CHAPTER 399
Arianna stood at the edge of the room, watching.
Xander and Zach hovered over Harmony, their focus solely on her, their voices low and coaxing.
"I swear, Bunny, if you had waited just ten more minutes, I was going to fake a heart attack just to get Xander to carry me in his arms for once," Zach joked, nudging her shoulder lightly.
Harmony let out a soft breath of amusement, shaking her head. "You’re impossible."
"That’s what my ex said. Right before she left me for a guy with better armpits."
Harmony gave him a confused look. "Better… what?"
"Armpits. The guy apparently moisturized. Had, like, the skin of a baby seal under there." Zach rubbed his jaw, looking genuinely wounded.
"Meanwhile, I had years of hard-earned, rugged masculinity, but nooo—smooth armpits won in the end."
Harmony laughed.
Xander shook his head, exhaling through his nose.
"Zach, I swear—"
"What? You don’t moisturize under there, do you, Xander?" Zach wiggled his eyebrows.
"Maybe that’s why Arianna stormed out last night, huh? The lack of premium armpit care?"
Xander groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "Can we not—"
"Come on, man. Just say it. Admit that you’ve been using two-in-one shampoo for your whole body."
Harmony giggled, and Zach grinned triumphantly, like he had won some grand prize.
Arianna shifted on her feet, the weight in her chest pressing deeper. It was so easy for them—so natural, so familiar. She didn’t belong in this moment.
She swallowed, clearing her throat. "I’ll, um… just go—"
Xander’s head snapped toward her, his brows knitting together.
"No. Stay." His voice was firm, almost urgent. He hesitated, then quickly added,
"I… coffee. I’ll make us all coffee. And then we can leave together."
Arianna hesitated.
Zach scoffed, still grinning but with an edge to it.
"Yeah, you’ll get bored here anyway," he said, pushing up from his seat.
"Let me show you the door."
Arianna blinked. The casual dismissal stung, but before she could react, Xander’s gaze snapped to Zach. He muttered something low, sharp, a warning she couldn’t quite catch.
Zach huffed, rolling his eyes but didn’t push further.
Arianna exhaled, steadying herself. It wasn’t just Zach. She could feel Harmony watching her too, the quiet weight of her gaze pressing in. And when she finally looked, she saw it—the subtle, wordless message written in Harmony’s eyes.
There’s the door.
Arianna straightened, lifting her chin as a slow, deliberate smile curved her lips. Why should she leave? This was her husband. If Xander was here, then so was she. Harmony didn’t get to dictate that.
With a bright, almost saccharine smile, she turned to Xander.
"I’d love a cup of coffee, darling," she said sweetly, then, without hesitation, walked over and settled herself right beside Harmony—close enough to make a point, but just far enough to remind everyone she wasn’t the one feeling out of place.
Harmony stiffened, her own smile faltering for the briefest second before she forced it back into place. But Arianna saw it. Saw the way her fingers curled slightly, the way her throat bobbed as she swallowed.
Xander, oblivious to the silent war unfolding between them, turned to Zach.
"Come on. Let’s make the coffee," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I need to talk to you about something anyway."
Zach’s jaw tensed. He shot a wary glance between the two women, clearly reluctant to leave. "I’m pretty sure you can handle a cup of coffee on your own, bro," he muttered. "I think I’ll stay. Besides, I don’t trust your wife with Bunny—"
"Zach," Xander’s voice dropped, firm, unwavering. "Kitchen. Now."
Zach exhaled sharply, clearly unhappy, but he pushed himself off the couch. Before walking away, he crouched slightly beside Harmony, his voice softening. "If you need us for anything, anything at all, just call, and I’ll be here in a flash, okay?"
Harmony nodded, giving him a grateful smile. "I will."
Satisfied, Zach straightened, but not before shooting Arianna a pointed, borderline rude look. Then, with a roll of his shoulders, he strode toward the kitchen.
Xander paused for a moment, his eyes briefly meeting Arianna's. A small, tender smile played at the corners of his lips, and as he turned to follow Zach, he mouthed just loud enough for her to see, "I love you."
Then, without another word, he turned and followed Zach, leaving the two women alone in the charged silence.
The silence that settled between them wasn’t empty—it was charged.
Harmony’s trembling hands and fragile act disappeared the moment the men left the room. She sat up straighter, her posture shifting from vulnerability to something far more dangerous, like a predator biding its time. Her gaze sharpened, turning cold as she focused on Arianna, her once-innocent facade now fully stripped away.
"Why are you still here?" Harmony’s voice was low, her tone thick with venom. Her eyes glinted with a predatory gleam.
"You’re not welcome. Did you see the way Xander rushed over when he thought I was hurt? He cares about me. I think you should leave...."
Arianna’s eyebrow arched, the corners of her lips twitching into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Her voice remained steady, almost sweet, but with an underlying edge.
"Why would I leave?" she said, her tone dripping with quiet confidence.
"Didn’t you hear my husband? He said I came with him and I go with him. And besides, he’s making me coffee. How sweet of him, right? And as for rushing to your side... well, any decent person would do the same if they thought their friend was trying to hurt herself."
And them she clapped her hands together in mock applause.
"Bravo, Harmony. Truly. A standing ovation for that performance. It was... mesmerizing."
For a moment, Harmony’s eyes flickered, the icy facade slipping just slightly before her control snapped back into place. She leaned back, a smirk tugging at her lips—sharp, calculated, and void of any trace of innocence.
