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“Oh, Harper!” Andrea yelps

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” I say

She gets up froh her hands are covered in dirt “Oh , I would’ve cleaned up and set some tea”

“It’s fine, it’s fine I know I came unexpected,” I reply “I just wanted to see you”

She approaches me, and we stare at each other for a while

“Can I just …?” She nods, and I fall into her eht “I missed you”

“I missed you too, honey I was so worried about you The last ti bad had happened to you I’lad you’re okay”

I s “So bad did happen”

She pushes away and grabs my shoulders “What? Tell me”

“I …” I blush, tucking a strand of hair behindstory”

She grabs two sot time”

So I do what she asks and tell her about everything that’s happened since I told her I was following my parents’ murderers She seems shocked at first, especially about the auction and the fact that I was bought But I push on, despite the sha in detail what transpired afterward, how Marcello treatedwho they actually were And that I had no choice but to run … only to end up in Marcello’s lap anyway

After she’s taken it all in, there’s a big sigh, and I look at her, wondering what she thinks of me

“You don’t hate me, do you?”

“Hate you?” She frowns “I could never”

I rub ether “I knohat I’ve done isn’t exactly appropriate or moral”

She grabs my hand “You did what you had to do to survive”

“Maybe …” I look away, embarrassed “But I … I …”

“You fell for the man, didn’t you?”

Her sudden question haswide-eyed “What? I—”

“You don’t have to say it” She chuckles “I knohat a girl in love looks like”

Now I really can’t stop the blush fro across my cheeks

“Don’t be ashamed,” she says “You can’t help who you fall in love with”

“Stop, I never said I was in love,” I say, laughing too

“Well, whatever it is that you feel, I’e you for it”