditional partnership when everything has been very...non-traditional" She doesn't say anything in response, nodding at me to continue my point. I sigh and sit forward slightly before I elaborate.

"Heather, you dated a married man and now you're pregnant, this isn't traditional. Nothing about this has been traditional. That's why you guys could never master the whole boyfriend girlfriend thing; because every time he went to see you he had to take off his wedding ring. Every time you talked on the phone he had to take it in another room or call you back when his wife was asleep. Everytime you went out in public together it couldn't be anywhere near where he worked or lived in case someone he knew saw you two. This isn't a traditional relationship, and it probably never will" I watch as the words sink in for her. She sits down on the edge of the coffee table in front of me, her face completely expressionless. I don't want to be harsh with her, but this is grown up shit now, she's got to face facts.

"I just always thought that one day we'd get to a place where it felt normal. But it's mostly my fault, he fell for me and I fell for his money. Don't get me wrong, I love him. But..." she trails off, I lean forward and take a hold of her hands.

"Can you see yourself being with him for the rest of your life?" I ask, and after a moment of hesitation she nods her head slightly.

"Sure"

"When you see yourself with him for the rest of your life, are you happy?" I press on. Sure she'd have money and the typical family unit, but for some that's not enough. I've always figured that deep down Heather has wanted to do things the traditional way, but I'm worried that's just not the way that she's wired.

"Well no, but..." She starts to deflect.

"But nothing" I interject. "Kids deserve to have two happy parents, if you're together and you're always fighting or you don't like each other then that just breeds misery. If you're really going to do this, then you need to do this in a way that ensures your future happiness and stability. Putting your life in the hands of Brad and his money isn't going to do that"

She lets out a heavy sigh and finally brings her head up to look at me. Her eyes are steeped in sadness and regret, as though she's disappointed in herself. She's made a bit of a mess of things, but if anybody can clean it up and put themselves back together again it's Heather.

"I'm going to my parents tonight, family dinner. I'm going to tell them. Maybe they can help me with all of this" She half laughs at the ridiculousness of the situation. I wonder how her conservative mother is going to respond when she finds out what's been going on.

"You think you're ready?"

"Don't have much choice now. Just have to rip the bandaid off I guess" she sighs. "Will you tell me about Francesca Sutton now?" I can't help but laugh as she settles back into the couch beside me, eager to hear all about my encounter at dinner last night. We talk for what feels like hours, the sun almost completely set by the time I wave goodbye and head down the stairs towards my car to head to Harry's. Now I have to have another uncomfortable discussion. We have to talk about what's happened with Luke, and I have a feeling it's going to be a shit storm.

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"Harry?" I call out as the elevator doors slowly open.

"Kitchen!" He calls back as I slip off my shoes and put my bag down, venturing deeper into the apartment towards the kitchen. Soft piano music swells from the record player, coating the room in a sweet romantic glow. I wish I was in a better mood for it, had I not just had an intense conversation with Heather or had to deal with what Luke told me this evening would be a perfect one.

"Hey" I smile at him as I find him in the kitchen. He's discarded his suit jacket and moves around the kitchen in his white button up shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His lips curl up into a smile before he even lifts his head up from the chopping board in front of him.

"Hi love" He purrs as I walk around the kitchen counter and stand on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "How was the last shift?" He moves around the kitchen with the kind of ease I've never been able to have as a cook. Everything is within his control, he knows exactly when to stir, when to season, how long until it's perfect. It's a very sexy thing to watch, so I pull up a stool and sit down and watch as he works, putting my plan into action.

"It was fine. Sarah was okay with me quitting, I think she saw it coming. Luke was weird, barely even made eye contact with me" I reply with a slight tone of confusion. Harry barely even reacts, nodding his head as he places the lid back onto the pot.

"Then there you go, one less thing to worry about next semester" He says as he uses the tea towel draped over his shoulder to check something in the oven before closing the door again. I'm unsure if he's referring to Luke or my job, but I want to see if he admits that he threatened Luke or if he'll lie to me.

