Chapter 8 He Still Loves Emma

• **POV: Harper**
• “What is going on here?” Ethan’s voice cut through the tension, breaking the silence with his angry tone directed at me. I noticed the way he glanced at Emma, his body language protective, almost instinctual. It was as if she was the one under threat, and his focus was solely on her, shielding and protecting his ex-lover right in my presence.
• “Why are you here?” he demanded, the edge in his voice making Emma flinch as I felt the heat of his gaze on my body.
• “Is there a problem here? Would you like me to call security?” a nurse passing by asked Ethan, her hard glare fixated on me. His tone and body language made me look like a villain. If a stranger walked in here right now, they would think that I was a crazy person here to cause trouble.
• “Is there a problem, Mr. Ethan? Is this woman bothering you?” she asked again, giving me a condescending look.
• “Don’t worry about it, Nurse. We can handle the situation,” Serena responded calmly, acting like a sweet saint. The nurse turned and left, but not before giving me one last warning look that felt threatening.
• “What’s wrong, Harper? Cat got your tongue?” he asked furiously, grinding his teeth in anger.
• “Why the hell are you here? What do you hope to achieve? Did you come to dig into my life without telling me? Are you stalking your own husband?” he asked in a mocking tone, scoffing at the end of his question and making me look like a stalker.
• “Answer me, Harper! Why are you looking into my past? What is wrong with you?” he screamed angrily, ignoring the pain in my eyes and my heart. I opened my mouth to explain, but the words caught in my throat. I felt broken and defeated. My emotions surged, threatening to take over; I couldn’t stop the tears from filling my eyes, threatening to spill. I tried so hard to maintain my composure. The tears pricked at my eyes, but I would not give him the satisfaction of seeing them. Instead, I met his gaze with cold resolve, the anguish bubbling beneath, making me feel betrayed.
• "Harper…?” His voice softened slightly, but the concern from earlier melted into something more defensive when he saw the sadness on Emma’s face. I noticed the warmth in his eyes each time he glanced her way, and it made me feel so jealous of the affection he showed her. I had never felt this jealous in my whole life. I wished I hadn’t come here; I felt so terribly betrayed.
• “You don’t have to be here. You have no right to meddle in my business. You should have stayed away. You have no business here, Harper. You should never have gone to investigate my past. Have you no respect for my privacy?” he yelled at me, sounding furious. I had never seen him this nervous and angry.
• His anger towards me was fueled by his instinct to protect his lover. He must be insane to think I would want to hurt her. It meant he never really knew me, just like I thought. I was just a replacement for Emma; that’s why he didn’t even know what I was capable of. I was never loved; he only used and betrayed me.
• “Don’t be so mad at her, Ethan. She was only jealous of your past relationship with my sister because she is your wife now. Every woman would react the same way to protect her marriage. I’m glad she didn’t hurt Emma before we got here. I would have been so sad,” Serena said sadly as she walked over and hugged her sister, Emma, in a protective manner, acting as though she were trying to diffuse the situation.
• The snide satisfaction on her face rubbed salt into my wounds, and I scoffed at Ethan’s actions as he held Emma's hand in a protective manner, giving me a dangerous, warning glare. I could see through her act; she was playing the part of the supportive sister, but the evil glint in her eyes suggested otherwise. Every bit of sympathy was a façade, a cruel mask that only deepened my hatred for her.
• “I’m sorry if I’m the reason you tried to hurt my sister, Harper. I didn’t mean to make you so jealous and hateful. I just wanted us to live together like sisters!” she apologized, wiping away fake tears from her eyes.
• “Don’t yell at her anymore, Ethan. Please forgive her jealousy. I hate it when you two fight because of me and my sister,” she pleaded with Ethan, making me look at him in disbelief because he was obviously buying her act.
• “What were you going to do, Harper? Were you really thinking of hurting Emma? How could you be so heartless? I don’t even know you anymore; I don’t recognize this new attitude you are displaying. What is wrong with you?” he scolded me gently this time, taking Serena’s words into consideration, I thought. I cried in my heart because I didn’t recognize him either; this was not the man I married.
• Besides, I’m not surprised at his attitude. After all, I’m not his first love. I’m just the replacement, aren’t I?
• I’m just someone who looks enough like her to fill the void she left behind. After his scolding, no one spoke. Silence fell heavily in the air; the only sound in the room was the distant beeping of machines in the ward. I felt my mind drifting away, my thoughts all jumbled up. The fact that Serena was making it seem like she was defending me was so incredibly annoying.
• She exchanged a quick glance with Ethan, a motion that screamed shared knowledge. I felt the floor shift beneath me; the reality crashed down more vividly than it had moments before. This meant that I never belonged here; I was just a shadow, haunting the edges of a love that never belonged to me. His feelings for Emma were the reason he treated Serena so well. Now I understood why he would choose to help her, to protect and provide for her. It was all for Emma, his first love.
• “Ethan, my sister needs you. She must have been so terrified by Harper’s presence. She is still shivering in fear,” Serena told him as she placed her hand on her sister’s forehead and neck, checking her temperature. Ethan went over to see if his precious Emma was okay. I noticed a flicker of fear in his eyes when she called him over, and I saw the care and love in his eyes as he placed his hand on her body like Serena had, checking her temperature.
• He didn’t even care about my feelings; it was as if I didn’t even exist in his eyes anymore. Serena looked my way, and when our eyes met, she smirked at me, enjoying the show. Even from afar, I could tell that she was lying about her sister shivering in fear. But Ethan just wanted to care for Emma, so he ran over there immediately, trusting them instead of me.
• “You see this, Harper! This is all your fault!” he scolded me again, sounding more furious.
• “Forgive her, Ethan. She is still your wife,” she kept pleading for me, making me so angry.
• “This is unbelievably frustrating. I can’t do this. I can’t stand this. I can’t take this show anymore.” I let out weakly, my voice barely above a whisper as it cracked under the weight of it all. I was tired of everything going on. I felt drained; I just couldn’t argue with anyone right now. They wouldn’t see me cry; I wouldn’t let them see my pain. I gave Ethan a cold glance and exited the ward, turning my back on them.
• As I left the ward, I half-expected him to call after me, to recognize the hurt radiating off me and reach for me like the husband he once promised to be. Deep in my heart, I still hoped that Ethan would run after me and try to catch up with me. After all, he was still my husband, and I expected him to try and stop me and at least offer an explanation for his actions or show me that he cared about me, that he was no longer in love with Emma. I did hear him calling out to me; I heard Ethan say,
• “Wait, Harper! Hold on!” But the next second, he stopped calling after me because Serena fell to the ground, crying that she sprained her ankle, using her usual tricks and pretense to stop him from going after me, his wife. As usual, he believed her, and he stopped chasing after me and cared for Serena, checking her sprained ankle.
• Her cries filled the hallway, and my heart sank further as I glanced back and caught sight of a now-adoring Serena, clutching her ankle. Ethan knelt instinctively beside her, concern written all over his face, his back turned completely to me. She smirked at me over his shoulder, hugging him for support while crying in pain.
• Swallowing hard, I stepped out of the suffocating building, each footfall taking me further away from his betrayal. I dialed Kate’s number, my throat tight as I kept fighting to hold back tears. I needed my friend; I needed someone to talk to, someone to comfort me.