Updated Feb 18, 2026 • ~9 min read
Miles hires a new lawyer within forty-eight hours.
Victoria Kane.
If Roman was ruthless, Victoria is surgical.
She’s fifty. Silver hair. Designer suits. A reputation for destroying opposing counsel before breakfast.
And she wants blood.
Harlow meets her for the first time at a mandatory settlement conference. Harlow’s new lawyer—a kind, overworked public defender named James who took her case pro bono because “nobody deserves what Miles is doing to you”—looks terrified.
Victoria looks triumphant.
“Ms. Hartford,” Victoria says. Smile sharp enough to cut. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“I’m sure you have.”
“Seducing opposing counsel. Having an affair while legally married. Conspiring to tank your husband’s case. You’ve been busy.”
“Ex-husband. And I didn’t seduce anyone.”
“That’s not what the evidence suggests.” Victoria slides a folder across the table. “Text messages between you and Mr. Castellanos. Photos of you entering his apartment. Witness statements from people who saw you together.” She pauses. “You two weren’t very careful.”
Harlow’s stomach sinks.
Because Victoria is right. They weren’t careful. They were too focused on each other to think about consequences.
James speaks up. “This is harassment. My client’s personal life isn’t relevant to asset division—”
“It’s absolutely relevant when that personal life involves conspiring with opposing counsel to commit fraud.” Victoria’s voice is ice. “Mr. Castellanos violated every ethical rule in the book. And your client participated willingly. That makes her complicit.”
“Roman didn’t commit fraud. Miles did. The offshore accounts—”
“—were discovered through illegal means. Evidence obtained via attorney misconduct is inadmissible. Which means we’re back to square one.” Victoria smiles. “Mr. Hartford is prepared to offer a settlement. Twenty percent of marital assets. Take it or leave it.”
Twenty percent.
After everything Harlow contributed. After three years of marriage. After Miles’s infidelity and fraud.
Twenty percent.
“That’s insulting,” Harlow says.
“That’s generous. Considering your conduct.” Victoria leans forward. “Let me be clear, Ms. Hartford. You destroyed your own case. You slept with your husband’s lawyer. Tainted every piece of evidence. Made yourself look like a manipulative schemer. No judge in this state will give you a fair settlement now.”
“Miles committed multiple felonies—”
“Allegedly. And even if he did, that doesn’t erase your misconduct. Two wrongs don’t make a right.” Victoria closes her folder. “You have forty-eight hours to accept the settlement. After that, we go to trial. And I promise you, Ms. Hartford—you don’t want to face me in court.”
The conference ends.
Harlow walks out shaking.
James looks defeated. “I’m sorry. I didn’t expect her to be that aggressive.”
“It’s not your fault.” Harlow’s voice is hollow. “She’s right. I destroyed my own case.”
“You fell in love with someone who was trying to help you. That’s not a crime.”
“Legally, it kind of is.”
They part ways outside the courthouse.
And Harlow sits in her car. Staring at nothing.
Twenty percent.
That’s what her marriage is worth now.
Because she loved the wrong person at the wrong time.
Her phone buzzes. Roman.
How did it go?
Bad. Miles’s new lawyer is worse than you ever were. She’s offering 20% settlement. Says I destroyed my own case by sleeping with you.
She’s not wrong.
That doesn’t help.
I know. I’m sorry.
Harlow doesn’t respond.
Because what is there to say?
They knew this would happen. Knew the consequences.
But knowing and experiencing are different things.
Roman is waiting at his apartment when Harlow arrives that evening.
She didn’t call. Didn’t text. Just showed up.
Because she needs him. Needs to not be alone with the knowledge that she just lost everything.
“Hey,” he says. Opens the door. Sees her face. “Come here.”
Harlow walks into his arms.
And breaks.
Not crying. Just… collapsing. Like every ounce of fight has drained out of her.
“I’m going to lose,” she says against his chest. “Victoria Kane is going to destroy me in court. I’m going to end up with nothing. Maybe less than nothing.”
“You don’t know that—”
“I do. James knows it. You know it. Everyone knows it except maybe me because I was too busy falling in love with you to think about consequences.”
Roman pulls back. Looks at her. “Are you saying you regret this? Us?”
“No. Maybe. I don’t know.” Harlow runs a hand through her hair. “I just—I fought so hard. To leave Miles. To file for divorce. To get what I deserved. And now I’m going to lose everything because I couldn’t stay away from you.”
“Then accept the settlement. Take the twenty percent. Walk away.”
“That’s not fair—”
“Fair doesn’t exist. Victoria made that clear.” Roman’s voice is gentle. “Harlow, you can keep fighting. Go to trial. Hope for a miracle. But realistically? You’re going to lose. And losing at trial means you might get even less than twenty percent.”
“So I should just give up? Let Miles win?”
“I’m saying you should cut your losses. Take what you can get. And start rebuilding.”
Harlow looks at him. “Is that what you’re doing? Cutting losses? Rebuilding?”
“I’m trying to. The bar hearing is next month. I’ll probably lose my license. But after that? I can figure out something else. Consulting. Legal advice for people who can’t afford lawyers. Something that doesn’t make me hate myself.”
