Updated Feb 18, 2026 • ~9 min read
Mira calls three days after the disastrous deposition.
“I need you to sit down,” she says.
Harlow is already sitting. Eating ramen because it’s cheap and she’s trying to conserve money for legal fees. Her studio apartment is depressing in the afternoon light—all the ways she’s failed highlighted by unforgiving sunshine.
“What happened?” she asks.
“I got a settlement offer. From Roman.”
Harlow’s stomach twists at his name. She hates that. Hates that just hearing Roman makes her heart do something stupid.
“Let me guess,” she says. “Miles wants to give me nothing and I should be grateful for it.”
“Actually… no.” Mira sounds confused. “It’s fair. Shockingly fair. Half the house equity. Split retirement accounts. Your business assets protected. Even spousal support for two years.”
Harlow almost drops her phone.
“What?”
“I know. I read it three times.” Papers rustle on Mira’s end. “This is nothing like what Miles demanded initially. He wanted you to get the bare minimum. Maybe twenty percent of assets. But this…” She pauses. “This is a genuinely equitable split.”
“Why would Roman offer that?”
“I have no idea. It goes completely against his client’s stated wishes.” Mira’s voice is cautious. “Harlow, I need to ask you something. Have you had any contact with Roman outside of official proceedings?”
“No.” The lie comes easily. Because the bathroom encounter doesn’t count. That was… nothing. A moment of weakness. His, not hers.
“Are you sure? Because this kind of dramatic shift in strategy usually indicates—”
“I’m sure. I’ve barely spoken to him outside of depositions and mediation.”
Technically true. They haven’t had a real conversation. Just those brief, charged moments that she definitely isn’t thinking about constantly.
“Okay.” Mira doesn’t sound convinced. “Then I don’t know what changed. But this is a good offer, Harlow. A really good offer. I think you should seriously consider accepting it.”
Harlow’s brain is spinning.
Why would Roman offer this? After spending weeks destroying her credibility, questioning her motives, making her look like a gold-digger?
None of this makes sense.
“Can I think about it?” she asks.
“Of course. But don’t wait too long. Settlement offers can be withdrawn at any time.” Mira hesitates. “And Harlow? Be careful. I don’t know what game Roman’s playing, but this feels… off.”
They hang up.
Harlow stares at her phone.
A fair settlement. After everything. After the brutal mediation sessions and the devastating deposition.
Roman is offering her what she actually deserves.
Why?
She doesn’t mean to go to his office.
It just… happens.
Harlow finds herself standing outside Castellanos Law Firm three hours later. It’s in a nice building downtown. Glass and steel. The kind of place that screams expensive legal services.
She shouldn’t be here.
This violates every piece of advice Mira gave her.
But she needs to know why. Needs to understand what Roman is doing.
The receptionist looks up when Harlow enters. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No. I—I need to speak with Roman Castellanos.”
“Mr. Castellanos is with a client. If you’d like to schedule—”
“Tell him Harlow Hartford is here.”
The receptionist’s eyes widen slightly. Recognition. She probably knows exactly who Harlow is. The messy divorce case. The crying woman from depositions.
Great.
“One moment,” she says, picking up the phone.
Two minutes later, Roman appears.
He looks surprised. Then concerned. Then carefully neutral.
“Ms. Hartford,” he says. Professional. Guarded. “This is… unexpected.”
“Can we talk? Privately?”
Roman glances at the receptionist. Then nods. “My office.”
She follows him down a hallway. Past conference rooms and offices with name plaques. Associates and paralegals glance up, curious.
Roman’s office is exactly what she expected. Organized. Expensive. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Seattle. Law books lining the shelves. A massive desk that probably costs more than Harlow’s car.
He closes the door. “What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be—we can’t have ex parte communication—”
“Why did you send that settlement offer?”
Roman stops. “I’m sorry?”
“The offer Mira received today. It’s fair. Too fair. After everything you said in depositions, after making me look like a gold-digger, why would you suddenly offer me an equitable split?”
Roman’s jaw tightens. “I’m representing my client’s best interests—”
“Bullshit. Miles’s best interests are leaving me with nothing. You know that. I know that. So why did you go against his wishes?”
“I didn’t go against—”
“Don’t lie to me.” Harlow steps closer. “You’ve spent weeks making me look terrible on the record. Questioning everything I said. And now you’re offering me a settlement that actually reflects my contributions to the marriage?” She crosses her arms. “What changed?”
Roman looks at her for a long moment.
Then he says, quietly, “You did.”
“What?”
