---- Chapter 7 Harley Pennington POV: The first rays of dawn were painting the sky in shades of grey and rose when Killian' s people arrived. Marcus, my own guard, let them in, his expression a mixture of confusion and concern. | was already packed. A single suitcase stood by the door. "Ma'am?" Marcus asked, his brow furrowed. "Are you... going somewhere?" "I'm leaving, Marcus," | said, my voice calm and final. "I got divorced yesterday. |' m getting remarried today." His jaw dropped. He looked utterly bewildered. The doorbell rang. Marcus opened it to reveal two of Killian' s men, their suits as impeccable as their stoic expressions. "We' re here for Ms. Pennington," the lead man said. "Her name is Mrs. Copeland now," | corrected him smoothly, handing my suitcase to the other man. Marcus looked like he was about to have an aneurysm. "Ma 'am, | don' t understand. Mr. Tate..." "Mr. Tate is no longer my concern," | said, cutting him off. | ---- paused at the door and looked back at him. "When he wakes up, tell him I' m gone. Tell him not to look for me." | walked out into the cool morning mist without a backward glance. The grand mansion, the life | had built, faded behind me. It felt like shedding a skin. The staff watched me go, their faces a gallery of shock and confusion. | heard them scurrying up the stairs, their urgent whispers echoing in the cavernous hall. "Mr. Tate! Sir, you need to wake up!" Connor Tate POV: My head was splitting open. A jackhammer was pounding behind my eyes, and my mouth tasted like ash. | groaned, rolling over. "Sir! Mr. Tate!" Someone was shaking my shoulder. | swatted them away. "Go away." "Sir, it' s your wife! She' s gone!" That got my attention. | forced my eyes open. My assistant, Leo, was standing over me, his face pale. "What are you talking about?" | grumbled, sitting up. "She's probably just downstairs." | still thought of Harley as my wife. The divorce papers, the fight-it all felt like a bad, drunken dream. ---- "No, sir! All her things are gone! A car came for her. She said .. She said she was getting remarried." | stared at him, then | laughed. "Remarried? Don' t be ridiculous. She wouldn' t dare." But a cold knot of dread was tightening in my stomach. | threw back the covers and stormed through the master suite. Her closet was half-empty. Her jewelry box was bare. The bathroom counter, usually cluttered with her things, was starkly, terrifyingly empty. Then | saw it. On the nightstand, where she always left her glass of water, was a single sheet of paper. The divorce certificate. And next to it, her wedding ring. My drunken conversation from last night came rushing back. "I'm getting married this weekend." "No," | whispered. It was a joke. A bluff to scare me. It had to be. "Find her!" | roared at Leo. "Find out where she is! Now!" | tore through the house like a madman. Katerina came out of her room, her face puffy with sleep. "Connor? What's wrong?" | pushed past her without a word. | didn't care about her. | didn't care about the baby. All | could think about was Harley, in a wedding dress, marrying someone else. Leo came running back, his phone in his hand. "Sir! | found ---- her! She' s at the Grand Hyatt. They' re holding a wedding there this morning. A... a private ceremony for Killian Copeland." Killian Copeland. The name was like a punch to the gut. The heir to a financial dynasty that made my tech empire look like a child' s lemonade stand. This wasn' t a bluff. This was real. | didn' t even bother to change. | ran out of the house, jumped into my car, and sped towards the hotel, my heart hammering against my ribs. It was all a mistake. A stupid, drunken misunderstanding. She loved me. She was mine. She couldn' t just marry someone else. | burst into the hotel' s grand ballroom. The room was decorated for a wedding, but it was empty except for a handful of staff. And her. Harley was standing by the altar, a vision in a simple but elegant white dress. Her back was to me. She looked beautiful. More beautiful than | had ever seen her. A wave of relief washed over me. This was just a dramatic gesture. She was trying to make me jealous, to force my hand. She was waiting for me to come and stop it, to profess my love, to drag her back home where she belonged. | started walking towards her, a relieved smile on my face. "Harley, that' s enough. Let' s go home." She turned, not at my voice, but as if she was expecting ---- someone else. She looked right past me, towards the ballroom entrance. "He's late," she murmured, a small, petulant frown on her lips. | was confused. Was she talking about me? "Harley," | said again, stepping closer. "The joke is over. Come on." She finally looked at me, her blue eyes cold and distant. She didn' t say a word. She just... walked past me. As if | wasn' t even there. She walked towards the entrance, a radiant smile breaking across her face. Killian," she called out, her voice full of a warmth | hadn't heard in weeks. My body went rigid. | turned slowly, my heart sinking into my shoes. Killian Copeland was striding towards her, looking like a king in his tailored suit. He reached her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into an embrace that was both tender and possessive. My breath caught in my throat. | watched, frozen, as he leaned down and kissed her. "Harley?" | choked out, my voice trembling. "What is this? What are you doing?" ---- She pulled back from Killian' s kiss and finally, finally, looked at me. Her expression was calm, her eyes clear. "I'm getting married, Connor," she said, her voice devoid of any emotion. "I told you | was."