Invisible to My First Love (Harper and Maddox) novel Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Harper

I didn’t even push to see the picture of his mom again, or ask why he took it away when I wasn’t done looking at it. I was cautious enough to stay within certain boundaries. He obviously didn’t want to talk about her too much.

With a blank expression, he sat on the other side of the bed with the box right between us. The air was tense for a few seconds as he said nothing and didn’t even look at me. I didn’t know what to say either.

Then, he opened the box and my jaw dropped with delight. There was a picture of him as a toddler on top of everything else that was in the box and I placed a hand on my chest like my heart was melting.

“Aww…you were so cute! May I?” I gestured towards the picture.

“Yup.” He firmly nodded, the warmth coming back to his face.

I picked it up, bringing it closer to my face with a giggle. “You were one adorable toddler.”

“Who grew up to be the man ladies can’t resist,” he bragged with open arms.

“Shut up.” I lightly shook my head.

He took out some more pictures of him and handed them to me. They were all so adorable.

“Just in case you’re wondering, this isn’t everything. I always carry a lot of these with me wherever I go. They’re a reminder of a time when life was just…beautiful.”

I paused, looking up from the pictures I had in my hands just to watch his face after he’d said that. He still had a smile, reaching for one of the pictures to check himself out. He must’ve been going down memory lane.

As I continued checking out the pictures in my hand, I reached the one at the bottom and it was the only one where he wasn’t smiling.

“That was my last picture in this house.” His voice was now low. “I was nine years old. It was taken a few weeks after I lost my mom and the day before I left this place to live with Uncle Sebastian.”

My heart broke and I didn’t even know what to say immediately. And in those few seconds, he made the sudden decision to snatch the photos from me, place the one without a smile at the bottom of the box and then the other stuff right on top of it.

“We should go now,” he said, closing up the box and putting it back where it belonged.

I gave a small smile, nodding in understanding as I rose from the bed. He’d been kind enough to let me into such a personal space that I wasn’t even mad at how he snatched the pictures to put them away.

Silence had been hanging in the air ever since we’d left his room and there were a few times when I felt like

saying something to break the tension, but I just couldn’t get myself to do it.

When I couldn’t take it anymore, I decided to speak up and looked at him, but it turned out that he had the same idea and we spoke in unison.

“So…

We both trailed off as our eyes locked, smiling at each other.

“Ladies first,” he said.

“When are you going to tell me about Margot?” I whispered, looking around like I was on the lookout.

He smirked. “Looks like someone is still curious.”

“How can I not be after everything I’ve seen and heard today?”

“I’ll tell you all about it during the ride home.”

I wasn’t even able to roll my eyes since Maddox and I were already close and approaching the bottom of the stairs.

Tiffany instantly dropped the glass of water in her hand and it shattered on the floor.

With Grayson right next to her, he flinched a little at the shattering sound.

Mrs Aldridge barely looked over at them, too bothered by what she’d just heard from Maddox.

“Wait, you actually took this girl to your old room?” She smiled in disbelief.

Maddox proudly said, “Yes, I was saving the best for last since we’re about to leave.”

I was already aware that it was going to be a big deal, but seeing their reactions was so satisfying to watch, especially Tiffany dropping the glass.

“It’s crazy that this happened so quickly. I mean…are you hearing this, honey?” She looked over at her husband.

“Yes. That’s great,” he said, typing something on his phone. “When a guy like my son takes you to his old room, count yourself very special.” His head suddenly shot up. “That sounded a little inappropriate.”

I chuckled, even as I spotted Tiffany shooting glares at me.

“Before Harper and I leave,” Maddox said, his voice now threatening, “I have something to say, specifically to Tiffany and her mom.”

I wasn’t even able to chuckle at how he’d addressed Mrs Aldridge this time as I knew the reason behind that tone he’d just used. Now that he’d rubbed it in their faces that I’d been to the one place that was special to him in the entire estate, he only needed to deliver the final blow.

Dropping his hand to my waist, he got up and I instantly did, too.

Then, he specifically looked at Tiffany and her mom as he said, “You’ve had your fun tearing my girl down, but it ends now. Look at me carefully when I say this – I won’t allow anyone, not even family, to make her feel small again. From this moment forward, whatever you do to her, you do to me. I dare you to mess with her now and see how that ends.”