Sorry for the late update again loves. I'm done with 6 Man so now I can focus with this story and update more frequently !!

Hope you enjoy this chapter :)

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✧ I'd run away and hide with you

I know that you got daddy issues ✧
                 
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"What on earth is that?"

  Harry lifted his gaze up from his breakfast, brow lowering as he frowned at his mother's question in confusion. She arched her perfectly done brows at him, eyes gazing furiously at the skin of his neck. Harry pulled his head back, creating a double chin and an amusing face when he tried to locate what his mother was staring at. She huffed in irritation, digging out her compact mirror and holding it up in front of Harry. In its reflection, he twisted his head to the side; eyes flickering to the dark purple and red bruise that stood out against his pale skin.

   "Oh, umm," Harry mumbled awkwardly as his mother pulled her hand down, gazing at him expectantly. "Angel bit me the other day when I was cuddling her-"

   "Harold," Anne hissed when she lied to him, causing him to grimace. "Are you seriously expecting me to believe that your rabbit biting you was what gave you that mark?"

   "Umm...yes?" Harry spoke quietly, making her shake her head with scoff.

   "Who have you been seeing?" Anne demanded quietly, in a calm voice that had Harry tensing up.

   "No one," Harry shrunk in his chair with his lips puckered, imitating a duck. Every time Harry spoke to his mother, he felt like his 10-year-old self all over again, being scolded and lectured at, rather than his 23-year-old adult self.

   "Harold, don't lie to me. If you're sleeping with m-"

   "I'm not, okay?" Harry cut her off with a scowl, disliking her tone of disgust when she began speaking. "I have just been seeing a woman."

   "Is it serious? Or just a fling?"

   "It's serious," Harry quickly said, trying his hardest not to regret it since he knew his mother would flip if she found out he was sleeping around.

   "Really?" His mother's expression changed immediately, a curious smile etching onto her lips. "What's her name? Is she rich?"

  "Seriously, mum? Is she rich?" Harry arched a brow at her, making her shoot him a look. "Why would you ask that? It doesn't matter-"

   "It matters for a number of reasons, Harry. First of all, if she's not as rich as you, she's probably with you for your money. It's happened before, it's probably happening again," she said firmly, making Harry part his lips to speak before she silenced him by holding a hand up. "I don't want my baby boy getting his heart hurt again."

   "Mum," Harry grumbled, feeling like she was treating him as if he was a child. "I'm not a baby boy anymore."

   "You may not look like one, but you act like one," she retorted, then continuing with her reasoning. "Second of all, I don't want you dating some low life scum who isn't sophisticated and has no class. It'll make our family look bad."

   "Mum, you care more about your reputation than my happiness," Harry said straight up, causing his mother's jaw to slacken.

   "Harold, tone down the attitude," Anne hissed lightly, a scowl coming upon her perfect features. "I care immensely about your happiness, how can you say that I can't? I just meant...have some dignity! You deserve a beautiful woman with class and respect, and who comes from a rich background."

  Harry didn't say anything; eyes focused on his food with his lips rolled inwards, listening to her lecture him once again. His mind began to wander back to Adriana, wishing that she would reply to his phone calls and messages. It had been a week since they last hooked up and had that little incident where Adriana acted strangely. Harry had been worrying ever since because she promised she would call him again, but it had been a week since she promised to do so.  She could've at least texted me, he thought to himself. He wanted an explanation as to why she acted like that, as well as why she had to leave urgently like that again.

   "Harry? Did you hear me?" His mother's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

   "No, mum, I'm sorry. What did you say?" he questioned.

   "What's her name?" Anne pressed on, arching her perfectly done brows at him as he hesitated for a second. Should I lie? He questioned himself.

   "Adriana," he replied quietly, deciding against lying because he didn't like to lie to his mother.

   "Sounds Hispanic, where is she from?" she asked with interest.

   "France and Mexico," Harry continued to say, trying to be careful with the information he was giving out.

