Updated Feb 18, 2026 • ~7 min read
Being back in Seattle is harder than Harlow expected.
She and Roman can’t afford a hotel. Can’t afford much of anything.
So they stay with Sage. Harlow’s best friend who flew in from Austin when she heard they were coming back.
“You can have the guest room,” Sage says. “Stay as long as you need.”
“It won’t be long. Just until the hearing.”
“And then what? You going back to Montana?”
“I don’t know. Depends on the settlement.”
Sage looks at her seriously. “Are you okay? Really okay?”
“I’m surviving. That’s the best I can do right now.”
“And Roman?”
“Same.”
Roman is in the other room. On a call with his probation officer. Checking in. Making sure his travel to Seattle doesn’t violate terms.
He’s different now. Quieter. The confidence he had as a lawyer—gone. Replaced with exhaustion and uncertainty.
Harlow misses the old Roman sometimes. The one who was sure of himself. Sure of them.
But she loves this Roman too. The one who’s broken but still here. Still trying.
“Do you think you’ll stay together?” Sage asks quietly. “After everything?”
“I don’t know. Probably. We’ve been through too much to quit now.”
“That’s not love. That’s sunk cost fallacy.”
Harlow almost laughs. “Maybe. But it feels like love.”
“Does it? Or does it feel like trauma bonding?”
Harlow doesn’t answer.
Because she doesn’t know.
Is what she and Roman have actually love? Or is it just two people clinging to each other because they destroyed everything else?
She wants to believe it’s love.
But after months of poverty and stress and barely surviving, she’s not sure anymore.
The settlement hearing is scheduled for Monday.
Harlow meets with James on Friday to prepare.
“The judge is sympathetic,” he says. “Now that Miles is convicted, she’s willing to revisit everything. We’re asking for fifty percent of all assets. Including the ones he hid.”
“How much is that?”
“Approximately six million dollars.”
Harlow can’t breathe. “Six million?”
“Miles hid a lot. And now that it’s all been uncovered, you’re entitled to half. Maybe more, given his fraud.”
Six million dollars.
After settling for forty thousand.
After months of living in poverty.
After losing everything.
Six million dollars.
“What if the judge says no?” Harlow asks.
“She won’t. The law is clear. You’re entitled to half of marital assets. All marital assets. Miles’s conviction proves he hid them. You get half.”
Harlow wants to believe him.
But she’s been disappointed too many times.
“I’ll believe it when the money hits my account,” she says.
James smiles. “Fair enough.”
That weekend, Roman gets a call from Declan.
His former law partner. The one who cut all ties.
“I saw the news,” Declan says. “About Miles’s conviction. About your case being reopened.”
“Yeah.”
“I wanted to say… I was wrong. About you. About Harlow. I thought you were self-destructing. Turns out you were just ahead of the curve.”
“That’s very generous of you.”
“I’m serious. You risked everything to expose a criminal. That’s what lawyers are supposed to do. I shouldn’t have abandoned you.”
Roman is quiet for a moment.
Then he says, “It’s fine. I understand why you did it. You had to protect yourself.”
“I should’ve protected you. That’s what partners do.” Declan pauses. “If you ever want to come back to Seattle. Practice law again. I’ll help. We can get your license reinstated. Fight the disbarment. You have grounds now. Public interest. Whistleblower protections.”
“I’m permanently disbarred. There’s no fighting that.”
“There are appeals. Exceptions. If we can prove you acted in the public interest—exposed a criminal—the board might reconsider.”
Roman looks at Harlow. She’s on the couch. Staring at her phone. Looking exhausted.
“I don’t know if I want to practice law again,” he says honestly. “I don’t know if I’m that person anymore.”
“You were a good lawyer, Roman. Before all this. You could be again.”
“Maybe. But right now, I’m just trying to survive. One day at a time.”
They hang up.
And Roman thinks: Could I go back?
To being a lawyer. To having a career. To being someone other than “the disbarred attorney from the scandal.”
He doesn’t know.
But it’s something to consider.
If the settlement comes through. If Harlow gets her money. If they can afford to rebuild instead of just survive.
Maybe.
The hearing is Monday at ten AM.
Harlow wears the same dress she wore to her first mediation. The one that says I’m a professional, not a gold-digger.
It still fits. Barely. She’s lost weight. Stress and poverty will do that.
Roman is with her. In his only suit. The one he’s worn to every court appearance for the past year.
They walk into the courthouse together.
And this time, there are no protesters. No media circus. No scandal.
Just a quiet courtroom. A sympathetic judge. And justice waiting.
Victoria represents Miles still. Even though he’s in prison. Even though he’s convicted.
She looks tired. Defeated.
The judge enters. Same woman from before.
“Let’s begin,” she says. “Ms. Kane, I’ve reviewed the evidence. Your client was convicted of fraud. He hid approximately twelve million dollars in marital assets. Ms. Hartford is entitled to half. Six million. Do you contest this?”
Victoria stands. “Your Honor, while Mr. Hartford was convicted, we believe the division should account for Ms. Hartford’s conduct during the proceedings—”
“Ms. Hartford’s conduct has no bearing on asset division. Your client committed crimes. Hid money. The law is clear.” The judge looks at Harlow. “Ms. Hartford, the court awards you six million dollars in marital assets. Additionally, three years of spousal support at ten thousand per month. Your business assets are yours entirely. And Mr. Hartford is responsible for all legal fees incurred during this process.”
Harlow can’t breathe.
Six million dollars.
Spousal support.
Legal fees covered.
She won.
Actually won.
“Thank you, Your Honor,” she manages.
The gavel falls.
And it’s over.
Really, truly over.
Outside the courtroom, James is grinning. “Congratulations. You’re a millionaire.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. The money should transfer within thirty days.”
Harlow turns to Roman.
He’s smiling. Genuinely smiling.
“You did it,” he says.
“We did it. You helped.”
“I destroyed your first case. I think you did this one on your own.”
“I couldn’t have survived without you.”
They hold each other in the courthouse hallway.
And Harlow thinks: It’s finally over.
The scandal. The poverty. The endless stress.
They survived.
And now they get to rebuild.
For real this time.
With resources. With hope. With a future.
That night, they celebrate.
Nothing fancy. Pizza and cheap wine in Sage’s living room.
But it feels like victory.
“What are you going to do with the money?” Sage asks.
“Rebuild my business. Buy a house. Save the rest.” Harlow looks at Roman. “What about you? Declan said he’d help you appeal the disbarment. Do you want to practice law again?”
Roman thinks about it.
“Maybe. Eventually. But not corporate law. Not divorce. Something that actually helps people. Public defense. Non-profit work. Something that doesn’t make me hate myself.”
“That sounds good.”
“What about us?” Roman asks. “Do we go back to Montana? Stay in Seattle? Figure out what normal looks like?”
“I don’t know. But we have time now. Time and money and options. We can figure it out.”
They toast.
To surviving. To justice. To second chances.
And to each other.
For better or worse, they made it.
Together.
Reader Reactions