CHAPTER 398
Harmony inhaled deeply, as if summoning the strength to speak, then released a slow, steady breath. When her gaze lifted, her eyes glistened with unshed tears, her expression a masterful mix of sorrow and reluctant understanding.
Harmony’s voice was soft and delicate as if every word required careful effort. She let her lashes flutter slightly before glancing at Xander, then at Arianna, her expression laced with quiet sadness.
"You and Arianna have made amends." She let the words hang between them, her tone carrying the perfect blend of sincerity and melancholy.
"That’s good. You deserve to be happy, Xander. Really." A small, almost wistful smile ghosted across her lips as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her fingers trembling just enough to be noticed.
She hesitated, biting her lower lip as if unsure whether to continue. Then, with a resigned sigh, she pressed on.
"Trust me, Xander, I never wanted to be in the middle of this. The last thing I would ever do is come between you and your wife." Her voice cracked just slightly, her eyes dipping as if weighed down by an unseen burden.
"I honestly don’t know where she got the idea that you and I… that there was ever something to be jealous of. It’s painful, really, knowing that despite everything, she still sees me as some kind of threat."
She let out a soft, defeated exhale, her shoulders drawing inward.
"I would never do that to you, Xander. You know that, don’t you?" She lifted her gaze to meet his, eyes shimmering with something unspoken—an emotion carefully curated to slip beneath his defences.
"I just hope Arianna doesn’t still see me as an obstacle between you two anymore. Because, God, that was never my intention."
Another fleeting glance at Arianna, a barely-there quiver in her chin, and then a slow, sorrowful shake of her head, as if she were coming to terms with a burden only she could understand.
"You should take her home, Xander," she murmured,
"After everything… after the night you spent apart, you two need to be together. She’s your wife. She’s where you belong."
A pause. A breath.
“I’ll be okay,” she added, so quietly it was almost to herself. "I always am, right?" A brittle smile ghosted across her lips before fading just as quickly. "I just need to pull myself together. I don’t want to be a burden."
She let out a fragile laugh, barely more than a breath—thin, uncertain. "I mean, it’s not like this is the first time I’ve had to pick up the pieces on my own." She looked away, swallowing hard. "I’ll figure it out. Somehow."
Her fingers twisted together in her lap, a small, nervous movement, as if she were physically holding herself together. "I always do."
She exhaled shakily, her hands twitching at her sides.
“I won’t… I won’t do anything stupid, Xander. You don’t have to worry about that.”
Another pause.
And then, with perfect, calculated vulnerability, she let her gaze drop, her voice barely a whisper.
“I mean… I never thought I’d be the type to do something reckless,” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
“But today for the first time, I—” She cut herself off as if the words were too heavy to say aloud.
Her breath hitched, and she forced a small, broken laugh.
“I don’t even know what came over me. One second, I was fine, and the next… I just wanted everything to stop.” She swallowed hard, her hands gripping the fabric of her dress.
“I scared myself, Xander.” A single tear slipped down her cheek, her lips trembling as she glanced up at him with desperate, pleading eyes.
“I don’t want to feel that way again,” she whispered.
“But I don’t know how to stop it.” Her voice cracked in just the right places, a delicate fracture that made her look so small, so lost.
And then, as if catching herself, she forced a weak, wavering smile. “But don’t worry. I’ll be okay. I just… I just need to learn to cope on my own.”
The silence that followed was deafening, thick with the weight of her words.
And then, as if on cue, a single tear slipped down her cheek.
“Don’t ever do that again,”
Xander raked a hand through his hair, his jaw tightening as he exhaled sharply.
“When Zach told me what you did, that you—” He cut himself off, shaking his head as if trying to rid himself of the image.
“I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Like the ground just… disappeared beneath me.”
His hands found her shoulders, his grip firm, not just reassuring but searching—desperate to anchor her, to ground himself.
“This is my fault,” he muttered, his voice low, tense.
“All of it,” he rasped, his voice thick with guilt.
“The damn accident… if you hadn’t thrown yourself in front of me—if you hadn’t risked everything—” He broke off, his jaw clenching as he struggled to swallow the weight of his own words.
“You almost died because of me, Harmony,” he murmured, his voice hoarse.
“And now… now you can’t—” He exhaled sharply.
“It should’ve been me. Not you. Never you.”
Harmony let out a slow, trembling breath, her lashes fluttering as she lowered her gaze. When she finally looked back up at Xander, her eyes shimmered—just enough.
“I don’t regret it,” she whispered, shaking her head, her fingers lightly brushing his arm.
“I never have. I would do it again in a heartbeat.” Her voice caught, a soft, wounded sound that made her seem so small, so breakable.
“You were always worth it, Xander.”
She let her lower lip tremble, just for a second, before biting it. Then she exhaled shakily, offering him a small, brave smile.
“Please don’t blame yourself. If I lost anything that day… it was my choice. I’d make it again.”
And then, the masterstroke.
Letting her fingers trail down his arm before she pulled back ever so slightly, as if giving him a choice—even though she knew he would never take it.
“But if it’s too much for you… if being around me only reminds you of what happened…” A pause, her lashes lowering.
“I understand.”