   "Sounds lovely," Anne responded with a light smile. "Where does she wor-"

   "Hey mum, I've got horse riding with Liam today," Harry quickly interrupted her, watching her face contort with a scowl as he stood up, leaning over to kiss her cheek. "We'll talk about this later! Love you mum, bye!"

  As he walked quickly back into his mansion, he released a heavy sigh he was holding in. He knew that he had just got himself into a mess now that he had told his mother about Adriana, and that they were in a relationship, which was absolute bullocks. He knew Adriana was only with him for sex; it was clear in her actions most of the time. But he couldn't help but think that maybe she was feeling something for him. Just like he was feeling for her. He thought, maybe if that was the case, they could take what they had another step forwards.

  Harry thoughts soon dissipated as he grabbed his helmet and whip from Maria, the help, with a grateful grin, then jogging down the staircase that led straight to the underground garage. Once he grabbed the keys to his jet-black range rover, he made his way past the range of sports and vintage cars that were parked there, locating his range rover. He slipped into the car, tossing the helmet and whip to the side and started the car. He pulled up by the opening of the garage, watching it open and driving up the curve that led to the outside world.

∘❧∘

   "Hi Opal," Harry greeted his pure white Arabian horse, a huge grin curling onto his lips as he approached her. "How's my girl doing today?"

  He patted the side of her neck, holding up an apple he had brought for her, which she delightfully sunk her teeth into and began chewing. Harry had been riding since he was five years old, alongside with Liam who was now an equestrian. Liam's family ran and owned the Payne Riding Academy for the last 100 years in England, and they had opened up a branch in New York when they moved there about 10 years ago. Liam ran the academy in New York, helping it evolve from a new unknown stable to one of the most prestigious riding academies in New York. Harry owned a couple of horses and often went riding with Liam, also helping him practice for competitions as such.

  Once Harry had the saddle in place, he took the reins in his hand and walked her down the stable, heading over to the indoor arena instead of outside, assuming Liam was there. Surely enough, he was, cantering with his majestic midnight black stallion: Suki. Harry mounted Opal and headed over to Liam, clicking his tongue softly to get her to move. Liam slowed down as soon as he spotted Harry, his lips curling onto a grin as they walked their horses together.

   "Not practicing with Bolt?" Harry questioned with an arch of his brow, making Liam shake his head. Harry was referring to the horse Liam often used for his competitions.

   "I practiced with him earlier. I just decided to try out Suki for the day, it's been a while since I've rode her," Liam responded, ducking down to give her a pat before he pulled up again. "By the way, I found a good dealer if you're interested in buying any more horses. He's got some gorgeous Arabian ones."

   "No thank you, I think I'm fine with the three I have," Harry rejected politely.

  Other than Opal, Harry had two other Arabian horses; one was gray and was called Misty, the other was nut brown and was called Cinnamon, Cin for short. All three horses were worth millions of dollars since they were the most expensive breeds.

   "Are you gonna buy anymore?" Harry questioned, making Liam nod.

   "Yeah he's got this beautiful, golden, chestnut thoroughbred. I think she'd make a great race horse," Liam told Harry with a grin. "She's a bit stubborn though. Gonna call her Queenie."

   "That's cute," Harry said with a laugh.

  They both decided to ride for a while, trotting a few rounds and then cantering. After they were done, they walked for a bit, conversing about their week since they last saw each other. Liam could tell something was bothering Harry, and he was sure it was something related to Adriana. But he didn't bring it up until later when they had nothing else to talk about.

   "So, how's Adriana?" Liam questioned with a sly smirk, watching Harry avert his gaze to his hands where he was holding the reins.  

   "I dunno, I haven't spoken to her for a week or so," he said quietly and quickly.

   "Really now?" Liam arched his brows in curiosity. "What happened?"

   "Something weird...while having sex."

   "Tell me," Liam urged with curiosity.

   "I-I think I hurt her while we were doing it," Harry mumbled, unsure if he himself was lying or not. Adriana told him he didn't hurt her but he found that hard to believe. "Haven't seen her since last Friday, and I haven't gone and visited her either. I feel like she needs space."

