I Once Married You (Harper and Benjamin)

He Stepped In

The coldness in his eyes tightened Harper's chest, piercing straight into her heart.

She stared at him, speechless.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Their eyes locked, and finally, he turned and left the bedroom.

The tension between them started to build up again, driving them apart.

He had denied everything Lauren had said.

"Was Lauren lying?" Harper wondered.

She remained silent, her lips pressed together in a grim line, her heart heavy.

Throughout the night, Benjamin didn't return to the bedroom, but he didn't leave the house either. No sound of a car had disturbed the silence. Neither of them wanted to back down. By the next morning, when Harper came downstairs, Benjamin had already left for the Martin Group.

On the road, Curtis glanced a few times at Benjamin in the rearview mirror, hesitating to speak.

After a moment, Benjamin finally caught it.

He asked indifferently, "What's wrong?"

Curtis decided to report honestly, "Mr. Martin, Mrs. Martin's company is in trouble, and there has some negative comment on the company's social media account. The situation is quite significant. If things don't go well, it can tear the company apart."

Benjamin frowned slightly and calmly said, "Hmm."

Curtis detailed everything he knew and then asked, "Do I need to talk with Summit Realty about this?"

Benjamin remained silent, his lips tightly pressed.

He remembered she had called him yesterday, and maybe it was about this matter.

He remembered the distressed look on Harper's face, and it left a weight in his heart.

He spoke softly, "Turn around. We are going to Summit Realty."

"Okay," Curtis immediately turned the car around, pressed the accelerator, and sped towards Summit Realty.

*****

Meanwhile, Harper had just arrived at the company and hadn't reached her office yet.

As she entered the lobby, Frank had called several times. She hadn't answered, feeling a bit down. Knowing what this was about, she thought it was best to talk about it in person.

Frank immediately approached when he saw Harper, his eyes narrowing as he stared at her. "Harper, have you talked to Benjamin about that issue at the company?"

Harper thought of last night's call and her argument with Benjamin. She managed a forced smile and shook her head. "No, I haven't talked to him, and I don't plan to. Let's see if we can handle this ourselves first. Worst case, we still have a card up in our sleeve, right?"

Frank's eyes still fixed on Harper, his face subtly stiffened. "Summit Realty just called to apologize, and the collaboration will continue. Yohan's advertising agency is now officially under investigation for multiple cases of framing and slander."

Harper was stunned in disbelief. She asked, "Summit Realty said this themselves?"

"Yes, I got the call and immediately called you," Frank replied.

"Did Summit Realty mention anything else?" she asked.

Frank shook his head.

Harper was equally shocked.

She hadn't spoken to Benjamin about it, nor had she had the chance. Maybe he...

It seemed unlikely. He wouldn't have time to pay attention to her problems, not with Lauren on his mind.

Harper replied, "Since everything's settled now, let's move on with the collaboration."

"Harper, are you sure you didn't reach out to him?"

"No."

Frank didn't press further, explaining, "I didn't mean anything by it. I just don't want you to feel compromised."

She smiled faintly, "I understand, don't worry, I'm fine."

Back in her office, Harper was still puzzled about who could be changing Summit Realty's decisions. But she couldn't believe it would be Benjamin.

She remained silent, deep in thought, and her phone rang.

It was Benjamin calling.

She pressed her lips and answered. The man's voice, low and calm, came through. "Harper, why didn't you tell me about the trouble in person? I've told you to come to me with anything you need, right? Has Summit Realty contacted you yet?"

At that moment, Harper realized it was truly him.

She felt conflicted. Part of her hoped it was him, yet another part wished it wasn't.

But no matter what, she needed to say thank you.

"Thank you, Benjamin."

"We're married, Harper. No need for thanks."

He was gentle as ever, but the word "married" now seemed to be on a countdown for them.

She clutched her chest tightly, a pain twisting in her chest, so tight it felt like she couldn't breathe.

His gentle voice continued, "I didn't lie to you last night, nor did I hide anything. I was just helping Lauren shop for clothes. I always keep my promises, Harper. You know you can trust me, right?"