Alex woke up from his nightmare that had been recurring for the past few nights. He sat up in his bed, breathing hard as he hurried to take in his surroundings. It was a very strange nightmare, but they've been happening so often that it made him think if those were real events that his mind wanted him to remember.
A woman and a beast.
And that night, he woke up in a sweaty mess, with nothing but a feeling of dread. He took a few deep breaths and tried to remember where he was. His eyes darted around the room and found their way to the portrait on the wall, and then to an empty chair in a corner.
He then looked over at the clock. It was nearly eight in the morning, but the drapes in the room were too heavy that it blocked the light from the sun from streaming in. He rubbed his eyes gently, and his fingers felt the beads of sweat on his forehead. Nearly every night, he woke up like this, drenched in sweat―and alone.
Why the hell isn’t she here? He thought angrily.
“Harper!” he began to shout. “Harper!”
It didn’t take another second for the door to his room to swing open. A young woman, who was clearly not Harper, rushed to the side of his bed.
“Master Alex, what is it you need?”
“Are you Harper?”
“No.” The woman tensely moistened her dry lips. “I’m Libby.”
“Then, why are you here? I shouted for Harper,” Alex barked.
Libby’s face immediately went ashen. “I’m so sorry, Master Alex. Um―Harper is busy in the kitchen cooking.”
Alex’s set of blue eyes narrowed at her; a cloud of warning settled over his handsome features. “I don’t want to talk to you, Libby! I want to talk to my fiancée!”
Libby’s lips formed into a muted O. Bewilderment etched its way into every crease on her forehead. “You’re whaaa―”
“What are you standing there for? Go get Harper!” Alex ordered loudly that she nearly jumped where she stood nervously erect.
“Master Alex―”
“Go!”
“Alright!” Libby dashed out of the room, almost banging the door behind her.
Alex shook his head to get rid of a good amount of annoyance off his system before laying on his back in the queen-sized bed. He clutched the sheets up to his neck, feeling the cold morning weather creeping in despite the heavy drapes. He shivered in his silk pajamas, rolling over on his side. He grunted, running his fingers over a healing bruise on his ribs.
Moments later, he was still alone in his room. Hissing at the thought that Libby might have deliberately forgotten to tell Harper he was asking for her, he swung his legs out of bed and let his feet touch the carpeted floor so he could sit up.
For a short while, he sat there hanging his head, looking at his own feet that were flat on the floor. Feeling his own anger building up inside him, he shook his head. He was able to rise off the comforting bed fine, but as soon as he took his first step, he fell and collapsed onto his knees. As he reckoned, he didn’t really have enough energy yet to move around all by himself.
“Harper!” he called out her name once again. The door swung open again, revealing an annoyed-looking Harper this time.
But as soon as Harper saw him on the floor, she gasped. “Alex!” Instantly rushing to his side, she flipped him over, seizing his right arm to try to pull him upright.
“Come on now, Alex, you can do this…” she encouraged him.
Alex sucked in a breath as he helped move himself up to get to his feet. Harper draped his arm over her shoulder and put her left arm around his waist. Almost immediately, though, he lost his balance and leaned against her for support. He was too tall for her, and his built was enough to wrap it around her body. Harper could barely hold him up.
“Damn, you’re heavy!” Harper whispered loudly to herself; then she earned a brief smiled from Alex when she unknowingly said to encourage herself, “I can do this.”
As soon as they found their balance, they quickly both staggered next to the bed before Harper’s strength gave out. She stumbled, and his arm slipped from her shoulder as he staggered over to the bed and fell on it.
“Why the hell are you so heavy?” Harper complained, breathing heavily. “I’m calling your nurses.”
“No! I only need you here!” Alex bellowed. “No one else.”
“Are you seriously throwing a tantrum right now?" she responded, in hysterical disbelief. She looked down at him in surprise, and he was staring at her intensely.
When they finally caught their breaths, Alex quickly spoke, “You weren’t here when I woke up.”
“And why should I be here? I slept in my own bed, woke up in my own bed, and I went straight to the kitchen to prepare some breakfast for you,” Harper replied, matter-of-factly. “You shouldn’t feel anything but grateful, you self-centered and ungrateful man―”
A muffled scoff from Alex cut her off. “Well, thank you then. But I just happened to wake up from a nightmare. Pardon me for waking up so scared. I immediately looked for your familiar face to help me calm down and assure me that it was just a dream. So, yeah, I’m so sorry for expecting so much for my fiancée to be there for me.”
Harper’s face fell slightly, and she instantly began to feel sorry for him. Of course, he’d look for her! She was, after all, his fiancée, according to her little white lie. “Well, I can’t always be there for you, Alex. At least, not every second of every minute of every hour,” she shot back, recovering quickly.
“I don’t care! I don’t know those people that come in and out of my room, like that girl, Libby, and unless you’re lying to me, you’re the only person I trust in this house.”
Oh, shit! Harper thought. A sudden chill froze her to her spot.
Alex paused as he gauged her reaction. When she remained still, her mouth closed, he continued, “I’m still recovering from god knows what, and as my fiancée, I want you to be by my side all the time. Period!”
Harper was about to counter with a spicy one-liner, but Alex flashed her a playful warning glare. To which she rolled her eyes at, of course. “Why are you such a brat?”
“I’m not! What I want is very simple ― I want you here with me.”
Harper voluntarily snorted.
"Do you take issue with me wanting you close to me, Harper?" Alex challenged.
“I just figured you'd want to be by yourself since a few days ago I was just a stranger to you. And, without your memories, I really think I still am, and I just want to you give some space,” Harper responded that came out a little more uncaring than she’d anticipated.
Alex pretended to think of what she just said. His eyes were hitting hers for a tenth of a second before he looked down, picking at his fingers like a kid.
“I don’t want space,” his answer was clipped. When he raised his eyes to Harper’s, and she saw sadness and…fear. Alex’s strong feature had almost hidden it, but Harper could actually see it.
Their eyes locked. Then he held up his hands in surrender. “I know you must be thinking I’m clingy or needy, but I, like I said, I don’t know those people, Harper.”
Harper shook her head. “Then get to know them.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I'm kind of not interested in getting to know them. Do you understand where I’m coming from?”
“Honestly?” She shrugged. “I don’t. You haven’t changed.”
“What? What do you mean I haven’t changed?”
She hesitated for a moment. “Your attitude. It still sucks.”
But this only made Alex laugh, though a little bitterly. “But you still said yes when I asked you to marry. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be engaged to each other.”
Harper pursed her lips, pissed at herself because Alex clearly had a point.
"You’re right, we wouldn’t be. But you have to understand that we’re still engaged, Alex. A lot of things could still happen.” She didn’t mean for it to be a threat, but instead a reminder to herself that she could still turn things around.
“I know…” was all Alex said. He looked sincere, sad.
Harper waved her hand away as soon as she felt her own guilt creeping through her. "Listen, I made you a really delicious pie. Let me go ahead and get a slice for you."
He nodded.
Harper walked out of the room, silently cursing at herself. She couldn’t possibly hate Alex now for thinking and believing that they were together. She couldn’t. Then she thought of Lucas. She felt he was to blame too. Her life was simple. It was easy. Until suddenly, it wasn't. And now, she was suddenly engaged to the man she detested so much. And the part that she really hated the most was the fact that it was her own doing. She did this to Alex and herself.