Harper kept bitching about her problems, not showing the slightest concern about his wounds or offering him any comfort. She was completely consumed with protecting her image, 

Milo felt another wave of crushing realization. In the past, if he’d gotten even a paper cut, Eliana would’ve freaked out and dragged him to urgent care for a tetanus shot. 

Their house had been like a fucking pharmacy because Eliana worried about everything–what if he got hurt flying, what if he had an allergie reaction, what if, what if, what if. But now, with his back torn to shreds and blood soaking through his shirt, Harper couldn’t give a damn. 

Milo was white as a sheet. He’d barely made it home from the family estate, and now he was running on empty. He tried to say something, but the room started spinning and everything went black. 

When he came to, he was staring at hospital fluorescents. He could hear chaos nearby–voices, camera clicks, the hum of equipment. When he struggled to sit up, he saw Harper in the middle of a fucking media circus, streaming live. 

“I know everyone’s boycotting my restaurant right now,” Harper said, tears streaming down her face for the cameras. “People think I use cheap materials, that my food sucks but costs too much, especially after those chandelier accidents. But you guys need to know the truth–someone sabotaged 

us!” 

Then the bitch actually held up his and Eliana’s divorce papers to the camera. Milo’s brain was still foggy, but as her plan became clear, he tried to get out of bed. 

Harper was in full performance mode now. 

“It was Milo’s ex–wife, Eliana Hart! Milo never loved her–their marriage was basically an arrangement. We were planning to be together after his divorce, but Eliana couldn’t handle being rejected. So she decided to destroy my business for revenge. The first chandelier incident? That was opening night, when I invited both Milo and Eliana. Conveniently, that’s when everything went to hell!” 

“I never thought she’d be psychotic enough to endanger innocent people just to hurt me. Thank God Milo finally divorced her. He even gave up his family inheritance to be with me. I hope everyone can see we’re the real victims here.” 

Harper finished with a performance–worthy sob. Milo, fighting through his pain and exhaustion, lunged for those divorce papers. 

Hearing her destroy Eliana’s reputation with lies made him see red. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Eliana had nothing to do with your shitty restaurant falling apart–she’s been gone for weeks!” 

Harper looked at him like he was speaking a foreign language. 

“Yeah, I know that. But how else am I supposed to fix this mess? Eliana’s not here to defend herself, so it’s perfect. We’ll probably get tons of sympathy followers from this drama.” 

She flashed that perfect smile that used to make his heart skip. Now it made him sick. 

He couldn’t believe those heartless words were coming from someone he’d thought he loved. 

Milo gripped the divorce papers like a lifeline–the only piece of Eliana he had left. 

“Take it back,” he said, his voice deadly quiet. 

Harper cocked her head. “What?” 

“I said take it the fuck back! Who gave you permission to trash Eliana like that? She never did anything to you. Do you have any idea how much hate you just sent her way?” 

His explosion made Harper’s perfect mask ship for a second. She’d never seen him this angry–especially not at her. 

When she recovered, her voice turned shrill with disbelief. 

“Are you seriously yelling at me right now? After everything I’ve been through? Do you know what admitting I lied would do to me? I’d be completely 

ruined!” 

15.10 

Sorry Captain Milo. Our Love Score Has Hit Zero 

9.4% 

Chapter 16 

“My reputation, my imsiness, my entire life would be over! And for what—some pathetic housewife who couldn’t even keep you interested? 

Each word was like a bullet to his chest, but Milo finally saw Harper’s true nature with crystal clarity. 

“This disaster is your fault, not Eliana’s. End of story.” 

Harper’s face twisted with genuine confusion. The man she’d been manipulating for months suddenly seemed like a stranger. 

“Milo, what the hell has gotten into you? You love me, remember? We’re supposed to be together now. Why are you defending some nobody who never mattered anyway?” 

“She was just a placeholder until I came back, right? What’s the big deal if I use her to save myself?” 

Her voice got more hysterical, more vicious. 

“Don’t tell me you actually caught feelings for that boring little mouse?” 

The question hit him like a lightning bolt. 

Had he fallen for Eliana? 

Images flooded his mind–Eliana’s radiant smile on their wedding day, the way she’d wait up for him no matter how late he came home, how she’d learned to make his coffee exactly the way he liked it, the quiet devotion in her eyes every morning for three years. 

He’d mistaken her steady, unconditional love for something ordinary. He’d thought real love had to be dramatic and chaotic like what he’d had with Harper–all passion and fights and grand gestures. 

But Eliana’s love had been the real thing. Constant, selfless, unshakeable. She’d loved him when he was nobody special, loved him through his worst moods, loved him even when he’d given her every reason not to. 

Harper had only ever loved what he could do for her. 

“Yeah,” he said quietly, the truth hitting him like a freight train. “Yeah, I did fall for her. I just was too fucking stupid to realize it until I’d already destroyed everything.” 

The words tasted like regret and revelation and the bitter understanding that he’d thrown away the best thing in his life for a beautiful illusion. 

He’d loved Eliana. Maybe he’d always loved her. He’d just been too blind to see that quiet, steady devotion was worth more than all of Harper’s drama combined. 

And now she was gone, and it was too late.