Page 86 of Harrison's Wedding

She’s short and pretty, with long black hair that’s tied in a low ponytail and caramel-colored skin. Both detectives are looking at me and waiting for me to answer.

“Not a lot. We went to the charity event, drank some drugged wine and then…” I trail off as I get choked up.

“I know this must be hard, Mr. Fletcher, but we want to try and find who did this to you,” Detective Gomez says quietly. “We need your help to do that.”

They don’t need to look very hard. I’m the one who did this to me. I did the worst thing in the world last night, and I don’t think I’ll ever forgive myself for it.

“What do you need to know?” I manage to ask.

“Tell us a little more about the dinner. Did you notice anything about who served you the wine?” She gives me another kind smile.

I force myself to think about it. I can’t remember anything specific about the dinner, but I tell them as much as I can. Finally, they move on from that topic.

Detective Hill asks, “So, what happened when you left the event?”

I try to think about it. Images of kissing Maddy in the hotel lobby come into my mind, and I retch. I push the images away and shake my head. “I can’t…remember anything.”

The detectives look at one another, then both look at me, and Detective Gomez says, “Anything that you can remember at all could be useful, Mr. Fletcher. Can you think of anything at all after leaving the event?”

Images of Maddy in bed with me hit my mind. I retch again, and I cover my mouth with my hand as my body convulses. I push the images away once more and shake my head at them.

“No,” I whisper. “I can’t. I really can’t.”

I can feel tears starting to fall and both detectives look at one another before Detective Hill holds out a business card as I slash at the tears falling from my eyes. “Okay, Mr. Fletcher. We understand that this is very fresh, but if you are able to remember anything that might help, please call me.”

I nod as I take the card from him and place it on a table beside my hospital bed. As soon as they leave the room, I allow the tears to fall again. Memories from last night play in my mind, and I push them away. I take a sip of water from the cup nearby and try to calm myself down.

Finally, I look at the time and realize that Heather must have landed in Chicago, or at least be landing very soon. I call several more times, with my call going directly to voicemail before it finally rings when I call her, which means her phone is turned on. My heart drops when the ringing halts, and there’s a pause before I hear her voicemail message.

“Heather. Angel. I love you. Please call me.”

I’m desperate now. I need to speak to her. So, I send her a text.

Angel. Please, please call me. We need to talk.

I have approximately a thousand notifications on my phone and I go to my browser and search for ‘Heather York.’ I’m horrified to see a row of pictures at the top of the search of her in an airport that I recognize as O’Hare. Her new bodyguard, Callum Archer, is wheeling her carry-on luggage, and she looks beautiful and tired. I burst into tears as my phone lights up with Gabriel’s name on the screen.

“Harrison?” he asks when I answer.

“Yes,” I manage.

“You saw the pictures, I guess.” Gabriel sighs.

I squeeze my eyes shut tight as a slicing pain hits my heart when the image of Heather at the airport comes to mind, and I confirm, “Yes.”

“I’m so sorry, Harrison,” Ariana’s soft voice comes through the line, and I assume she must be with Gabriel wherever he is.

“She’s never going to forgive me for this,” I say in a dull tone. “I just wanted the chance to tell her myself. I’ve called her and sent texts about a hundred times, but I couldn’t get through, and now they’ve told her. I fucking hate them.”

“She’ll forgive you,” Gabriel tells me.

“No, she won’t. She’s going to hate me,” I choke out.

She shouldn’t forgive me, anyway. I don’t deserve her forgiveness. I’m a piece of shit who cheated on his fiancée. I put the call on speaker so that I can go back to my browser and look at the pictures of Heather. God, she’s so beautiful, and I love her so much. My heart aches painfully at the sight of my angel, looking tired and worried in the pictures of her.

“I don’t know what to say,” Gabriel tells me.

“Don’t say anything. Nothing you say can change what I did,” I spit out.

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