“You hated being a divorce lawyer?”
“Toward the end, yeah. I was good at it. Too good. I destroyed people and justified it as professional excellence.” Roman touches her face. “Meeting you made me realize I’d become exactly what I hated. Someone who values winning over doing right.”
“I’m not sure ruining your career for me counts as ‘doing right.'”
“It does to me.”
They stand there. Two people who loved each other into disaster.
“I don’t want to accept twenty percent,” Harlow says.
“I know.”
“But I might have to. Because fighting means years of litigation. Legal fees I can’t afford. Stress that’ll kill me.”
“It’s your choice. Whatever you decide, I support it.”
Harlow leans against him. “How did we get here? How did everything go so wrong?”
“We fell in love at the worst possible time.”
“Yeah. That’s one way to put it.”
Roman kisses the top of her head. “For what it’s worth? I don’t regret loving you. Even if it cost me everything.”
“You should. Regret it, I mean. I’m not worth losing your career.”
“That’s not for you to decide.”
They move to the couch. Sit together. Not talking. Just existing.
And Harlow thinks: This is what love is.
Not romance novels and grand gestures. But sitting in quiet devastation with someone who chose you anyway.
It’s not what she expected.
But it’s real.
Later, when it’s dark and they’re still on the couch, Harlow asks, “What happens to us? If I accept the settlement? If the divorce finally ends?”
“We keep going. Figure out what our life looks like.”
“You mean what our life looks like when you’re unemployed and I’m broke?”
“Something like that.” Roman pulls her closer. “It won’t be glamorous. But it’ll be ours.”
“I don’t know how to do that. Build a life from nothing.”
“Neither do I. But we’ll figure it out together.”
Harlow wants to believe him.
But believing requires hope. And hope is in short supply right now.
Still.
She has Roman.
And maybe that’s enough to build on.
Even if everything else is rubble.
“Okay,” she says quietly.
“Okay?”
“Okay. We’ll figure it out. Together.”
Roman kisses her.
And for the first time all day, Harlow feels like maybe things will be okay.
Not good. Not fair. Not what she deserves.
But okay.
And right now, okay is enough.
The next morning, Harlow wakes up in Roman’s bed.
Sunlight through floor-to-ceiling windows. His arm around her. The quiet realization that despite everything, she’s exactly where she wants to be.
Her phone buzzes. Unknown number.
She almost doesn’t answer.
But something makes her pick up.
“Ms. Hartford? This is Detective Morrison. We spoke briefly about Miles Hartford’s case.”
Harlow sits up. “Yes?”
“I wanted to let you know—we’ve filed formal charges. Fraud. Tax evasion. Money laundering. Mr. Hartford was arrested this morning.”
Harlow’s heart stops. “He was arrested?”
“Yes. He’s currently in custody. Bail hearing is this afternoon.” Morrison pauses. “I thought you should know. Given the divorce proceedings.”
“Thank you. I—thank you.”
They hang up.
Roman is awake now. “What happened?”
“Miles was arrested. For fraud. They charged him.”
Roman’s eyes widen. “When?”
“This morning. Bail hearing this afternoon.”
They stare at each other.
And then Harlow starts laughing.
Not happy laughter. Hysterical laughter. The kind that comes from absolute absurdity.
“He got arrested,” she manages. “Miles Hartford. Tech genius. Startup founder. The man who tried to leave me with nothing. Arrested.”
Roman is smiling too. “Karma’s a bitch.”
“The best kind of bitch.”
They laugh until they can’t breathe.
Until tears are streaming down Harlow’s face.
Until the weight of everything lightens just slightly.
Because Miles is facing actual consequences.
Not just divorce court. Not just settlement negotiations.
Criminal consequences.
Prison time.
Asset forfeiture.
Everything he tried to avoid by hiding his money? Coming back to destroy him.
“This doesn’t fix my case,” Harlow says when she finally catches her breath. “Victoria will still argue I’m complicit. Still push for the twenty percent settlement.”
“No. She won’t.” Roman is already reaching for his phone. “If Miles is convicted, the court can void any settlement obtained through fraud. You’ll get a new hearing. With a judge who knows Miles is a criminal.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Criminal convictions change everything.” Roman pulls her close. “Harlow, you might actually win this. Get what you deserve. Maybe more.”
“Because Miles got arrested.”
“Because truth caught up with him. Finally.”
Harlow doesn’t know what to feel.
Relief. Vindication. Hope.
All of it tangled together.
“So what do I do?” she asks.
“You call James. Tell him about the arrest. Tell him to file a motion to vacate the settlement offer. Argue that any agreement made under fraudulent pretenses is void.”
“And then?”
“Then we wait. See what the DA proves. See if Miles goes to prison.” Roman smiles. “And we hope that karma keeps working in our favor.”
Harlow kisses him.
Because maybe—just maybe—things are finally turning around.
Maybe choosing love wasn’t the wrong choice after all.
Maybe it was exactly the right choice.
At exactly the right time.
And everything else will follow.
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