𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐦𝐛 | 𝐇. 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑

[ 13 ]

"My God, I'm so sorry," Marilyn apologised.

Harvey's eyes softened. This was never what he'd wanted. He was no good at this, no good at treading carefully around vulnerability, and saying the right things. He was the stone-cold lawyer that was ruthless and successful. Yet, with Marilyn, everything was so different. He didn't know what to do around her, but was definitely sure of who he was, and who he wanted to be. He knew what he wanted for her, and that there was no one else in the world who was going to give it to her. And, as for him, it had only ever been Marilyn. Sure, he'd entertained the idea of the bachelor life, but every night he took a stranger home, he knew that Marilyn had his heart. And that he owed her everything.

"Don't be, Lynn."

Marilyn sighed at Harvey's hospitality. She didn't deserve this man. She never thought that she had. From the minute Harvey Specter had walked into her life, he was out of her league. Older than her, actually in a full-time job, and oozing confidence that was backed up with intelligence and hard work. He was perfect, everything she'd ever wanted, and he whisked her away from the troubles of being a student, her immense homesickness and the racially discriminatory industry she was so desperate to be a part of. He'd made her life better from the minute he'd become a part of it. And now, she risked everything by revealing the truth.

But, this had to happen. She'd gotten this far and there was absolutely no going back. She couldn't do that to Harvey, to Ophelia, to herself. She deserved this liberation. She deserved to tell her story. She deserved to be in control of her laugh. She knew what she needed to do, even if no words would explain the catastrophic nature of Jonathan Riley-Smith – there would never be enough words to explain how vile that man was. So, Marilyn decided to do the next best thing. She searched her handbag for the memory stick before tossing it to Harvey, which he caught, despite the lack of warning.

"Watch this," she insisted quietly, eyes meeting his. "Watch it and don't say a word. I'll explain after."

Harvey swallowed the lump in his throat, his insides twisting as he realised what this was likely to be. He cursed himself for not being available to protect her, he was angry that he'd abandoned her when she arguably needed him the most. And now he knew what was going to happen, he knew what had happened, and that terrified him. Because this wasn't even his burden, it was beyond his control. Every emotion running through Marilyn was justified, every decision she'd made rational because only she was allowed to decide that. And that scared him beyond anything else in the entire world. But, he knew that what Marilyn was going through was so much worse, and so he kept his composure.

He forced himself to still his shaking hands and inserted the USB into his laptop. As soon as the video popped up on his screen, he looked to Marilyn for permission. Her heart swelled and she wanted to smile at his gentlemanly nature, but she simply gave him a solemn nod, fully aware that his perception of her could now change in a heartbeat. Who was to say that he wouldn't judge her for what she'd done? How she'd taken advantage like a tyrant? She felt the bile rising up her throat, just at the thought of how malicious she'd been. God, she really wasn't human at all. She was disgusted with herself.

And then the video played. Marilyn was in Jonathan's office late at night in October of 2003, her white dress inexcusably short as she tried to talk with Jonathan. Harvey recognised that she was on prime-time television the next year and his stomach plummeted, knowing that this was the real reason as to why she'd gotten where she was. He was judging her at all, but the entire situation made him feel disappointed, knowing that she had so much talent and didn't need to do this to get ahead. Or maybe she had to, since she became the first Indian-American prime-time news anchor but that thought made him sick. However, what he hated the most was knowing that he wasn't there to protect her from situations like these. At the end of the day, he left her. She may have given him the green light, but he left the city. She just didn't follow.