Chapter 602 He Was Very Afraid
That scent was unmistakably Francis. Could it be...?
Harper's face went ghostly white, and she bolted to the window.
One look outside, and she saw a guy sprawled on the ground, blood everywhere. She couldn't make out anything else.
Just as she was about to scream, a familiar voice cut through, "Aren't you gonna give me a hand?"
Harper turned and saw Francis clinging to the church's cross, staring right at her.
She blinked. It was really Francis! He'd just swooped in and taken Arthur down!
Harper glanced at the high platform, which was like a million feet up, then back at Francis. She was speechless.
This was nuts; he had to be out of his mind.
Jasper had already climbed up, shoved Harper aside, and pulled Francis in.
Once they were safely on the ground, Jasper let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank goodness that worked."
So that was their plan—one person distracts Arthur from below while the other sneaks up. But that was risky!
Harper started, "Jasper, Mom is..."
Jasper cut her off, "Don't worry, we found Mom. She's at the hospital getting checked out. We can see her soon."
Harper had hidden Elodie in the bushes near the car, figuring the most dangerous place was the safest. She left clues to lead Arthur to the church. She'd done all she could; the rest was up to fate.
She knew Jasper and the others would come to save her. She just didn't expect Francis to show up too.
Her heart was still racing. Seeing Francis's cane tossed on the ground, she could tell how desperate he'd been.
She hadn't cried facing death, but now the tears flowed. "Jasper, you're insane. Such a reckless plan, and you let Francis do it."
Francis's leg wasn't fully healed. If anything had gone wrong, he'd be the one lying in that blood.
Jasper was taken aback. He hadn't expected Francis to rush Arthur at the last second. Their plan was just to ambush. But Arthur was a wild card; no one knew if he'd throw Harper off.
If Jasper had been up there, he'd have done the same thing.
So Jasper didn't argue. "It's all my fault."
Seeing Harper cry, Francis reached out to hug her but hesitated.
"Next time, no more crazy stunts!" Harper snapped. She stood up too fast and started to walk downstairs.
But she got up too quickly, and a rush of blood made her vision go black. She collapsed.
"Harper!" Francis and Jasper shouted together.
Francis caught her with one arm, and Jasper quickly took over. "Let's get to the hospital."
As they headed downstairs, sirens wailed in the distance. Jasper's assistant stayed behind to talk to the cops.
Arthur lay in his pool of blood, eyes wide open, dead but far from peaceful.
No one looked back at him. A guy like that deserved what he got.
At the hospital.
Harper had a nightmare.
In it, Francis fell from that window. She rushed over, but all she found was a bloody, mangled mess on the ground.
"No!" she screamed in agony.
Seeing Harper in such pain, tears streaming down her face, Francis kept calling her name, "Harper, Harper."
Harper heard him and slowly opened her eyes. When she saw Francis in front of her, she sat up and hugged him tight.
She sobbed, "Francis, you're okay. Thank God."
Francis held her just as tightly, gently patting her trembling back, "I'm okay."
He kept comforting her softly until Harper finally calmed down.
She sniffled and struggled to speak, "How could you do something so dangerous? You can't do that again."
Francis gently brushed her hair back, his eyes soft, "See? I'm fine."
Harper saw that Francis wasn't taking her seriously and got angry, "If you pull a stunt like that again, I swear I'll ignore you. I'm not kidding!"
Francis nodded, "I promise, I'll be more careful next time."
But in his heart, he silently added, 'Except when it comes to Harper.'
That was the one thing he couldn't promise. When it came to her, he couldn't stay calm.
When Harper wasn't around, Francis felt worried every second.
He suddenly asked, "Harper, would you be with me?"
"Be with me," those words seemed to have endless magic. Hearing them again made Harper's eyes well up with tears. Being together meant sharing everything, the good and the bad.
Since coming back, Francis had shouldered all the hardships alone.
He hadn't let Harper taste any bitterness.
How could a man like Francis not be worth falling in love with over and over again?
Maybe "falling in love over and over" wasn't quite right. From beginning to end, they had always been in love.
Harper's heart was full, with both pain and joy.
She whispered, "Actually..."
"My marriage was fake," she continued.
"Yeah, I know," Francis responded gently.
Harper's eyes widened, "How do you know?"
"Jasper told me," Francis replied.
Harper said, "So you knew all along. Then why didn't you..."
Seeing her trail off, Francis asked, "What?"
Harper's ears turned red, and she couldn't ask why Francis had held back for so long.
But then she thought, if he pretended not to, did it mean he didn't like her as much anymore?
Harper felt a bit frustrated and insecure, "Do you not feel the same way about me as before?"
Maybe Francis was just doing it for the kids, to have a complete family. It wasn't because he still liked her and wanted to be with her.
Harper was really scared she had misunderstood. If Francis had really lost his feelings for her, she would also hide her own feelings. She could love him, but she didn't want to love without confidence like before.
Francis, however, took Harper's hand and placed it over his heart, then said, "Feel it for yourself now. Does it sound like I don't have feelings?"
Francis's heart was beating fast.