Harmony's voice dropped to a near whisper, her gaze flickering toward the kitchen as she leaned in, her words dripping with a quiet yet venomous certainty.
"Whether it’s an act or not, Xander came because he cares—because he loves me. You can’t deny that. I’m not the only one who sees it."
Arianna’s lips curled into a cold smile, her eyes narrowing in disdain. She rolled her eyes, her patience slipping.
"You’re delusional," she muttered, her voice thick with disbelief. Then, her tone turned sharper, more cutting.
"You tried to put the idea in my head, didn’t you?" Arianna’s voice was calm, but there was a storm beneath it, crackling with restrained fury. "You wanted me to believe that you and Xander were in love, that I was some outsider forcing my way in. And you almost had me. Almost."
She let the word hang between them, letting Harmony feel the weight of it. Then she leaned forward, her posture shifting from defensive to something far more dangerous—something unshakable.
"A few minutes ago, I was doubting his love again. You had me questioning, wondering if maybe I was blind to something right in front of me. But then I saw it—really saw it." Her lips curled into a slow, knowing smile.
"The way he looks at me. The way he says my name. The way his entire body shifts when I walk into a room, like I’m the only thing that matters. And that’s when I realized—everything you’ve been trying to do, all the little mind games, the manipulation, the perfectly timed tears—it’s all been for nothing."
She let out a breathless, almost amused laugh, shaking her head. "Because no matter how much you cling to the past, no matter how many times you try to remind him of what you lost, it changes nothing. He loves me, Harmony. Not you. And that’s the one thing you can never manipulate your way into."
Arianna’s gaze locked onto Harmony’s, unflinching.
"So go ahead, keep trying. Keep playing your little games. But just know this—I’m not going anywhere. And sooner or later, Xander’s going to see exactly what you are. And when he does?" Her smile sharpened, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"You’ll have nothing left....."
Arianna’s voice hardened, her gaze unwavering.
"Today at the coffee shop, his eyes didn’t lie. And you know what? I realized something important. I’ve trusted the words of a woman who’s done nothing but manipulate and play her cards to get what she wants. But not anymore. I’m done doubting. Done being made to feel like excess baggage." Her lips pressed into a tight line, and her eyes locked onto Harmony's, filled with cold determination.
"So go ahead, Harmony. Do your worst, because this time? This time I’m not fighting for a job at Starlight TV or trying to protect myself from public humiliation. No. This time, I’m fighting for the man I love. And very soon, I’m going to show him exactly who you are."
Harmony's lips curved into a smile, but it wasn't a smile of warmth—there was something dark and predatory in the way her eyes gleamed. She slowly leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest as though she were a queen awaiting her audience.
The fragile, helpless façade she’d so carefully maintained dissolved completely, replaced by a woman who was fully aware of her power.
"You think you’ve got it all figured out, don’t you?" Harmony's voice was low, laced with an almost mocking amusement as she tilted her head.
"You think your ‘perfect love’ is enough to keep Xander here, to make him stay. You think that whatever it is you two share, it’s the reason he's sticking around. Well, you're wrong."
Her gaze flicked momentarily toward the kitchen, where the men were busy preparing coffee, before locking back onto Arianna. Her eyes narrowed, a subtle challenge in her gaze.
"You see, love isn't as simple as you think. Yes, Xander may love you now. I’ll give you that. But don't kid yourself into believing that love is enough to make him stay."
Arianna’s jaw tightened, but she held her ground, refusing to let Harmony’s words rattle her.
"Xander’s always been fighting this battle in his head," Harmony continued, her voice softening to something almost pitying.
"The guilt, the pressure. You don't see it, but I do. I always have. He feels responsible for me, for what happened in the past. You’re just the distraction, the thing he clings to in the hope that maybe, just maybe, he can outrun the truth."
Arianna’s eyes flashed with anger. "And what truth is that?"
Harmony smirked, leaning forward just slightly, her eyes glinting with dark satisfaction.
Harmony’s smile was slow, deliberate, as she leaned in just slightly, her voice dipping into something almost conspiratorial.
"When Xander looks at me, he doesn’t see some manipulative woman," she murmured, her eyes gleaming with quiet confidence.
"He sees the one who’s always been there. The one who never turned her back on him. The one who understands him in ways you never will."
She let the words settle before tilting her head, her expression unreadable.
"The one who was broken for him," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper.
"The one who nearly lost everything in that accident—because I protected him." Her gaze flickered with something unreadable, something sharp.
"And deep down, he knows it. He knows I’ve sacrificed for him in ways no one else ever has. The one who threw herself in front of the wreckage, who took the hit so he wouldn’t have to. The one who woke up in a hospital bed, broken, in pain, with a future that would never be the same—because I protected him."
She leaned in slightly, her eyes gleaming with something dark, something victorious.
"And that’s what he sees when he looks at me," she continued, her voice soft but cutting like a blade.
"Not just some woman from his past—but the one who bled for him, the one who carries the scars meant for him. The one who will never have a family of her own because of what she did for him."
Harmony exhaled, a hollow laugh escaping her lips.
"I lost the ability to have children that night, Arianna. And you think you can just waltz in and take him, as if that kind of sacrifice doesn’t mean anything?" Her smile was all sharp edges, her gaze unwavering. "Face it. You will never understand the bond we share. Because while you may have his present, I’ll always have his past—and the debt he’ll never be able to repay."
Harmony leaned back then, a small, knowing smirk curving her lips.
"So tell me, Arianna," she mused, her tone almost sweet, "how exactly do you compete with that?"
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