Episode 4

“Zoe listen to me, please open the door.” he slammed the door hard as he pleaded for her to open it.

“Go

away” she shouted from the other side.

Hardin felt an unexplainable pain boiling inside him. He sat there

listening to her little sobs through the door. Zoe, the truth is I had never seen you as a child. I could never

see you as just my niece, but what am I in your heart?

......................

18 years ago:

“Hardin, your elder brother is back,” said the

nanny who looked after Hardin in the absence of his parents.

He rushed outside as soon as he heard his brother was back. He loved his elder brother a lot even though

they met rarely.

“Brother!”

“Oh my little Hardin…I haven’t seen you for some years…you are already a young handsome man”.

“Am I more handsome than you brother?” He laughed and asked innocently, and that’s when he noticed a

little girl and a young woman standing behind his brother.

“Brother Edward, who are they?” he asked in confusion.

“Hardin, this is your sister-in-law Sarah and this is Zoey, your little niece…” Edward pulled Zoey who

was hiding behind him.

“Zoey, say hi to your little uncle,” said Edward.

Zoey slowly peeked at Hardin and said, “Hi uncle”.

Wow, she is so cute. He thought.

“Zoey, go with your uncle. He will play with you”. She looked at her father and then back at Hardin,

“Uncle, can I play with you?” she asked Hardin. Her eyes were shining when she asked him and he

couldn’t refuse this cute little girl. He smiled and said, “Of course, you can. Come…let’s play”. Hardin

happily took her hand and ran inside. Hardin would never forget that look of hers that imprinted straight

on his heart.

......................

Many years passed like that. The clock of fate had already started to rotate quietly. The death of his

brother and sister-in-law left Hardin and Zoey alone. That day he promised himself while holding little

Zoey who was crying uncontrollably that he would never leave Zoey alone in her life. He will do

everything to see that smile on her face. He worked hard day and night to build Solasta and it was only for

Zoey. But he never expected that he would fall for his niece. That wasn’t in his plan. He was afraid of the changes he was having in his heart. So he decided to get engaged to Anne and he wanted to forget what

he felt in his heart for Zoey. He never wanted to let Zoey know about anything.

Hardin didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t see Zoey like this. He didn’t know why Zoey reacted like that

either. He thought she might be worried that he will never love her and take care of her as he does now

after he gets married. But what he didn’t know was the little niece he always loved, loved him back, a

hundred times more than he loved her. Just like him, she was also suffering.

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