Harper said, "That doesn't prove you have feelings. Maybe your heart's just racing, and you need to see a doctor about it..."
Before she could finish, Francis suddenly leaned in and kissed her.
The light touch of their lips had some kind of magic, instantly pulling them closer.
The warmth of the room seemed to fuel the heat between their lips and tongues.
The air was thick with tension.
Francis's strong hand slid into Harper's hair, gently massaging and slowly advancing.
The kiss, which started warm and gentle, became intense, filled with Francis's powerful energy.
Harper was so overwhelmed she lost her response, unconsciously making a sound.
The kiss grew more passionate, and if it weren't for her recently recovered body, Francis would have wanted to keep going.
When Francis finally let go, Harper's body had gone soft from the kiss, half-leaning against his hand.
Her face was flushed beautifully, like a dewy peach.
Francis's jaw was tightly clenched, his Adam's apple moving as he said, "Now do you know? It's not just a fast heartbeat."
"It's that I want you, every moment," he said.
"You're talking nonsense again," Harper said, shyly pulling away from his hand, her face red as she scolded him.
Francis's lips curved slightly, and he said in a low voice, "I'm not talking nonsense. Although it sounds cliché, in my entire life, only you can make me impulsive."
As he spoke, Francis used his strength to pull her back into his arms.
Harper's flushed face rested on his shoulder, like a child.
In the long silence, Francis slowly spoke, his voice deep and magnetic, "Harper, all these years, it feels like I've been losing you, over and over again. Until I was told my life was on a countdown, I instinctively wanted to do something for you. I thought eliminating your worries and leaving all my wealth to you and the kids was the best thing I could do."
"At that time, I was determined to push you away, but I ignored your feelings. Every day, I lived in sadness, but I didn't realize I was doing something wrong. I thought I was already suffering and punishing myself enough. Until you treated me the same way, I couldn't fully understand your feelings back then. It was such a living hell," he said with a hint of sorrow.
"Seeing you choose someone else, I convinced myself that sacrificing my own feelings was worth it as long as you were happy. But when your water broke before giving birth, and you were unconscious on the ground, my first thought was that if you were gone, another person would disappear from this world," he added.
Francis had truly thought that if Harper hadn't made it through, he might have arranged for his own burial next to hers after handling her affairs.
When he donated his blood, Francis had the same thought.
If Harper was gone, he had no reason to live. Unknowingly, Francis had made himself an appendage to Harper.
Before meeting Harper, Francis couldn't imagine he could love someone so much, wanting to be good to her, willing to give everything for her, and repeatedly having the urge to possess her alone, becoming a paradox of generosity and selfishness.
"Harper, I was struggling before, wanting you to see that what you could give me wasn't pity, but pure love. But that day when I broke down the door and saw you curled up there, so small, I was terrified. Even now, with you sitting here, I'm still scared. I'm afraid..." Francis paused, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. "I'm afraid if I hadn't found you, or if I was too late, what the outcome would have been. I want to tell you, I want to be with you, even if it's out of pity. Just stay by my side, and I'll do everything I can to protect you."
Francis knew that by confessing this, he was contradicting his previous stance.
He had asked her if she pitied him, but now he was begging for her pity.
Because he loved her so much, he could let go of everything, even his most sensitive pride. Francis had completely let it go.
Francis opened his heart, showing his vulnerability, completely surrendering at her feet.
"Harper, I know what I'm saying is selfish. I want to ask you..." Francis's voice trembled slightly, "to be with me again."
The air was thick with silence.
Harper could feel Francis's body trembling slightly. She could sense his fear.
Harper reflected on what he was afraid of. Was it that her love wasn't obvious enough, making this once confident man so insecure?
Harper's hands, wrapped around Francis's waist, felt his protruding shoulder blades. He was so thin, his body now a thin layer with scars from protecting her.
Thinking about it made her heart ache terribly.
Francis, who had been waiting for a response for a long time, slowly relaxed his grip on Harper's body.
Francis seemed to be regulating his breathing, exhaling slowly, trying to speak in a calm tone, "Harper, don't feel pressured. Even if you reject me, it's okay. It's your right, representing you can control your own soul, not subject to any domination. I'm okay with it."
No one knew how much it hurt Francis to say those words.
If he couldn't even get her pity, Francis knew he would completely lose the courage to face life.
Just as Francis was slowly loosening his grip, Harper, who had been silent, suddenly lifted her head and tightly wrapped her arms around him.
A sincere kiss landed on his lips. Then, the kiss trailed down to Francis's prominent Adam's apple.
Francis's body instinctively tensed, filled with restless waves. He suddenly grabbed her hand that was unbuttoning his shirt, his voice hoarse as if scorched by fire, "Harper, you..."
Harper looked up, her eyes equally moist as she gazed at him, "Francis, I'm even more selfish than you. I want to possess you alone. From the moment we first got together, I've always felt this way."
"I'm jealous of your past with other women and any concern you show to other women. At that time, my world only had you, but you didn't only have me. I was jealous and powerless. Divorcing you was my way of giving an explanation to my shattered dignity," she continued.
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