   "Anyways, I need to ask you a favor, relating to that."

   "Okay," Liam said slowly, wishing that Harry would tell him exactly what happened, but decided against pushing him. "What do you need?"

   "I need you to find her address, using your strange ways of locating people," Harry told him, making him chuckle lightly.

   "Right, will do, mate," Liam said with a short nod. "What's her full name?"

   "Adriana Decoux, though I'm not sure if she has a middle name," Harry replied, making Liam wave him off.

   "It's fine, that'll do. I'll have the address sent to you by evening," Liam promised him, making Harry grin.

   "Thanks, Liam! I really appreciate it," Harry told Liam with a smile.

   "No worries. Are you going to see her?"

   "No I was thinking of sending her flowers as an apology," Harry said with a mumble. "You don't think it's weird do you? Sending flowers to her house?"

   "Well, the gesture is sweet but since you've never actually been there, assumedly since you're asking for the address, maybe she'll find it weird you know her address?" Liam suggested, making Harry nod in understanding.

   "But the only reason I don't want to send it to her work place is because I'm worried it won't get through, or I dunno, some other stripper would steal them? I just want her to get them-"

   "It's okay, Harry. I get it," Liam told him with a chuckle, making him sigh and nod in response. After that, they continued to ride for a bit more before deciding to go out for lunch.

~-~

  It was around midnight when Harry received a call from Liam about Adriana. Harry had been working all evening on a few songs that he were derived from a couple of ideas he had jotted down over the week. He rarely wrote songs with actual lyrics, mostly composed music pieces for orchestras and piano. Recently, he had been thinking of opening a record label to help launch his own music as well as help aspiring artists.

  He set his guitar down when he heard his phone vibrating against the closed lid of the grand piano in the far corner of the room. His feet carried him over to the piano, hand reaching out to pick his phone up, eyes scanning the screen. He let out a disappointed sigh, hoping it was Adriana calling but instead it was Liam. His thumb slid across the screen of his rose gold iPhone 7 plus, sitting down on the piano bench while running his other hand through his long curls.

   "Hi Li," Harry answered lowly, grimacing at the loud music thudding in the background as Liam yelled out a reply.

   "Harry! Mate!" Liam responded. "I've got her address. I've emailed it to you."

   "Great, thanks again," Harry said gratefully. "Where are you?" he asked curiously.

   "I'm at The Neon Demons with Louis," Liam told him straightaway, making Harry's eyebrows rise. "We wanted to get laid."

   "Oh," Harry responded. "Well have a nice night!"

   "Harry, wait," Liam said immediately. "Adriana's not here if you're wondering."

   "She's not?" Harry frowned lightly.

   "Nah, I asked the manager but he said she took the night off. Had urgent matters apparently," Liam replied.

   "Sounds familiar."

   "Why?" Liam frowned.

   "She always says she has something urgent to attend to when she leaves me," Harry said with a grumble.

   "Maybe it's true. I mean, at first it sounds like she was saying that as an excuse but now, maybe it is something urgent," Liam suggested, making Harry's brows lower. "But you shouldn't get involved. Probably some personal shit."

   "Yeah," Harry murmured in response, before Liam spoke up again.

  "Listen, I asked around the club about her. Kind tried to get some information, but most of its rumors."

   "What did you hear?" Harry asked with interest.

   "Some mysterious shit, Harry. I heard she's got a fucked up background, daddy issues," Liam told him, making Harry frown tightly.

  For some reason, Harry thought back to the night she reacted oddly when he grabbed her hair. He tried to connect the dots, feeling his stomach drop when he thought about how her father and her could've been involved in a traumatic event. He shuddered, hating that he was just jumping to conclusions but it seemed likely.

   "What more on the daddy issues?" Harry questioned further.

   "I dunno. The stripper I was talking to said bad shit happened between her and her dad, hence the daddy issues, Harry," Liam said in an obvious tone, making Harry scowl.

