I paced in my kitchen while I waited for the tea to finish brewing. I really hoped I made the right decision when I called our Aunt Gwen in London to tell her Jackson was coming. I'd been worried about him ever since he stopped by to tell me that he was leaving. I still couldn't wrap my brain around that. Harper didn't want him? He said he had heard it with his own ears, so it must be true. Right?

Every instinct inside my body told me that I needed to call her and tell her that he left. But I gave him my word as a brother that I would wait and give her the letter. I just wish I had more answers-or at least knew what the fuck was going on.

The tea kettle whistled on the stove and I pulled it off the burner. I turned it off before I poured some into a mug and added honey. I stirred the tea and added a little lemon. Just like Danielle like it. I heard her soft footsteps as she walked into the kitchen from our bedroom.

"Good morning," she breathed as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

A corner of my mouth lifted and I brushed her hair back. "Good morning, baby. How are you feeling?"

She had a rocky first trimester. She had severe morning sickness along with every other side effect known to man. My poor Danielle. I wish there was more I could do for her. We had a doctor's appointment coming up and I couldn't wait. I wanted to see how our baby was growing inside her. We've only been to the doctor once and the baby had been the size of a pea. I couldn't wait until he or she developed more.

"I'm feeling good today." She gestured to the tea and nibbled her bottom lip. "Is that for me?"

I handed her the mug. "Yes it is. Just like you like it."

She blew across the top before taking a sip. Her sigh of satisfaction made me smile. "It's delicious, baby. Thank you."

I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her body against mine. "You're welcome, beautiful."

I buried my face in her neck. God, I loved the way she smelled. Like roses. I slid my hand beneath her shirt, stroking the soft skin of her back.

"If you keep kissing my neck like that," she whispered breathlessly, "we're never going to leave rhe bed today."

I chuckled against her skin and put my mouth to her ear. "Would that be such a bad thing?" I continued to kiss at her neck before trailing my lips to her mouth. I took possession of her lips in a passionate kiss. I would never get tired of kissing her.

"No," she said against my lips. "But before you spend the morning making love to me, you need to 'fess up."

My body froze at her words. There was no way... I pulled back and met her stare. "'Fess up about what?"

She arched a brow. "Jackson came by yesterday. Why?"

I stepped away from her and walked to the fridge. I opened the door and scanned the contents as I tried to figure out what to say. "What would you like for breakfast, baby? I can make eggs and bacon, or maybe some pancakes. It's been awhile since you've had pancakes." I reached into the fridge and grabbed the plastic container. "We got blueberries." I took one out and popped it into my mouth. "Still good."

When I turned to look at her, she had her arms crossed over her chest and was tapping her foot on the linoleum floor. Damn. I was in so much fucking trouble.

"Tell me what is going on right now, Ryan."

I shut the fridge and shrugged my shoulders. "Nothing, baby. Jackson just asked me to do a favor for him. That's all."

Her expression told me she wasn't falling for my bullshit. "A favor?" She said the words slowly. She walked the few steps between us and stopped in front of me. She ran her hand over my chest. "You are my husband, Ryan Michael Hale, and the father of my child. That means no secrets-especially when I know this is something a lot bigger than a favor."

Damn. I hated when she got all authoritive. Okay, I didn't hate it. It was actually a fucking turn on. I exhaled the breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"Fine," I said, defeated. "Jackson came by yesterday because he said that he was leaving for London. He said that he was only going for a little while, but I have a feeling it's for good. I asked him if Harper knew about it and he said that she didn't want to be with him."

"That's impossible," Danielle said immediately. "I know for a fact that she does want to be with him."

I lifted my hands when I shrugged. "That's what I thought. But he said that he heard the words come out of her mouth."

Danielle put her hand to her head. "Oh, no. This has to be a misunderstanding. Did he leave a message for her or anything?"

I pulled out the note. "He told me to give this to her today."

Danielle's eyes narrowed. "I cannot believe you didn't tell me! We need to go over to her place right now and tell her. She has no idea he's on the other side of the world." Her expression was pure disbelief. "I can't even believe this. We need to fix this mess."

I held up my hand. "Danielle, wait. We can't meddle in their lives."

She swatted me on the shoulder. "We need to tell her he's gone!"

"Yeah, but-"

She gave me a look that had me shutting up quick. "Yes, ma'am," I mumbled.

Danielle exhaled a deep breath. "Okay. We can't do this over the phone. We need to go to her place. So let's get our shoes on and drive over there."

After we finished getting ready, we grabbed our keys and headed for the front door. Fuck, I hope Jackson wasn't going to give me hell over this. When he pleaded for me to do this for him, I couldn't say no. He's never leaned on me or asked me for anything before. Just as I reached for the knob of the front door to open it, someone knocked.

Danielle and I exchanged looks before we opened the door.

My mouth dropped. "Harper?"

"Hey, guys. I'm so sorry to bother you. Can I come in?"

"Of course," Danielle answered.

I held the door open for her. She walked into out home and started wringing her hands. I shut the door and turned to her.

"Are you okay?" I asked with concern.

Harper had a sheepish expression. "Well, I've been trying to get ahold of Jackson. His phone is off. So, I called the hotel. They said he checked out." She started pacing as she rambled. "Why would he check out? I mean, where the hell is he?"

Danielle nodded at me and I understood what needed to happen. I took a few steps towards Harper and placed my hands on her shoulders to stop her pacing. I felt bad for spilling the beans about Jackson, but Danielle was right-I couldn't let Harper worry like this.

"Harper, Jackson came by to see me yesterday. It was after you two talked."

Her brows drew together in confusion and she glanced from me, to Danielle, and back again. "I didn't talk to Jackson yesterday. We haven't talked in over a week."

I shook my head. "That can't be right. Jackson came by here and told me he was going to London. He said he heard you say that you didn't want to be with him anymore."

Harper gasped and stepped back. "What! He's in London? And I never said that. Why would he say that if-" She stopped mid-sentence and covered her mouth. "Oh, no. What time did he come over here, Ryan?"

"I think around seven."

Harper put her hand to her forehead. "This is all my fault."

"What do you mean?" Danielle asked before I could.

Despair covered Harper's face. "My mom came by my place yesterday. Somehow she heard about Jackson and I breaking up. She kept trying to say that I was better off without him. He must have come over and stood outside the door and he heard us talking."

"What did you say?" I asked, hoping it would make sense of all this.

She went through the whole conversation that took place with her mom. Holy shit. Jackson did hear her say that she was unhappy and was better off, but he must have walked away before he heard the rest of it. Like the part where Harper said she wanted to be with him forever. Fuck. What a mess.

I pulled the note from my pocket. "Here. He wanted me to give this to you."

She took the note and read over it. It killed me when tears started falling from her eyes. I've known Harper a long time-hell, I was engaged to her once. We may have never been in love, but we formed a strong bond through that whole arranged marriage nightmare. I considered her family and I didn't want to see her hurt.

Danielle rubbed her arms comfortingly. "It's going to be okay, Harp."

"No, it's not," she said through tears. "He's across the world and he thinks I don't want him. Oh, God. I should have just been honest with him. I can't even call him."

"I know how to reach him," I interjected. They both looked up at me. "He told me what hotel he was staying at." An idea came to me. "But I have a better idea."

"What?" they both asked at the same time.

A corner of my mouth lifted in a smile. "Harper, do you have a passport?"

Hey guys! Happy Saturday! So, I don't usually do double posts, BUT I wanted to honor a birthday request and will be posting two chapters today! Make sure to keep scrolling for the next chapter and most importantly....

We need to wish imamuse08 a very happy birthday! 🖤🍰