Invisible to My First Love (Harper and Maddox) novel Chapter 148

Chapter 148

Harper

The look on Maddox’s face made it clear that something inside him had just snapped and I knew I shouldn’t have said what had come out of my mouth about Grayson and Tiffany.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” My words came rushing out, already reaching for his hand. “I–I’m sorry.”

My fingers barely touched his skin before he pulled away and that rejection was sharp.

As his shoulders rose and fell rapidly, he pushed back his chair and got up so abruptly that the bottom scraped against the floor.

He didn’t even look at me anymore but somewhere far past the horizon with a glare that was meant for me.

At that moment, I just wanted to slap myself.

To him, what I’d said about Tiffany and Grayson must’ve looked like I still cared and hated the fact that Grayson had chosen Tiffany once again. I made it look like I was too emotionally invested and hadn’t fully let it go.

He didn’t even try to hide the fact that it hurt him.

Without saying a word to me, he took a few steps back and I just sat there, my heart pounding as I stared down at my plate like it might save me.

He stormed off and I already began to wonder what I could do to make things right again.

Then, his footsteps got louder and I sensed him in my peripheral vision approaching me once again.

I looked up and was instantly relieved when I confirmed that he was coming back to me. My tight chest even loosened up because I thought he wanted to talk about it.

“We’re going back to the beach house,” he said coldly, unable to look at me.

I frowned as my heart sank. “But…but we were supposed to stay on the yacht for another two hours. We have so much planned and-”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. We’re going back,” he snapped, then turned back around and stormed off again like he couldn’t stand the sight of me.

When we docked, he got off first without looking back. Apart from not offering a hand to me,he also didn’t head towards the house. Instead, he walked away from it, disappearing down the path leading to the backyard like he needed to widen the distance between us. He didn’t want to be around me.

I stepped off the yacht alone and wanted to follow him, but I knew better, so I gave him the space he clearly wanted and it already felt like my punishment.

The mansion felt too quiet when I went inside and a few hours passed with no word from him.

I sat on the edge of the bed, then the couch, then the balcony. I even checked my phone several times and found nothing from him.

When I couldn’t take it anymore, I called him but each time, there was no answer. I could imagine him seeing my calls and just not wanting to pick up.

Then came a knock on my bedroom door and my heart skipped to beat. I even held my breath, hoping it was him, but when I opened the door, it was just the butler. I felt so dumb for even thinking that Maddox would need to do something like that for me to open the door.

“Good evening, Miss Harper,” he said gently. “I just received a call from Mr. Aldridge”

I tightened the grip on the door knob. “What did he say?”

“He said that you should start packing.”

“Anything else?”

“No. That’s all.”

I forced a painful smile. “Thank you.”

After he left, I closed the door and just stood there for a while. The fact that he’d called the butler instead of me, because he still didn’t want to talk to me, hurt more than I expected.

I dropped myself hard onto the bed, staring at my small bag with a blurry vision. I had to look up at the ceiling to hold back my tears. I hated the way things were between us.

When I finished packing, I carried my bag to the living room and sat down to wait.

The TV was on, but I could barely pay attention. I thought scrolling and talking to my friends in our group chat would make me feel better, but it didn’t. The topic was how Grayson and Tiffany were still together but I barely added to the conversation. It was the main reason I was in that position with Maddox.

Then, the front door creaked open and I stood up immediately.

Maddox walked in, his expression unreadable as he faced the wall ahead.

I forced a smile as he approached me and my heart raced while I felt hopeful.

“I’m all packed and ready to go!” I said cheerfully with a giggle.

He said nothing to me and just walked right past me.

The rejection stung so hard that I reacted without thinking when I reached out and grabbed his arm, making him stop in his tracks.

“Please say something,” I whispered with desperation.

Without turning around to face me, he bluntly said, “Let go. I need to pack my stuff.”

My fingers instantly loosened and I let him go with a sigh of defeat. I just stood there, watching his back as he quickly walked up the stairs. I wondered what I could possibly do or what words I could use to set everything right again between us.

I waited for about twenty minutes and then he came down the stairs, walking past me once again with his bag.

For a few seconds, we began heading towards the car that was parked in the front yard in complete silence. Then, he suddenly sped up to put more distance between us without even looking back or telling me to hurry.

Ever since that moment on the yacht, his actions had been hurting me, but the worst was when the chauffeur waiting by the car opened the door for him and as soon as he got in, he slammed the door himself. He would always wait for me and open the door to my side, making sure that I was comfortable.

I paused for a second, swallowing hard before walking around to the other side of the car.

The chauffeur opened my door and I got inside, unable to even force a smile.

The ride began, but the silence stretched on for so long that I couldn’t take it. I wanted to break the ice.

“So,” I began, turning slightly toward him while he scrolled on his phone. “In exactly two weeks, it’ll be my birthday.” I tried to sound normal and hopeful. “I was thinking that maybe-”

His phone rang at that moment and he answered it quickly without glancing at me, telling me who it was or just that I should wait.

“Yes, good evening,” he said, his tone suddenly engaged and present.

He talked and talked for so long that my words felt pointless and by the time we could see the airport up ahead, he was still on the phone. He never took that long when it was business. He just wanted to make sure I had no chance to speak

When the car finally came to a stop, the chauffeur opened Maddox’s door first. I thought that would be the moment he would finally go around the car and open the door for me the way he usually did. To my disappointment, he stepped out, didn’t come around to my side or even look back at me. The chauffeur had to open the door for me again.

I stepped out slowly, my chest now aching while I watched Maddox’s back as he walked ahead. He was acting like I wasn’t even there.

He stopped right by the private jet and when I stopped beside him, I stupidly hoped that he might look at me, but he didn’t. He just raised his hand to gesture towards the steps.

I climbed aboard, feeling defeated with every step that I took.

I sat in the usual seat in his private jet, the one we always sat in together and the one that used to feel like

ours.

For a few seconds, I allowed myself to hope that he would sit beside me and that his attitude towards me would just fade once we were in the air.

But when he entered, he walked right past me and sat at the opposite end of the jet. The distance felt intentional.

He called one of the waiters over and ordered a drink, his voice calm, but too loud.

“Make it quick,” he said. “I’ll be working the entire flight, so no one should disturb me at all. Absolutely no, no

one.”

My stomach twisted. He didn’t have to say my name for me to realize that he was talking to me. I stared down at my trembling hands, intertwining them like that would help me feel better.

Maddox had never shut me out like that before. I knew I’d messed up and as the jet began to prepare for takeoff, one thing became painfully clear. It was going to take more than just some words if I wanted to earn his forgiveness.

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