Chapter 3
With that thought, I pushed my complicated feelings aside.
"Your support means a lot to me. Thank you," I said.
Harry ruffled my hair, his eyes treating me like I was his little stress-relief pet.
"As long as you listen to me, I can give you anything you want," he said.
Yeah, that was all I was to him, a plaything he could buy with money.
As long as it made him happy, opening a pet shop was no big deal.
My lips trembled as I forced a smile. "Got it."
*****
The pet shop renovation started right on schedule.
I was running myself ragged, juggling schoolwork and keeping an eye on the shop's progress.
Once people got busy, they wouldn't have time for love or romance.
I was out early and back late, barely getting a word in with Harry, except when I had to hand in my assignments.
Funny thing was, the less time I had for him, the more he wanted me.
But after two weeks of running nonstop, my body just couldn't take it anymore.
I crouched down to check the blueprints. When I stood up too quickly, my head spun, and everything went blurry.
I stumbled back a couple of steps, but someone pulled me into a steady embrace.
Alert, I twisted my head and realized it was Harry. He wore casual clothes, sleeves rolled up.
He stood beside the renovation workers like a solid pillar.
After confirming I was alright, he straightened up and began giving instructions, orderly and composed, looking more like the boss than I did.
"Paint this wall lighter, make it brighter," he said.
As he spoke, he picked up a milkshake without missing a beat and handed it to me. "Why are you working yourself to the bone like this?" His tone was a little scolding.
I froze for a moment, took the milkshake, and instinctively looked up at him.
He stood there in the sunlight, his tall frame blocking out the sun over me. For a split second, I felt totally out of it.
Seeing me just standing there, Harry bent down and wiped the sweat from my forehead with his hand.
He said, "If starting this business is making you this worn out, then just stop. Why work yourself so hard? It's not like you have to worry about money with me around."
Before he even finished talking, his face suddenly moved closer, his breath brushing softly against my cheek.
My heart jolted, and I snapped out of it, quickly turning my head to dodge his kiss.
"People are still here," I whispered, flustered.
He paused for a second, then straightened up, something I couldn't quite read flickering in his eyes, but he didn't say anything else.
On the drive home that night, Harry said, "Hey, didn't you have a friend named Macy?"
I nodded, feeling a twinge of unease.
He continued, "She's had it rough lately. One of my buddies was her sugar daddy, but she got caught cheating in a hotel, and it turned into a huge scene."
He snorted, like it was just some random gossip that didn't matter at all.
"Then the guy's wife threw acid at her. It ruined her face. She's still laid up in the hospital," he added.
Harry said it all so casually, with a hint of schadenfreude in his voice.
Listening to him, I just felt a cold chill run through me.
What happened to Macy made me feel sad, but it also woke me up to reality.
I remembered clearly how she used me and stabbed me in the back in the previous timeline.
Everything she was going through was just the consequence of her own choices.
Seeing that I didn't react, Harry just shrugged and changed the subject. "Tomorrow, I want some lotus seed soup."
I nodded numbly. "Alright, I'll cook it for you."
After dinner, he got a call and left in a hurry.
I glanced at the half glass of red wine left on the table, and I could guess the reason.
Ever since I came back to life, I'd been jotting down important dates on my tablet, just from memory.
Alison was coming back on a flight tonight.
Experience told me Harry wouldn't be coming home to spend the night.
They'd be together, getting close, maybe even rekindling their old romance.
So, wide awake in the middle of the night, I got in my car and drove up to the mountaintop, hoping the cold wind would clear my head and blow away all the frustration bottled up inside me.
Harry's closeness toward me made me feel danger, and Alison's return made me feel pressed for time.
I had to break free from all of this, and fast.
When I got home, the living room lights were still on, and my tablet was sitting on the coffee table.
I frowned, trying to remember when I'd left it there.
I picked up the tablet and turned to head to my room, but just then, Harry walked in.
"Explain yourself," Harry said, sitting down on the couch and lighting a cigarette.