"Sure. But it was just so weird. Like yesterday, he was all concerned and all over me and then today...it was like he was scared of me" I continue on. Harry stands still for the first time since I've got home and leans his body against the counter, shrugging his shoulders.

"He's a weird mother fucker" His tone is flat and unbothered. I prop my head up with my hand and watch him.

"I thought maybe he would say goodbye or like apologise, but nothing" I say with a small sigh. Harry's arms are crossed as he looks up at me, his eyes giving nothing away.

"Glad the creep didn't ruin your last day" he says with a small smile. I raise an eyebrow at him, he's not going to admit what he did.

"What exactly did you say to him Harry?" I ask in a serious tone. Harry stands up from his leaning position at the change in my tone.

"What are you talking about?" His tone matching mine.

"I lied. He did talk to me today, he had plenty to say. But I want to hear it from you. So what did you say to him?" I demand, watching as Harry's shoulders shift at my words.

"Nothing he didn't deserve to hear"

"Tell me what you said" I press on, he ignores me for a moment before moving back over to the pot, lifting off the lid to check its contents.

"After dinner"

"No, now"

He squares his shoulders and looks back up at me before speaking in a gravelly voice. "I made sure he knew that there would be consequences if he overstayed his welcome in your life"

"What kind of consequences?" I say through nearly gritted teeth. He's reluctant, not because he's ashamed but more likely because of how I will react when I hear it.

"I told him I would ruin him, but only after he threatened to go to the press with some bullshit story about me"

"Press? What story?" What the hell is he talking about, what kind of story could Luke possibly make up?

"I told him I wasn't above hitting him and he made some stupid comment about how he would go to the Daily Mail with that" He rolls his eyes and opens the oven, forcefully taking out a loaf of rustic garlic bread that makes my mouth water. He closes the oven door rather heavily and switches the oven off.

"You threatened to hit him?" I'm shocked really, Luke was kind of a jerk but I didn't think he would make Harry mad enough to want to hit him.

"He wouldn't stop running his mouth, and if he had kept it up if he would've gone home limping" He says coldly, I can see that he's trying to control his anger as he moves around the kitchen and switches off elements, moving to the sink to drain off the pasta.

"So you threatened to ruin his life? By what? Getting him expelled from school?" I ask. Harry scoffs slightly, and has the balls to let out a slight chuckle.

"Sure did. And I don't even know the Dean at your school, if I did I would have cleared your student debt and got you extensions on all your deadlines. But he believed me, that's what matters" He replies with a smug sense of pride.

"Harry that's so twisted" I say in a quiet voice, completely frazzled by what he's just said. I don't want Luke in my life anymore, but I don't want to mess up his future.

"I wouldn't just say that sort of shit unprovoked Elena. He's a disgusting pathetic little man and he seriously misjudged me, so I put him in his place" His tone is so dark but his hands still work delicately to prepare our dinner, transferring the bread to a chopping board and slicing it.

"And what place is that?"

"Far away from you" He replies quickly. "Seems I wasn't firm enough" I roll my eyes at him.

"You cannot be serious Harry, you're not going to do a god damn thing" I reply firmly as Harry removes the sauce from the heat and looks back up at me. I can almost feel a thick cloud of tension hanging between us, he's mad but so am I.

"Is that so?" Harry says with a slightly raised brow. I nod.

"Yes"

"No-one tells me what to do" Harry says in a cold tone; one that would have told a smart person to stand down, but I'm not being a smart person right now.

"I don't care what sort of thing he said to you, you aren't going to threaten people just because you don't like the way that they behave towards me" I tell him as though I'm correcting him on basic math. It's so simple, don't use your power to intimidate other people into doing what you want. It's wrong, and it just feeds into Luke's argument.

"I take care of what's mine" He says pointedly, great now I've mad him mad. But he's made me mad too.

"Yes you do, but I don't need you to do it in that way" I gently plea with him.

"Well then I guess we don't agree on this one" He shrugs his shoulders and pushes a plate of pasta towards me. I almost laugh, how could he possibly think this discussion is over and that now we can just eat pasta?