“You changed things.” He runs a hand through his hair—that gesture she’s starting to recognize as frustration. “I’m supposed to be objective. Professional. I’m supposed to see cases as puzzles to solve, not people to hurt. But after the deposition…” He stops. “I saw you in that bathroom. Crying because of what I did. And I couldn’t—”
He cuts himself off.
Harlow’s heart is pounding.
“You felt guilty,” she says.
“Yes.”
“So you sent a fair settlement offer to make yourself feel better about destroying me?”
“To make things right.” Roman looks at her. “I crossed a line in that deposition. Made it personal when it should’ve been professional. This settlement is what you deserve. What you should have gotten from the start.”
“Miles is going to lose his mind when he finds out.”
“He already did. I sent him the offer this morning. He called me three times. Demanded I withdraw it. Fire you as the opposing counsel and start over with someone who’ll fight harder.” Roman’s expression is grim. “I refused.”
Harlow’s breath catches. “You’re going against your client?”
“I’m doing what’s legally and ethically right. Miles wants to destroy you out of spite. I can’t—I won’t—facilitate that.”
“You’ll lose him as a client.”
“Probably.”
“And your reputation. Other clients will hear about this. That you went soft. Offered the wife a fair deal instead of crushing her.”
“I know.”
“So why?” Harlow asks. “Why risk your career for me?”
Roman is quiet for a moment.
Then he says, “Because I looked at you crying in a courthouse bathroom and I realized I’ve become someone I don’t recognize. Someone who hurts people and justifies it as ‘doing my job.’ And I can’t—I won’t—do that anymore. Not to you.”
The words land between them.
Heavy. Loaded with implications Harlow doesn’t want to examine.
“This doesn’t change anything,” she says. Even though she’s not sure that’s true. “You’re still Miles’s lawyer. Still working against me.”
“I know.”
“And I still don’t trust you.”
“I wouldn’t trust me either.”
They stare at each other.
And Harlow feels it again—that pull. That dangerous, inappropriate attraction that has no business existing between opposing counsel.
“I should go,” she says.
Roman nods. But he doesn’t move toward the door.
Neither does she.
“For what it’s worth,” Roman says quietly, “I meant what I said. In the bathroom. I’m sorry. For all of it.”
“Apologies don’t undo the damage.”
“I know. But they’re all I have.”
Harlow’s throat is tight.
She should leave. Walk out of this office. Accept the settlement offer and never see Roman Castellanos again.
That’s the smart choice. The safe choice.
Instead, she says, “Miles is going to fire you. When he realizes you’re not going to destroy me anymore.”
“Let him.”
“You’ll lose a major client. Probably get bad reviews. Other wealthy assholes won’t hire you if they think you’ll go soft on their ex-wives.”
“Then I’ll represent the ex-wives instead.” Roman almost smiles. “Maybe it’s time I switch sides.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Why not? My mother went through a terrible divorce when I was a kid. Her lawyer was useless. Let my father take everything. I became a divorce attorney to help people navigate the system fairly. But somewhere along the way, I started representing the bullies instead of the victims.” He looks at her. “Maybe this is my chance to course-correct.”
Harlow doesn’t know what to say.
This man—this beautiful, frustrating, complicated man—is risking his career because he felt bad about making her cry.
It’s insane.
It’s also kind of… noble?
No. She’s not going there. Not falling for the wounded hero narrative.
“I need to think about the offer,” she says.
“Take your time.”
“And we can’t—this can’t happen again. Me coming to your office. Talking outside of official channels.”
“Agreed.”
“So this is goodbye.”
“Yes.”
Neither of them moves.
Then Roman says, “Harlow?”
“What?”
“For what it’s worth? Your ex-husband is an idiot. For cheating. For not seeing what he had. For all of it.”
Harlow’s face flushes.
She doesn’t answer.
Just turns and walks out of his office before she does something stupid. Like kiss him. Or thank him. Or ask him why he can’t just be the villain she needs him to be.
She doesn’t look back.
But she feels Roman watching her leave.
And when she gets home, she stares at the settlement offer for two hours.
Fair. Equitable. Everything she deserves and more.
Because Roman Castellanos felt guilty.
Because he saw her broken and decided to fix it.
Harlow should be relieved. This means the divorce ends quickly. Cleanly. She gets what she’s owed and moves on with her life.
Instead, she feels… conflicted.
Because accepting this settlement means never seeing Roman again.
And she’s not ready for that.
Which is insane. Dangerous. Completely inappropriate.
But true.
God help her, it’s true.
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