Chapter 3
The morning sun was bright when I walked into the apartment I shared with Daniel.
The doorman gave me a sympathetic smile.
Word traveled fast in Manhattan.
Daniel was waiting for me in the living room.
He looked like he hadn’t slept either.
His shirt was unbuttoned, his hair was messy, and there were dark circles under his eyes.
Margaret sat on the couch next to him, her face tight with forced composure.
“Claire,” Daniel said, standing up.
I held up a hand.
“I’m just here to get my things.”
“Please, let’s talk.”
“I have nothing to say to you right now.”
I started walking toward the bedroom.
Margaret stood up.
“Claire, wait.”
I stopped but didn’t turn around.
“I want to apologize.”
Her voice was stiff, like the words tasted bad.
“For what? For calling me a gold digger? For throwing water in my face? For eight months of making my life miserable?”
I finally turned to face her.
“Or are you apologizing because you found out my father owns your son’s company?”
Her face flushed.
“That’s not fair.”
“Fair?”
I laughed bitterly.
“You threw a glass of water in my face at a charity gala. You humiliated me in front of everyone we know. And now you want to talk about fair?”
Daniel stepped between us.
“Claire, please. My mother made a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
I looked at him, really looked at him.
The man I had fallen in love with was nowhere to be seen.
In his place was a boy who still let his mother call the shots.
“Daniel, she’s been doing this since the day we met. Every family dinner, every event, every time we’re alone together. And you’ve never once stopped her.”
“I didn’t realize—”
“You didn’t want to realize.”
The words came out harsher than I intended, but they were true.
“You were happy to let her think I was poor and ordinary because it made you feel like the hero who rescued me.”
He flinched like I’d slapped him.
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?”
I walked into the bedroom and started pulling clothes from the closet.
Daniel followed me.
“Claire, please don’t do this. We can work through this.”
“Can we?”
I dropped a handful of dresses into a suitcase.
“Because from where I’m standing, you have to choose. Between me and your mother.”
He froze.
“That’s not fair.”
“Everything stopped being fair the moment she threw that water.”
I zipped up the suitcase.
“I’m staying at my father’s place. Don’t call me. Don’t text me. I need time to think.”
I walked past him toward the door.
Margaret was still in the living room.
As I passed her, she whispered something so quiet I almost didn’t hear it.
“You think you’ve won, but you haven’t. Daniel will never choose you over me.”
I stopped.
I turned to her.
“Then I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”
I walked out the door.
The elevator ride down was the longest of my life.
When I stepped outside, my father’s driver was waiting.
I got in the car and didn’t look back.
Three days later, Daniel showed up at my father’s penthouse.
The security guard called up.
“Mr. Carter is here to see you, Ms. Harrison.”
I hesitated.
“Let him up.”
He walked into the penthouse looking nervous.
My father was in the study, but I knew he was listening.
“Claire.”
“Daniel.”
“I’ve been thinking. About what you said.”
He took a deep breath.
“You were right. I let my mother walk all over you. And I let myself believe that being the hero was more important than being your husband.”
I waited.
“I talked to her. I told her things have to change.”
“And what did she say?”
He looked away.
“She didn’t take it well.”
“Of course she didn’t.”
“But I meant it, Claire. Things are going to be different. I promise.”
He stepped closer.
“I love you. Not because of who your father is. Not because of money. Because of you. Because you’re the kindest, strongest person I’ve ever met. And I’ve been an idiot for letting my mother make you feel anything less than perfect.”
Tears stung my eyes.
I wanted to believe him.
God, I wanted to believe him.
But Margaret’s voice echoed in my head.
Daniel will never choose you over me.
“Daniel, I need more than promises.”
“Whatever you need. I’ll do it.”
“I need you to prove it. Not to me. To yourself.”
I took his hand.
“Go home. Stand up to your mother. Really stand up to her. And when you’ve done that, when you can look me in the eye and tell me she’ll never treat me like that again… then we can talk.”
He nodded slowly.
“I won’t let you down.”
He kissed my forehead and left.
I stood by the window and watched him get into his car.
My father walked into the room.
“You’re making a mistake.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you giving him another chance?”
I turned to him.
“Because I love him. And because everyone deserves a chance to be better.”
My father sighed.
“Just remember, sweetheart. Sometimes the people we love the most are the ones who hurt us the deepest.”
He was right.
But I had to try.
May you like
I had to know if Daniel was worth fighting for.
Or if Margaret had been right all along.
