Chapter 177 I Have Nothing to Do with Her Anymore
Harper, however, remained calm as usual. She turned around to get a towel and handed it to the bathroom.
When Keith came out wrapped in the towel and saw Francis, he was momentarily surprised but quickly regained his composure.
He said, "Mr. Getty, why are you here so late?"
Francis was clearly a bit stunned, more so in disbelief.
Keith reached out to ruffle Harper's hair and said in a doting tone, "Why didn't you let Mr. Getty come in and sit? It's not appropriate to leave him standing at the door."
Harper said expressionlessly, "It's too late."
Their intimate actions made it seem as if Francis didn't exist.
His lips pressed tightly together, and his eyes reddened as he looked at Harper. "Did you two have sex?"
The hurt in Francis's beautiful eyes struck Harper deeply, leaving her momentarily dazed.
Francis reached out and pulled Harper over, and he furiously demanded, "I'm asking you, did you two have sex?"
Keith also reached out, trying to pull Francis's restraining arm away, but was harshly pushed aside. Francis then raised his fist high and was ready to punch Keith.
Harper pushed him away and coldly said, "Francis, if you dare hurt him, I won't let you get away with it!"
Francis's fist stopped mid-air. He glanced at them, and suddenly, a mocking smile appeared on his lips.
How ridiculous!
He hadn't really believed that Harper and Keith were truly together.
He had even investigated and felt they were just pretending to appease their parents.
So, he didn't mind Harper pretending to be Keith's girlfriend and thought he could slowly win her back.
But now, all his beliefs had collapsed.
They actually had sex!
And she did it with Keith, the man who had been entangled with Harper during their marriage.
The man who had repeatedly shaken and challenged their marriage.
Francis felt it dirty and even a bit disgusted.
He slowly lowered his fist and did not even want to fight anymore, so he just looked at Harper with disgust and gritted his teeth. "You are disgusting."
These words made Harper's face visibly pale.
Keith's eyes turned cold, and he angrily said, "Mr. Getty, please show some respect to my girlfriend."
Francis pretended not to see Keith and just gave Harper a sarcastic smile before turning to leave.
Watching his departing figure, Harper felt a sharp tug in her heart, like a fishhook being pulled.
Keith called her name twice before she responded.
He placed his hand on her shoulder and asked with concern, "Are you okay?"
Harper uncomfortably doged his touch. "I'm fine."
Keith, being a gentleman, withdrew his hand but looked at her with an indescribable change in his eyes.
Harper turned to take the clothes out of the dryer and handed them to Keith.
Keith's eyes deepened as he said, "What if he comes back? What will you do?"
He meant that he could stay the night, as there was more than one room in her house. And it was a chance for them to grow closer.
Harper shook her head and said, "He won't come back."
The look on Francis's face when he left indicated that this time was truly over between them.
She was sure as shooting.
She knew it when she chose to involve Keith.
Keith got dressed and, seeing Harper's tired appearance, didn't say much more. He just left the book that needed her translation.
It was a private job he had taken for her. A foreign client loved this novel and was willing to pay a high price for its translation, but because it was written in a rare language, not many people could take the job.
Fortunately, he remembered that Harper was exceptionally good at this language in college.
Once, when a delegation from that country visited, she was appointed by the school to be the translator.
What he didn't know was that Harper had studied the rare language diligently because it paid well.
There was a time when her grandparents had been ill, and she needed the money for her living expenses and the medical bill. So she had been studying hard to master this language.
Harper was quite grateful to Keith. She was indeed preparing to study abroad for her master's and needed a lot of money.
She softly said, "Keith, I'm really sorry about today. You've helped me so much; I shouldn't have used you."
Keith hadn't planned to say anything today, but hearing her words, he suddenly felt a bit impulsive.
"Harper, why don't you be my girlfriend?"
These words caught Harper off guard, and she looked at him in shock.
Keith's lips curved slightly as he said, "I mean it."
Harper was surprised, "I thought you loved that girl?"
"It's not possible between us anymore. She's very happy now, and I want to move on. We could give it a try."
When Keith wanted to act as a loving man, he could do it very well.
Good-looking people naturally tend to make a good impression, and his eyes were especially clean and pure, without any impurities.
Harper was a bit bewildered by the sudden confession.
However, Keith didn't seem to be deeply in love with her, so she wasn't too guarded.
She thought for a moment and said, "I'm sorry, Keith. I don't have any plans to date right now. You're so outstanding; you deserve a better girl."
"Harper, don't belittle yourself. In my eyes, you're very outstanding."
Keith spoke openly and sincerely, as if he truly appreciated her.
Before Harper could respond, he smiled again and said, "When you step onto a bigger and broader stage, there will surely be many people pursuing you. So, could you not rush to reject me? Give this long-time admirer a chance, and you can make your decision after some consideration."
Harper's face felt a bit hot from his words. She hadn't faced such a passionate confession from a man before.
This was a new feeling she had never experienced with Francis. She and Francis were from different worlds.
Francis had always seemed like a god to her, high and mighty.
Even though he never looked down on her, Harper always felt she was in a disadvantaged position, feeling unworthy of him.
In fact, when she was in school, people there pursued her, but she prioritized her studies and often made up a story about having a long-distance boyfriend to fend off suitors.
After getting married, her social circle became even smaller, and she hardly interacted with men, nor did she have any other thoughts.
Keith's words were measured. He was just expressing his desire to pursue her, not forcing her to agree. It was still up to her, so Harper didn't know how to refuse.
Keith didn't give her the chance to refuse either. He was very good at gauging the situation and left gracefully.
Once in the car, the gentle kindness on Keith's face instantly disappeared.
He realized that every time he got close to Harper, his head would ache bit by bit, which made him very uncomfortable.
Moreover, this discomfort had been spreading and intensifying recently, agitating his nerves and disrupting his composure.
He had always been good at hiding his thoughts. Even if he liked something very much and wanted to get it, he would never show it directly.
He would first devise a meticulous plan to make what he wanted willingly come to him.
He enjoyed the pleasure of having everything under control.
But this time, he felt no pleasure, only an uncontrollable impulse.
It was an urgent and emotional impulse to have her belong to him immediately.
Keith glanced back at the window, a smile appearing on his lips, but it didn't reach his eyes, which were filled with coldness and malice.
Harper wasn't affected by Francis's final words of hateful humiliation for too long.
That night, she started burning the midnight oil to translate the book.
This thick book, once translated, would earn her $300,000, a considerable reward.
It could solve a large part of her current predicament.
After the divorce, she realized that only by working hard could she have the ability to choose and protect herself when facing difficulties.
If she remained incompetent, she would only be bullied.
With this in mind, her determination to pursue a master's degree grew even stronger.
Only by beating herself of yesterday could she truly be strong.
At the bar, Francis was drinking sullenly, with Robert and Wesley present.
Wesley coughed a few times beside him, looking at the unhappy Francis, and asked, "What's wrong with you again?"
Francis ignored him. Wesley chuckled, "Let me guess. Is it about Lily?"
Recently, everyone knew about Lily's relentless pursuit of Francis.
Lily was very high-profile and told her love for Francis on News Feed every day. She was indeed bold.
The circle of wealthy people was small, and the news quickly spread within.
Francis showed no expression.
Wesley guessed again. "Is it about Harper?"
"Harper?"
Francis showed some expression sneered, "She has nothing to do with me anymore."
His words were filled with coldness and decisiveness, and it was the first time Wesley had seen him use such terms to describe Harper.
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