"You're saying you're going to keep threatening to ruin people on my behalf?" I ask slightly confused.

He shrugs and nods his head, taking out some cutlery from the drawers and sliding some towards me before pushing the fork through his, collecting some food onto it.

"If I need to" He says before he shovels food into his mouth. I run my hand through my hair in frustration.

"Harry I don't know how to put this any other way. So just, please, stop threatening to ruin people's lives because of me" I sigh.

"I've only done it the one time so far" He smirks at me before lifting his fork back up to his mouth.

"Not the Point!" I reprimand him, but it only makes him grin more as he nods his head. How could he possibly be enjoying this argument?

"I would do it y'know" He says once he's eaten his mouthful of food. He walks over to the cupboard and takes out two wine glasses and picks up the bottle of red wine from the end of the bench and starts to pour us each a glass.

"No you wouldn't" I sigh as I pick up my fork defeated.

"Oh I absolutely would. If I couldn't get him expelled from school then I would wait until he graduates, figure out where he wants to work and then pull some strings to make sure he doesn't get anywhere" Harry remarks proudly as he takes a sip of his wine. God I wish he had filled mine up a little higher, I'm going to need all the liquor I can get to try and handle this situation.

"All because he flirted with me?" I ask in disbelief as he pushed the other wine glass towards me. He rolls his eyes.

"He has done a lot more than just flirting. For fucks sake the night you showed up here you told me he had been trying to get you drunk all night. And I know that you love giving people the benefit of the doubt but he did it so that he could fuck you" He huffs in response. He's probably right, I didn't like the way Luke was acting that night, but still Harry's going way too far.

"Okay yeah he's a flirt but-" I begin in a rather pathetic attempt to defend him before Harry cuts me off.

"You set boundaries and he's crossed them at every opportunity! Guys basically a stalker" He interjects. I push away my food in favour of the wine, I can't argue and eat but I think I can argue and drink.

"I was okay though! I was handling it fine! I was quitting my job intending to never see him again and you just swoop in and threaten to ruin his life" I raise my voice, rubbing one of my hands over my eyes. "That's not normal, Harry"

"This is my world Elena, if people don't listen then you need to give them a reason to back down. He didn't listen, so I dealt with the problem" His tone is low and cold, giving me glimpses of what the Harry I first met was like. The cold, demanding, domineering businessman who wanted to use me as arm candy in front of his other rich friends. The man that Luke still thinks he is, but this isn't him, he's changed, right?

"People aren't problems" I remind him.

"Sometimes they are" Harry's gaze never leaves mine as he lifts up his glass to take a large sip.

"Well I'm not used to your world, and I can't get on board with it if you insist on trying to solve all of my problems by threatening people" I try and keep my voice even, finally realising why I'm so mad about his behaviour in the first place. I love Harry, and I want to be with him. But what if being with him in his world turns us both into egotistical, money hungry monsters?

"I was trying to help" He says in a tone that is void of all emotion despite the words he's saying. I take a big gulp of wine as he speaks before I let out a small laugh.

"Oh what a load of bullshit! You didn't like what he was saying and how he wasn't afraid of you, that's why you did it. You didn't do it for me" I shake my head as I watch him stare back at me. He blinks a few times before he nods his head.

"No you're right. I did it for me" He states matter of factly before he eats another mouthful of food.

"What is it about him that makes you so angry?" I ask in a voice just above a whisper. I get that his recent behaviour hasn't been great, but I've told Harry that I'm not interested and that he has nothing to worry about. Is that not good enough for him.

"Don't try and psychoanalyse me Elena. I know you're doing your therapy shit and that's great, but I'm not in the mood for you to be my therapist" His eyes roll slightly as he hisses at me, moving away from me to place his empty dish into the dishwasher. Don't read into that Elena, don't let him distract you from this conversation by getting mad about that.

"Tell me" I insist. His fork makes a clattering sound as he shoves it into the dishwasher and whips the door of it shut. He takes a step back and leans his body against the counter, his shoulders hunched up and tense, weighing up his options. Maybe I've pushed him too far and got him all angry over nothing, but we need to have these kinds of conversations or else what's the point of trying all of this again.

