Harper’s POV
It was my mom!
She flung the door open and screamed, but she didn’t rush to me. Instead, I could clearly see the disgust in her eyes. It was almost funny.
“Cough... cough...”
Marco let go of me, and I glared at him. From my mom’s perspective, our relationship must’ve looked awful, especially since it seemed like Marco had almost strangled me.
“Harper, are you okay?” She walked over, gently touching my neck. Her fingers grazed the red mark Marco had just left, and I winced, covering the sore spot.
“I’m fine. I’ll take care of it myself.”
I could feel Marco’s eyes on me the entire time as I left the room.
“Harper.”
“Ah!” I jumped. It was my stepfather. He looked oddly pleased. I figured it was because Marco had returned.
“What happened to your neck?”
“Nothing, Father.”
I hurried off to get some ointment from one of the house staff. This time, I knew I couldn’t escape marrying Marco.
But that’s exactly what we needed.