Harper met his eyes and replied, “I never expected more.”
Their new home in Medina was large and elegant, yet it felt cold. They shared the same roof but lived like careful roommates, polite and controlled.
Garrett focused on rebuilding his company after a risky expansion in Chicago nearly ruined him. Harper spent her days trying to repair her father’s reputation and quietly planning a future where she would not always feel like an outsider in her own marriage.
Months later, federal investigators questioned one of Garrett’s investment deals. Reporters crowded outside the Sullivan headquarters, waiting for scandal.
Before Garrett could respond publicly, Harper stepped forward. “My husband has always acted in good faith,” she told the cameras calmly. “We will cooperate fully.”
That night, Garrett looked at her differently. “You did not have to defend me,” he said.
“I wanted to,” she answered.
Something shifted between them after that. They began talking late into the night, not about contracts but about fears, regrets, and dreams they had buried.