<b>Chapter </b><b>67 </b>
Maddox
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5 vouchers
I was on my way to the airport to personally pick up Harper, <b>a </b>cup of coffee in one hand as I spoke to Uncle Sebastian over the phone through my earpiece.
“Since when do you offer your private jet to anybody?” he asked from the other end of the line.
“Harper isn’t just anybody,” I said, keeping my eyes on the road.
He chuckled, making me raise my eyebrows a little.
“What’s up?”
“Harper isn’t just anybody? Each time I hear you talk about her, you make it sound like something has changed. Falling for her?”
I scoffed at the caring up ahead, like that was him. “Of course not.” My tone was dismissive. “You’ve asked me that before.”
“And I’ll keep asking you until you actually tell me the truth.”
“But this is the truth.”
“Nope! When you’re ready to admit it, I’ll be waiting.”
“The way I see it- shit!” I panicked when the cup of coffee almost slipped from my hand and stained my shirt.
“Maddox? Is everything okay over there?”
“Yeah,” I said, setting down the cup of coffee. “I almost stained my shirt.”
He mockingly clicked his tongue. “I listened to you brag about that new shirt most of this call and by the looks of it, you’re gonna have to be extra careful with it.”
<b>I </b>sighed with relief. “I’m already working on that. Not even the tiniest stain is going to get on this shirt.”
“Sometimes, the more you try to be careful, the more you end up messing up.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “That just sounds like you’re waiting for it to happen.”
“Of course not. Have fun with your girlfriend.”
I shook my head. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Oh yeah, you’re making it look like she is. Just look at what you’re doing for her. Would you do that for Kate<i>?</i>”
I parted my lips but realized I wasn’t even sure what I was going to say in response to his question, so I just
<b>12:53 </b>Mon<b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>22 </b>M
cleared my throat.
“We’ll talkter.”
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He chuckled, like he knew what I was trying to do. “We’ll talkter. There’s something we need to discuss<b>.</b><b>” </b>
His tone suddenly sounded serious and I wanted to ask what it was all about, but he hung up before I could.
Shortly after the call, Harper told me that she had arrived at the airport and I drove faster, like I didn’t want her to bete.
I arrived ten minutester, pulling up beside her and rolling down the window for a better view. She was in a full jeans outfit, the blue in great contrast with her white shoes. Her makeup was heavy around the eyes, her lips in a glossy nude shade. My favorite thing of all was her messy bun. I always loved the way it brought attention to her face.
“Ooh, came to show off your new shirt with diamonds?” She teased me.
I stepped out of the car first, responding as she followed behind me while I opened the car door for her. “You should be d you’re here to witness this moment. This isn’t just any shirt.”
She yfully rolled her eyes. “You’ve made it very clear so many times. Can we go?” She fastened her seatbelt a bit too quickly, making my lips curve into a smile at how excited she was to finally meet her sister.
I was right to make that assumption because as soon as the ride began, Anna was all she could talk about. She was d things were finally turning around for the two of them. I may not have been there to witness her longing all those years, but in the short time she and I had gotten closer, I could see it.
“You didn’t have to tell Grayson about it.” She looked over at me.
“Just by hearing you say that, it looks like I did, because he ended up calling you.”
“Yeah.” Her face lit up and I didn’t have to wonder the reason behind it. It was because of him. No matter what, she couldn’t change the way she felt about him.
“He definitely calledte at night.” Her nose scrunched with irritation.
“I thought that was <b>a </b>good thing. Am I missing something?<b>” </b>
She poked her cheek. “He said he’s willing to look past everything I’ve done for the sake of my sister.”
Hearing her get into detail about the conversation they had over the phone made me smirk a little in satisfaction. I wasn’t trying to be selfish, which was why I’d told Grayson about Anna, but hearing her say that things were far from getting back to normal between the two of them made me rx a little bit more in my
seat<b>. </b>
The ride was smooth with little traffic until we turned at the corner and joined a busy road. It already didn’t look good.
“Since you’re familiar with this ce,” she began, her voice a little irritated, “how long until we get to Anna’s
address<b>?</b><b>” </b>
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“About fifteen minutes.”
…
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“Does that include waiting time in traffic<b>?</b><b>” </b>
“Nope.”
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She sighed with frustration <b>as </b>she crossed her arms and pouted. She was making it look like she wouldn’t find Anna home if she took too long. There was no need to rush <b>because </b>she would still be waiting, but seeing her so eager to get there <b>as </b>soon as possible was quite amusing.
“Maybe I should tell her that there might be a short dy.” She rushed to take out her phone, typing quickly and sending her text.
Afterwards, she rested the back of her head against the back of her seat with her eyes shut. I wasn’t so focused on driving anymore, so I watched her side profile. Her impatience was so cute.
Some of the cars up ahead honked loudly but the traffic wasn’t getting any better. If anything, it seemed to be getting worse as we had barely moved from our initial spot.
I even thought Harper would get so impatient that she might jump out of the window.
It was only when her phone buzzed that she smiled a little and sighed with relief.
“It’s Anna. She understands and she’ll wait. I just don’t want to get her so mad that she changes her mind and decides not to meet me<b>.” </b>
Harper wanted everything with Anna to be so perfect that she was already thinking about the worst thing that could happen.
“<b>It’s </b>just like she said, she’ll be waiting for you. Rx, okay?”
She nodded, taking a deep breath.
Even though I tried to encourage her to stay positive, the traffic wasn’t getting any better and twenty minutes went by without much happening.
Her jaw clenched a few times like she wanted to say something but stopped herself each time,
The road we were on was the shortest way to Anna’s home address, but with the traffic, it was now the longest way to get there.
I wanted her to get to her sister <b>as </b>soon <b>as </b>possible, so when I got to an intersection, I turned left, driving into another road.
“Hey, where are we going?” she asked.
“Only in this situation, this way should be much faster.”
Her eyes lit up with delight and seeing that reaction made me feel like I had aplished something great.
She could barely contain herself, her hands sped together with so much hope in the next few minutes.
<b>12:54 </b>Mon, <b>Sep </b><b>22 </b>M…
“We’re almost there.”
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As soon as <b>I </b>gave her the heads up, she began fixing her make up and hair like it wasn’t already perfect. This was going to be such a special moment that I decided to even make a short video just <i>so </i>I’d show herter on.
We pulled up into the driveway of the address and she looked at the house with a smile but soon covered her mouth, like she couldn’t believe it.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
She proudly ced a hand on her chest. “This is the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen Anna live in. She looked rough that day when I spotted her through your screen, but she must be doing so well.”
She was almost teary eyed, but raised her chin while shaking her head. Nothing was supposed to ruin her make up.
Before I could even step out and open the door for her, she did it herself and rushed to the front door, leaving me behind. It took me a few seconds to get out as I processed what she had just done.
Finally stepping out of the car, I opened my phone camera and began filming. This moment was going to be unforgettable for her.
She rang the doorbell a few times, her hands together as she looked back at me. She spotted the camera and pointed at it with a chuckle.
“That’s a great idea!” She whispered like she didn’t want to wake someone up.
When the door finally creaked open, she looked ahead first and my gaze followed. For a few seconds, Anna didn’t step out, but the door was wide open.
Then, I heard sinisterughter, the kind that was so familiar that it made me firmly shake my head. No, it couldn’t be.
Harper looked back at me like she was thinking the same thing, and then came the reveal when the figure showed herself. It wasn’t Anna. It was Tiffany.
“Gotcha, bitch!” she snickered in Harper’s face.