   "Okay okay," he mumbled. "That sucks."

   "It does," Liam said in agreement. "I heard she does cocaine."

   "Yeah she did it once in front of me," Harry mentioned.

   "Did she offer you any?" Liam questioned immediately, feeling protective over Harry.

   "No...I would've rejected if she did," Harry said slowly with a frown.

   "Good," Liam sighed in relief.

   "What? Do you really think I'd do drugs if someone offered?"

   "I think you'd do it if you were pressured into it," Liam responded to his question. "So just be careful if you think she's trying to get you to do it for fun or whatever."

   "Yeah yeah," Harry said with a mumble, not denying his words because it was true. He was always a victim of peer pressure. "Anything else?"

   "Nah, not really. All of them rumors except for the cocaine thing because she does it in the club all the time apparently. I feel like she's an addict," Liam mused.

   "You don't know that," Harry immediately said, making Liam chuckle.

   "I didn't say I knew it, I said I felt like it," he continued to chuckle. "You're so defensive over her."

  "Am not!" Harry exclaimed, making Liam snort.

   "Yeah and I'm not afraid of spoons," he said deliriously. "I just hope she feels for you the way you feel for her. For your sake."

  Liam hung up after muttering a goodbye. Harry's hand dropped to his lap, a sigh leaving his lips as he pondered quietly over the information he had just received. He thought that he might've been overthinking with the 'traumatic event between Adriana and her father'. Daddy issues meant that Adriana probably just had a broken relationship with her father, not an abusive one. But then again, it can be abusive, or worse.

  He started believing the latter and began to worry again, upset that he triggered bad memories or just hurt her and made her feel the way she felt, even though it wasn't his fault. He made a note on his phone to buy her flowers that night for the next morning before heading to bed, trying to push away his upsetting thoughts about that hook up and focusing on Adriana and her mesmerizing beauty while falling asleep.

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  Adriana let out a sigh of frustration as she tried to look for ingredients to make something for lunch. But she needed to go grocery shopping since she had pretty much run out of everything. She shut the fridge with a grunt of annoyance, leaning back against the kitchen counter with her hands running through her long locks. She walked over to where her phone was sitting further down the counter, unlocking it and pondering on whether she should text Jazmín and ask her for a favor once again.

  But before she could text Jazmín, the doorbell rang and interrupted her movements. Her eyebrows lowered as she frowned, then shrugging when she realized it was probably Jazmín herself. She tucked her phone into the back pocket of her shorts as she made her way out of the kitchen and towards the front door. When she swung it open, she was slightly surprised to see an unknown man standing in front of her.

   "Delivery for Adriana Decoux?" the man spoke, causing her to inwardly cringe at the mispronunciation of her surname.

   "Yeah that's me," she said with a slight frown. "I didn't order anything."

   "It's a gift," he responded, holding out a large white box for her to take. "Don't worry, it's just flowers."

   "Flowers?," she mumbled questioningly, hesitantly taking the box.

   "Yeah, there's the card inside the box. Have a lovely day!" He said cheerfully, turning to leave and disappearing.

  Adriana kicked the door shut, carrying the box into the living room and setting it on the coffee table. She read the writing on the top. Imperial Roses. Her brows arched in surprise, opening the box and feeling her jaw slacken at the sight in front of her. There were about 15 roses or more, ranging from different colors such as red, pinks, oranges, yellow and white. The sight was utterly beautiful, Adriana's lips stretching into an uncontrollable smile as she spotted the card.

  She quickly picked it up, opening it and immediately smiling at the words.

  I didn't know what your favorite flower was so I got roses. But I didn't know what color so I got a bunch. Hope you like them, darling. It's an apology for what happened last time.

All the love xx

H.

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∘Okay that chapter wasn't exactly the most interesting one, butttt we learnt that she assumedly has daddy issues.

∘Do you think that's true? Do you also think that's what caused her to act the way she did during the last chapter?

Until we meet again...

thiora♡