Page 102 of Beautiful Chaos

“I’m so stupid, I should have known better than to…”

“No, you shouldn’t have.” I just lost it. Right then, I wasn’t sure what to feel, but feeling embarrassed seemed to be where my head was. I was ashamed that the man I love and trust with my heart was sitting there with a guilt-ridden look of terror on his face for harmlessly teasing me. I hate feeling so broken. I hate how he was looking at me like that’s what I am. Broken.

“Jasper, stop looking at me like that,” I yelled, as I snatched my wrist from his hand.

“I just don’t know…” He started, but I was so angry for allowing that to happen in front of him, I lashed out.

“You don’t have to know, Jasper. look how you are staring at me.”

“I’m just concerned is all.” he sighed.

“Don’t be, Jasper. I’m broken. I know I am. This is what being with a broken girl looks like.” I said through sobs.

I grew even more angry when warmth spilled down my cheeks. I swore I would never again let them have my tears, but there I was, crying in front of the one person I never wanted to see me like this. The one person I always wanted to be strong for, because that is exactly what he is for me. My strength.

“Harper, sit down.” he gritted. “Don’t you ever apologize for showing me your heart. When I said I love you, I meant all of you. especially this,” he pulled the inside of my hand to his lips, and kissed it, then put it over my heart. His hand covered mine.

“How could you be so sure Jasper? What if my hurt, hurts you?” I questioned in a raspy whisper, fighting the tears from falling again.

“The only thing that could ever hurt me, is living a life without you in it.” I looked into his deep blue eyes, searching for any sign of uncertainty, but I couldn’t find one. Jasper really loves me, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I love him too.

He placed his finger under my chin and brought my face level with his.

“Promise me something?”

I nodded, afraid my words would betray me.

“Promise me, that you will never again let what they did to you make you feel unworthy of my love because if anyone is unworthy it’s me. Promise me!”

Two words. Two words were all that was needed.

“I promise.”

Chapter 72

JASPER

Ileft work earlier than usual, despite having a lot to do. Entering the penthouse, I sensed she was there. There’s a certain spark that comes alive when she’s close. Even if Carlos hadn’t told me about the day, and that Harper was waiting upstairs, I would have known just by getting off the elevator.

The new porcelain bowl sits on the entrance table which Harper calls a “trinket dish.” She said it’s for dropping in phones, keys, wallets, and cuff links. She thinks it keeps things neater than just tossing them all over the place until I head out the next morning. She says it looks better. But honestly, the actual reason it’s there is because of the grin she had on her face when she brought it home. With a smile like that, I couldn’t have said no to anything she wanted.

I walked down the hall, where the faint glow of a desk lamp illuminated the door frame of Harper’s office. The closer I got to the door the louder her excited keystrokes became. I stood, leaning in the doorway, just smiling. It seemed like I’d been doing that quite a bit these days.

Smiling.

Harper looked up when she noticed my presence, biting her bottom lip, she held up one finger.

“I’ll only be another fifteen minutes. Then I’m all yours,” she said, with a serious demeanor. She hated to be interrupted when she was in her zone, and I enjoyed watching her when she was in that zone.

I stretched out on the couch I handpicked for Harper’s office, while I watched little wrinkles form on her adorable forehead as she wrapped up the chapter she was writing when I unexpectedly came home early.

We leave for Atlanta tomorrow afternoon for our weekend trip to my childhood home. A home that held many good memories from my adolescent years, those memories faded once my mother was murdered. Those good and wholesome memories were soon replaced by the memories of the horrific grooming my father tried, to keep me within his reach so that I would one day join him as second in command over his empire. Back then, I didn’t realize that, despite leaving that life behind, it would eventually come knocking, drawing me back into that realm.

I wanted to walk away from it all and let it all fall to the ground. Without a leader, someone to watch over the territories and estates, someone to keep a stronghold of the respect that had been earned all those years, that is exactly what it would do. The first sign of weakness would cause the entire entity to crumble at the greedy hands of my father’s enemies. Part of me wanted to see that happen one day but when my father passed and all the grimy shit, he was involved in shined its light. I was determined to shut down what I could and turn the path of this empire down one more morally sound.

I requested Luka to oversee the empire until I was ready to take charge. He hesitated because he never aspired for the position, which made him the perfect candidate. I knew there wouldn’t be any underhanded moves made. On top of that, I set up some heavy security surveillance on him they alert me anytime he makes a move. In this business, trusting people isn’t an option.

It was tough keeping my firm as the top priority when I was so easily distracted by the gorgeous angel who sat at her desk in front of me. Her hair was casually pinned up with a pencil, and she wore sweatpants with oversized fluffy socks and a hoodie that concealed her figure. Still, she was the most beautiful woman to walk the earth. I wanted nothing more than to kidnap her from her computer, take her to bed, and make sweet love to her all night but the last time I did that she made me promise to let her work when she had a deadline. I stupidly agreed.

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