"He's an easier option. More simple, perhaps better suited than me" He finally says with a heavy sigh, a look of vulnerability suddenly clouding his features. I'm out of my seat and crossing around the counter in a matter of seconds to stand before him, my hands rubbing the sides of his arms gently.

"Harry, that's ridiculous" I say with a small grin. "He's not even an option"

"In his mind he is" Harry retorts, quickly trying to build his guard back.

"Well that's his mind, not mine. Since the day that I met you there hasn't been any choice, any option, my hearts been yours for the longest time and no-ones ever going to steal it away" I know it's cheesy but it's the truth, even if Harry and I have had a bumpy road I never considered being with anyone else.

"Did something happen between you two? While we were apart?" He asks quietly. This is because of me, because of what I did, because I left him.

"What? No. Not at all. Nothing happened while we were apart. I was sad and alone and miserable" I tell him almost desperately, tethering myself to him by gripping onto his shirt. His arms remain folded.

"I was too" he mutters quietly, avoiding eye contact with me. I know these sorts of conversations are tough for him, but they have to be had.

"I know" I sighed, rubbing his arm gently, his body completely tensed up.

"You just left. You wrote a fucking note and you took off. You wouldn't answer me, I didn't even know if you were alive, or anything" The walls he quickly built up have dissolved right in front of me. I can't even begin to illustrate how much I regret how I handled things, and even though I've told him as much it doesn't stop it from hurting.

"I know, I handled it all wrong. I'm so sorry." I acknowledge, resting my hands on the nape of his neck. I strum my fingertips softly along the nape of his neck in an attempt to soothe him, to show him that I'm here, that I'm not just going to run off again.

"And then you show back up and I'm fucking thrilled, like every single birthday and Christmas all rolled into one" He continues, a ghost of a smile on his full lips as he stares off out to the view behind me. It's hard to believe that after all of my anxiety about seeing him again, the drunk me just decided to rip the bandaid off and show up in the middle of the night. He coughs slightly and shrugs his shoulders, causing my arms to fall back down to my side as he wanders over towards the window.

"But now there's a new admirer, following you around, drooling after you, thinking that he's got a good chance with you. Thinking he can have what's mine" He continues, walking over to the small drinks cart and pouring himself a small glass of brown liquor, possibly whiskey. He's a big fan of it, I'm still getting used to wine.

"I thought he wanted to be friends, and for a while we were, we were friends I guess. Or maybe we weren't, I don't know what his motivations were but mine were friendship only" I explain as I cross the room to meet him, watching as he lifts the glass up to his lips and takes a large sip. He's quiet for a few moments before he turns back around to face me, I don't know if I've ever seen him look so vulnerable before. Maybe once, when he first told me he loved me.

"I just got you back. I don't want to lose you again." He admits quietly. I shake my head slightly and take a few tentative steps towards him, he doesn't repel back from me as I reach for him, holding his free hand in my own.

"You won't. I can handle myself, I'm not going to be just swept away from you" I assure him. Being without him now feels like a cruel form of torture I hope I'm never afflicted with.

"I know that. And I know that I'm possessive and selfish and arrogant. I'm working on those things but old habits die hard and I can't just shake these behaviours away" He informs me, I can't help but smile at his words. At least he's somewhat self aware.

"I know that. And I knew all of those things about you before I left. And I still came back. I'm not going anywhere." Finally, I get a small smile from him before he gives my hand a gentle squeeze.

"I can't say I regret doing it, and I'm not going to take it back...but I'll try not to do that sort of thing anymore. I'm sorry" I nod and try to repress the small sigh. Rome wasn't built in a day, I'm sure I'll find a way to help him with his possessiveness.

"Okay, I can accept that. I'm sorry too." I wrap my arms around his shoulders and pull him close to me. One of his arms wraps around my waist and he presses a soft kiss into my hair. After a long and stressful day, this is the only place I need to be. These kinds of conversations are tough to have, but I know it's important that we do have them. If this is ever going to work, it needs to work for the both of us.