Almost Lover (Harry Styles) - Book 1

Chapter 38: She was Right

-Harry's POV-

We fall into silence. Tears still wet my cheeks as Poppy tries to compose herself so she can continue.

"He woke up when she came into his room. He was completely wasted. He sat up in bed and asked if hearing him and Ally got her worked up, cause he was more than ready for round two. She walked across the room and slapped him across the face. And then she slapped him again. And again. He shoved her off of him and threw her against a wall and onto the floor. She screamed at him to tell her why. Why he treated her like this, why he stayed with her if he hated her so much. If he hadn't been so drunk I doubt he would of told her, but he did."

"Told her what?"

"That everything was a lie. Their entire relationship was conceived by her own parents so the merger would go through. They paid him to date her, to make her fall in love with him, to marry her. Millions of dollars and a promise he would be on the board of the new company once the merger went through. Something his own father would never do since he viewed him as a failure. So he did it. He never loved her. He played his part till he was sick of it and then he started showing his true self."

"Bloody hell."

"Harry, it's so much worse than that." Poppy chokes out. "The night before she lost the baby she fell asleep so quickly because he had drugged her. He had put something in the food he brought her."

"No.... No." I shake my head.

"He had his personal physician come and perform an abortion while she was unconscious. He killed Maddie."

I drop my head into my hands. "No no no."

"She knew she couldn't call the cops, his father practically owned the police force so he could get away with his seedy business practices. The Blacks were untouchable. She was in shock from what he said, still on the floor. She said her heart hurt so badly she couldn't breathe. He picked her up off the floor by her hair and threw her across the room into a dresser. In his drunken state he tripped on his way over to her and fell on his face. She said she didn't even realize what she was doing as she grabbed a heavy vase off the dresser and smashed it against his head. He didn't move. Blood starting coming out from where the vase had struck him."

"Holy shit Poppy."

"She packed a bag quickly and left. She went to her parents to confront them and tell them what happened. They didn't want to look to the Blacks like they were on her side so they called the police. She crawled out a bathroom window and left Manhattan. She went across the bridge into Queens, knowing her family wouldn't look for her there. She slept on the street that night, to afraid to use a card to pay for a hotel. Her family would find her if she did. She was sitting in a coffee shop the next morning trying to figure out what to do when a news bulletin came on the tv about Scott. He wasn't dead, just injured. She actually hadn't hit him that hard and he had passed out more from the alcohol then the hit to his head. Which meant she needed to run a lot farther than Queens. She was afraid he would kill her if he found her. She got in a taxi and went to her private lawyer. There she signed the annulment papers and paid her lawyer to arrange an expedited name change for her. She would email him the address to send the documents to. She paid him to send the annulment papers to the Blacks anonymously. She didn't want him linked to it and paid off so Scott could find her. He agreed to hold onto her credit card and not charge it under his business name or until the next morning. Then she left and headed to JFK. She found out when the next flight was and she had thirty minutes until it boarded. But she had no money to pay for a ticket. So she sold the only thing she had on her of worth, her wedding ring. She sold it to a man sitting in Starbucks for $900. It was worth well over $3 million. She took that cash and spent $750 on the flight. Twelve hours later she landed in London with the name Ava McCain, one small bag, and $150 in her pocket. Two days later she told me this story. When she finished she wiped her eyes and has never spoken of it since. Her walls went up and she has never allowed anyone else in. Six months later she met you, and everything started to change."

Poppy takes a deep breath and looks at me. "Now you know everything. At least everything I know."

I nod my head. I don't know what to do with this. Ava was right, I won't ever be able to look at her the same again.

"So how do you feel about her now that you know the truth?" Poppy asks.

"The same as I did before Poppy." I say confidently.

I look her in the eyes before going on.

"I love her."

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