She didn’t have to say it outright. The silent plea was there, woven into every fragile breath, every unspoken word.
Stay.
And when Xander exhaled sharply, his eyes dark with guilt, his grip tightening around her just a fraction—she knew.
He wasn’t going anywhere.
Not yet.
Arianna might have had his heart for a moment. But guilt? Guilt was forever.
And Harmony knew exactly how to use it.
Xander’s gaze softened further, and with a slow, almost hesitant motion, he reached up and wiped away the tears trailing down her cheeks with the rough pad of his thumb. His touch was gentle, lingering, a silent comfort.
Arianna stood frozen, watching the moment stretch between them, watching her husband console another woman.
And Harmony?
Harmony barely suppressed the smirk threatening to curl her lips.
And just like that, she won.
She watched Arianna, standing there like she belonged, like she had any right to be in this moment, and something dark and insidious curled in Harmony’s chest.
Why isn’t she leaving?
She should be leaving.
She should have seen by now that she wasn’t wanted. That she was an intruder. But no—Arianna stood her ground, watching Xander with those wounded eyes as if she believed she still had a place beside him. As if she mattered.
The question hovered in harmony’s man echo, relentless and cruel. How exactly do I get rid of Arianna?
She smoothed her hands down her thighs, a slow, methodical motion, keeping up the appearance of a woman barely holding herself together. But inside, her thoughts unravelled into something far more sinister.
Various scenarios presented themselves, each one more satisfyinunravellede last. Some were gruesome, some simple and clean. Cordially, she entertained them all.
Murder the wife.
It was always the easiest solution in a love triangle, wasn’t it? A single, decisive act to erase the problem permanently. A blow to the head with a blunt object—quick, efficient, a moment of impact, and then silence. Arianna’s lifeless body crumpled to the floor, her blood pooling beneath her in a slow, spreading stain.
Harmony’s fingers crumpled her dress, the thought making her heartbeat slow in something dangerously close to pleasure.
Or perhaps something more calculated. A carjacking—yes, that was an excellent idea. She could lure Arianna into the wrong neighbourhood, a carefully planned moment of misfortune, and then—bang. A clean shot to the head, a tragedy tneighbourhoodould question. A random act of violence, a case left unsolved. Xander would grieve, of course, but he would move on.
With her.
The corner of Harmony’s mouth twitched, but she quickly bit down on the smirk before it could form, casting a helpless, broken glance toward Xander instead. She had to be careful. The mask had to stay in place.
Arianna stood frozen, her hands clenching into fists at her sides as she watched the scene unfold before her.
Harmony sat curled on the couch, her frail body trembling, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. But she hadn’t gotten there on her own.
Xander had guided her, his arm around her waist, steadying her as if she might crumble at any moment. His movements were careful, almost reverent, as he eased her down onto the cushions, settling her there like she was something fragile—something breakable.
Zach hovered close, his expression drawn with concern, ready to intervene, but it was Xander who knelt beside her, murmuring soft reassurances. His voice was a low, soothing timbre as he carefully draped a blanket over her shoulders, tucking it around her as if shielding her from the weight of the world.
His hand brushed against her arm, lingering just long enough to make something inside Arianna twist painfully.
She swallowed against the sickness rising in her throat.
She wasn’t insensitive to what Harmony was going through. She knew the weight of grief, the way it could hollow a person out from the inside, leaving behind only raw edges and desperation.
But this?
This carefully crafted fragility, the way Harmony clung to Xander as if he was the only thing keeping her from shattering—it made something dark and uneasy coil in Arianna’s stomach.
She felt like an outsider in a moment she had no right to witness.
Zach moved beside her, pouring a glass of water with clipped, irritated movements, but Xander remained fully absorbed in Harmony.
She had monopolized him from the moment they arrived, and worse—he had let her.
No, welcomed it. Arianna had stood there, silent, watching, waiting, pushed aside while Harmony whimpered into his chest, while he whispered words meant only for her.
And then it happened.
Xander, as if suddenly aware of Arianna’s presence, started to turn toward her—his lips parting, his eyes shifting in her direction.
But before he could so much as say her name, Harmony’s fingers curled around his jaw, gently but firmly, and pulled his face back toward her.
Arianna’s stomach lurched.
She watched as Harmony blinked up at him, her lashes wet, her lips trembling just enough to appear fragile.
“Xander…” she breathed, voice cracking, and just like that, his attention snapped right back to her.
He didn’t look at Arianna again.
Arianna’s breath hitched, her heart twisting painfully in her chest. She hadn’t imagined it.
The possessiveness in Harmony’s touch. The deliberate way she cut off any moment that might have included Arianna. It wasn’t grief alone that made Harmony cling to Xander—it was something far more calculated.
And Xander?
He didn’t even seem to notice.
Arianna tried to shake the thought away, to remind herself that he had always been honest with her. That he loved her.
But now?
Now, she wasn’t so sure.
Because for the first time since Harmony entered their lives, a horrifying question settled in Arianna’s mind, a thought so heavy it made her want to scream.
Harmony was in love with Xander?
But—was Xander in love with her?
Had she gotten it wrong? Had he manipulated her in the car to believe that he loved only her?
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