Chapter 57

Hope sighed out as she glanced towards the window that now had soft rays of sunlight beaming through the blinds. She hardly fell asleep, the confession Harley gave her kept her thinking all night, trying to pick out where and when in her memory he had changed his behavior.
He never did.
He was always the same and hardly seemed to even show the slightest interest in her until yesterday that they were in awkward situations.
Right after Harley left, she spent some time in the garden thinking about it before leaving for her room. Not wanting to meet anyone else and have them ask questions about anything. Especially Ace since he was bound to flood her with questions.
She groaned, grabbing her pillow from her side and forced it down on her face as she screamed into it.
She felt pressured.
A knock filled her ears and in an instant a blush filled her cheeks as her first though was Harley. She sat up, fixing her messy hair as she shoved her legs off the bed.
"I-It's...." She stopped the instant she realised that her nightgown was somewhat see-through. Harley had seen her in the nightgown before, but she didn't mind since she was certain he wasn't attracted to her.
But now he was.
She got up and walked to the door, unlocking it slowly before opening the door slightly, peeping out, only to lock eyes with Penelope.
"Why are you being so cautious!?" Penelope hissed as she forced her way into the room. Her predatory eyes scanned the entire room as she was suspecting to find Ace. "There's no one here."
"Who did you think was here?" Hope asked with furrowed brows as she closed the door.
"I don't know. Ace maybe." She rolled her eyes as she sat back down on the bed.
"Did you know Harley... Loves me?" Hope asked in a near whisper as she shyly glanced down to the ground. Penelope widened her eyes at Hope, only to scream out in joy and jump from the bed, running to her sister with wide arms. She hugged Hope to her chest as she giggled playfully.
"He said so!?" She gasped, staring at her in awe and Hope nodded nervously.
"He said lots of things... Then before he left he said he couldn't support the people I like because he loved me..." She blushed at the thought of last night and clenched her teeth, trying to wash off the heat around her face. "He said he didn't want to tell me because he thought we'd stop being friends..."
"Wow..." Penelope chuckled out as she crossed her arms on her chest, staring at her sister. "I'm coming from the dinning room right now and he's there, but surprisingly he didn't say anything or seem different that his usual self. Well he complain about his hangover." She chuckled out as Hope sighed out shakily.
"So he forgot..." She pressed her lips together. "Even though he was somewhat drunk, I feel like he... Meant it." She groaned as she rushed to the bed, throwing herself onto it.
"He means it." Penelope nodded her head sharply as she grinned out. "Definitely... So do you feel the same way?" She asked, walking towards the bed where Hope lay facing into the blanket.
"I don't know..." She sighed out as she admitted and sat up, staring at Penelope. "I don't really know if I do... I've spent my entire life with him and him suddenly telling me that... Kind of surprised me. I don't know what to say. How will I talk to him normally now!?"
"That's what he was afraid of." Penelope rolled her eyes as she smiled. "He wants you to feel comfortable around him. Like the way you always were."
"I don't think I'll be the same around him now... I mean... I can't see him as my best friend anymore. He's now... Like a male best friend... A guy." She blushed st the thought, getting her cheeks to best up even more.
"Oh well, that can't be helped. You now know he's actually a guy." She chuckled out, reaching up to pat her head. "I don't think he quite remembers yesterday. It's up to you to tell him or just ignore it and go back to normal. If he remembers, he won't ask you about it, knowing you're not reminding him. He'll be okay even if you choose to ignore it." She smiled as Hope nodded slowly. "Now come on, go get dressed, we have to test breakfast, plus you have some alpha business to do with Harley." She giggled with a winked before rushing out the room
**
Harley groaned out as he stroked his temple, still feeling the headache throb all around him as he stared down at the tablet the previous beta gave him. Just a few tasks for him and Hope to do for the day as the previous Alpha and beta go the bigger tasks that required wiser decisions.
It wasn't much for then to do. Luckily for him. He would get to rest if they finished quick enough.
"Harley!" Penelope screamed out as she emerged into the room, causing him to flinch at her voice. "You sly dog!"
"What do you want?" He asked annoyed as she sat across from the silent Gabriel sitting beside Harley.
"I just missed you." She chuckled, pouring herself some tea.
"You saw me ten minutes ago." He furrowed his brows as she nodded.
"Yeah, that's long enough to miss someone." She chuckled out. "What happened last night?"
"I blacked out." He chuckled out as he placed the tablet on the table. "I think I was in the garden, but somehow I ended up in one of the guest bedrooms here."
"Why did you drink so much?" Gabriel asked with a chuckle as Penelope munched on a milk scone.
"I think it's because Hope thinks I'm annoying." He chuckled lowly only to pause when he spotted Hope at the door, walking towards them nervously. Constantly biting her lower lip as she walked closer and closer to the table.
She sighed nervously as she sat on her usual spot, directly facing from Harley who lowered his gaze to his plate instead.