Chapter 43 If The World Found Out
“I am the only son of Richard Harrington.”
Those words had been too intense to get Sarah to react in any sort of way.
She'd just sat there staring at Alex. And then she had let him take care of her as he kept reassuring her, telling her everything was going to be fine and they won't have to face Richard.
When he led her upstairs, she didn't push him away. She simply let him take care of her. And he did. He made love to her so passionately that she forgot that anything else existed in the world.
Sarah opened her eyes to the bright morning light.
She looked down at the hand resting on her stomach. It was a strong hand, scarred at the knuckles from a life he chose to live fixing things for himself, far away from the Harrington towers. But it was the hand of an heir. It was the hand of the man whose father was currently trying to bankrupt her.
She felt a sharp jab of guilt. It sat in her stomach like lead. She wasn't just a woman in a complicated relationship anymore. She was a forty-two-year-old business owner sleeping with the twenty-two-year-old son of her greatest enemy.
Alex stirred beside her. He felt her change in
energy before he even opened his eyes. He pulled her closer, his chest pressing against her back, his breath warm against her neck.
"You're overthinking again," he murmured. His voice was thick with sleep, but it was still grounded and sure.
Sarah turned in his arms so she could look at him. He looked so young in the morning light, but his eyes held a seriousness that belonged to someone much older.
"How am I supposed to think about anything else, Alex?" she asked. Her voice was steady, but she couldn't hide the worry.
"You’re a Harrington. Your father is the man who froze my bank accounts yesterday. He’s the man who told the board I was a liability."
Alex reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He didn't look ashamed. He looked like he wanted to shield her from the very name he carried.
"He’s just a man, Sarah," Alex said.
"His name doesn't change who I am. It doesn't change how I feel about you. I walked away from him years ago. I don’t want his money or his throne. I just want you."
"But the world won't see it that way," Sarah said. She sat up, pulling the sheets to her chest.
"If this fully goes out, Alex, I’m ruined. People won't see a business woman. They’ll see a predator. They’ll say I seduced a billionaire’s son to get a bailout. They’ll say I’m taking advantage of you."
Alex sat up too. He didn't like the distance she was putting between them. He moved closer, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"You aren't taking advantage of me," he said firmly.
"I’m a grown man. I made my choices. I chose to stay. I chose to love you. My father’s ego has nothing to do with what happens in this room."
"It has everything to do with what happens outside this room," Sarah countered. She looked him in the eye, her professional steel returning.
"Listen to me, Alex. I am being very serious. You cannot use your identity to help me. You cannot call him. You cannot go to the board and tell them who you are to save my firm."
Alex frowned.
"Sarah, I can end this today. One phone call and he backs off. He wants me back. He’ll do anything to get me in that office. I can trade my presence for your freedom."
"No," Sarah said. The word was sharp and final.
"If you do that, I will never be able to look at myself in the mirror again. I’ve worked my whole life to build Sarah’s Interior Decor. I didn't do it to be saved by a Harrington. If I win, I win because I’m the best. If I lose, I lose on my own terms. I won't be a charity case for your father."
"It’s not charity," Alex argued. "It’s justice. He’s cheating, Sarah. He’s using dirty tactics."
"And I’ll fight them my way," she insisted. She reached out and touched his face, her tone softening but remaining firm.
"I love that you want to protect me. I love that you’re willing to go back to a man you don't like just to help me. But I won't let you sell your soul to save my career. If you do that, we’re over. I mean it."
Alex looked at her for a long time. He saw the pride in her eyes, and he respected it, even if it frustrated him. He adored her strength, but it made him want to hold her even tighter. He hated that she was suffering when he had the power to stop it.
"Fine," Alex said, though the word sounded like it hurt him to say.
"I won't use his influence. I won't go to him. I’ll respect your boundaries, Sarah."
"Promise me," she whispered.
"I promise," he said.
He leaned in and kissed her. It was a deep, possessive kiss that told her he wasn't going anywhere. Sarah melted into it, her resolve softening just for a moment. She loved the way he took care of her, even when she told him not to. She hated that she enjoyed his protection so much, but in his arms, the age gap and the scandals felt far away.
Alex pulled back. He had promised not to use his father's influence, but he hadn't said anything about his own resources. He thought about the Vane Estate—the massive inheritance from his mother's side that was sitting in a bank account Richard Harrington couldn't touch.
He wouldn't tell Sarah about that yet. He knew she would refuse that money too. But he wasn't going to sit by and watch her lose everything. He would find a way to fix this from the shadows, without her ever knowing it was him. He was a Harrington, after all, and if there was one thing he had learned from his father, it was how to move pieces on a board without being seen.
"Go take a shower," Alex said, his voice returning to that dominant, caring tone.
"I'll make some coffee. We’ll get through the day."
Sarah sighed and nodded. She got out of bed, feeling the cool air on her skin. She watched him walk out of the room, his stride confident and steady. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe that they could keep their love separate from the war outside.
But as she stood under the hot water of the shower, she couldn't ignore the truth she was surrounded by. Alex was the son of the man who wanted to destroy her.
She leaned her head against the tile, the water washing over her. She was a forty-two-year-old woman in love with a prince in disguise, and she knew that when the world found out, no amount of reassurance would save them from the fire.