CHAPTER 384
“Wait, Arianna, please—” Xander’s voice followed her as she turned to leave. “I’ll come with you.”
She stopped in her tracks, her shoulders rigid, but didn’t turn around.
“No,” she said, her voice cold and clipped.
“You stay here. With your so-called friend.”
“What do you mean by that?” His tone carried a hint of desperation now.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Arianna replied, spinning on her heel to face him, her eyes blazing.
“Like pulling strings to get your friend a job… Like vanishing for days without so much as a word. Ignoring my calls. Turning off your phone. And now—here you are, cozying up with that same friend in a VIP room.” Her voice was sharp, each word slicing through the tension like a blade.
“She calls, and you come running. How chivalrous. Honestly, it’s the kind of thing you’d read in a romance novel—tragically romantic, isn’t it?” The sarcasm in her tone was biting, her hurt and anger barely concealed beneath the surface.
Xander sighed heavily, dragging a hand through his hair as though trying to steady himself.
“There’s nothing romantic about it.”
Arianna let out a sharp, humorless laugh.
“Not from where I was standing.”
“Arianna—” He took a step toward her, reaching out as if to bridge the distance between them, but she stepped back, her glare freezing him in place.
“Please, listen—”
“No, Xander.” Her voice cracked, raw with frustration and hurt.
“You told me she was just a friend, Xander, but this so-called friendship of yours? It makes me uncomfortable—deeply uncomfortable. There’s no respect, no boundaries between the two of you. It’s like I’m watching something unfold that I was never meant to see.” Her voice wavered for a moment, her emotions threatening to spill over before she steadied herself.
“And the funny thing? I’m only just now discovering how close you two really are. All the little secrets, the shared moments I never knew about—and now you expect me to stand here and believe there’s nothing going on?” Her eyes burned into his, daring him to deny it.
“That’s just the way things have always been between us since..…since—” he began, his voice trailing off as he gestured helplessly.
Harmony, who had been quietly observing with her arms crossed, let out a dramatic sigh, her expression shifting to one of feigned innocence. Tilting her head, she spoke in a voice that was soft and sweet, yet carried an undertone that sent a chill through Arianna.
“Arianna,” Harmony began, her wide eyes darting toward Xander as if she were just as startled by the confrontation.
“I’ve told you before—Xander and I share a bond that’s…unique,” Harmony said, her voice soft with a false sweetness that barely masked the implication beneath. She let the words hang in the air for a moment before continuing, her gaze drifting toward Xander with a look that suggested something more than just friendship. “It’s not something everyone can understand, you know? Some bonds go deeper than others. But I’m sure you get that, don’t you?”
Xander, still unaware of the deeper meaning in her words, looked at Harmony with a small, puzzled frown. But Arianna, standing nearby, caught the insinuation clear as day. Her heart clenched, the weight of the unspoken words hanging between them, her suspicions solidifying into painful clarity.
Her lips curved into a subtle, almost apologetic smile as she turned to Xander, her tone dripping with mock sincerity.
“Xander and I have always been there for each other,” Harmony said, her voice soft and sweet, but the undertone of her words carried a sharper edge.
“When I called, he came—just like he always does. That’s the kind of connection we share. It’s...special. I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”
As her words lingered in the air, Xander turned sharply to look at Harmony, his brows furrowing in frustration.
“Harmony,” he said, his tone low and edged with warning, his eyes silently pleading with her to stop.
But Harmony ignored him, her small, almost apologetic smile deepening as she turned her gaze back to Arianna. The faint gleam of triumph in her eyes betrayed her true intentions, as if she were staking her claim on something Arianna could never hope to touch.
“It’s not a surprise, though, is it? I’ve always been honest about how close we are. I didn’t think it would be this hard for you to accept.”
She clasped her hands together, her voice taking on a quieter, almost sorrowful tone, as though she were the victim in the situation.
“I hate that you had to find out this way. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you. I just needed him.” She glanced back at Xander with an imploring look.
“I didn’t mean to cause any problems, Xander. Really, I didn’t want to put you in this position.”
Xander’s jaw tightened as he glanced between the two women, clearly uncomfortable.
“Harmony, it’s okay,” he muttered, as though trying to smooth things over.
“You didn’t know—”
Arianna let out a dry, humorless chuckle, her eyes flicking between Xander and Harmony as if watching some poorly rehearsed play.
“You two really are something,” she said, her tone sharp yet laced with bitter amusement.
“Here you are, trying so hard to make this look innocent, as if I’m the one who’s overreacting. Harmony playing the helpless victim, and you, Xander, telling her its okay.” She crossed her arms, her gaze steady and cutting.
“It’s almost funny, except it’s not.”
Arianna’s gaze snapped to Harmony, her eyes blazing with barely contained fury.
“So, every time you need him, he just drops everything and runs to you? What exactly do you need him for, Harmony?” Her voice dripped with scorn.
“To cling to him like he’s your personal savior? To insert yourself into something that has nothing to do with you?”
Harmony’s smile faltered, replaced by a flicker of annoyance.
“You’re overreacting, Arianna. Maybe if you weren’t so insecure, you’d see this for what it is—harmless.”
“Harmless?” Arianna shot back, her voice rising.
“This isn’t harmless. It’s deceitful. And you—” She turned back to Xander, her voice quieter but no less cutting,
“—you’ve been lying to me. You say there’s nothing going on, but your actions scream otherwise.”
Xander’s face twisted in anguish.
“Arianna, I swear—there’s nothing—” Xander began, his voice tight with desperation, but she cut him off sharply.
“Stop.” Her arms folded tightly across her chest as if holding herself together, but her trembling voice betrayed the storm raging inside her. Her gaze locked onto his, searching for something—anything—to make sense of it all. For a brief moment, she saw what looked like honesty in his eyes, but it wasn’t enough.
“Nothing?” Her voice rose, raw and filled with anguish.
“Really, Xander? Just the day before, you disappeared for 24 hours. Your phone was switched off, and I couldn’t get hold of you. I called and called, and when you finally showed up, you said you were busy at the office—‘busy with work.’”
She took a shaky breath, her hands clenching into fists.
“But you lied. I went to your office, Xander. You weren’t there!”
Her words hung heavy in the air, each one a knife cutting deeper.
“So tell me,” she demanded, her voice breaking. “Your disappearance—was it because she needed you? Was it because of her?”
Xander’s expression shifted from shock to guilt, his mouth opening as if to explain, but no words came. The weight of her revelation left him frozen, his mind reeling as he tried to process the magnitude of her pain.
"That's what I thought.....You might not think you’re lying, Xander. But by keeping me in the dark, you already have.”
Harmony’s irritation grew palpable, her arms dropping to her sides as she stepped forward.
"Alright, that's enough, Arianna," Harmony said, her voice laced with smugness. "So what if Xander came here for me? What's the big deal? He doesn’t owe you any explanations."
Arianna’s head snapped toward Harmony, her voice ice-cold.
“Oh, trust me, he owes me plenty. And you—” her eyes narrowed dangerously,
“—you’d do well to remember that you’re not part of this relationship.”
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