CHAPTER 403
Harmony sat stiffly in the silence of her room, the pale blue glow of her phone illuminating the sharp angles of her face. Her thumb hovered over the screen, her heart pounding—not from fear, but from simmering rage.
Ten missed calls.
Six unread messages.
Still no reply.
“Damn it,” she seethed under her breath, voice low and trembling with fury.
Her jaw clenched so tightly it sent a pulse of pain through her temple.
With a sharp flick of her wrist, she tossed the phone to the side—unable to stand the sight of it mocking her any longer.
“He’s never ignored me like this before,” Harmony muttered, her voice hollow as she stared at the screen, her eyes glazed.
“I know it’s because of her... she’s poisoning his mind against me.”
The words came out in a bitter whisper, every syllable dripping with resentment.
“That’s why he’s not answering me. Not even a damn text.”
Her body rocked slowly, rhythmically, back and forth—like a child trying to comfort herself. But there was nothing innocent in the hollow look in her eyes.
“She’s ruining everything,” Harmony muttered, her voice sharp and brittle, dripping with venom.
“She thinks she’s won. That she’s somehow smarter, that Xander’s hers now. But I won’t let her have him. Never.”
Her eyes burned with a twisted, obsessive fury as she paced.
“I’ll make her regret ever thinking she could take what’s mine. I’ll show her what it feels like to lose everything. And Xander? He’ll come to me..... eventually.”
Her hands clenched into fists, trembling with raw, unfiltered jealousy. The thought of Arianna having any piece of him sent a sharp pang of rage through her chest. She couldn’t—wouldn’t—let that happen.
“Let her have her fairytale… for now. I’ll be the one to write the ending.”
Her fingers dug into her arms as she rocked harder.
“He is mine. I was the one who bled for him. Not her.”
A bitter sob tore from her throat, twisted with rage.
“I hate her,” she hissed. “I hate everything about her.”
Her eyes blazed, and her tone twisted with bitter resentment.
“And I’ll make damn sure Xander never forgets what I’ve done for him,” she muttered, her voice low and trembling—
“He just… he just needs to remember,” she whispered.
Harmony stood abruptly, the chair screeching against the floor as it scraped back, cutting through the quiet like a blade.
She took a step toward the mirror, eyes wild as she stared at her own reflection. Her breath fogged the glass.
“You think you’ve won, Arianna?” she sneered at the mirror, as if her reflection had become the rival she loathed.
“With your perfect little smiles… your sweet, innocent act?”
She laughed—a jagged, bitter sound.
“Please. You’re not even his type. Not really. You think he loves you?”
Her eyes narrowed, venom curling in her voice.
“You’re just a phase. A distraction. And soon… he’ll remember who was there first.”
Her hands were clenched at her sides, nails biting into her palms as she stormed across the room, her breath shallow and sharp with fury.
“And Xander! You can’t just ignore me,” she hissed, her voice trembling with desperation.
“You don’t get to walk away like I don’t matter.....”
“.....I won’t allow it. I won’t.”
Her eyes flicked to the phone lying on the carpet, discarded like an afterthought—just like she felt. She snatched it up, hands trembling, and unlocked the screen.
The last few messages. Still unread.
Not even seen.
Her breath hitched as a bitter laugh escaped, cracking at the edges.
“He’s still ignoring me….”
Harmony’s chest heaved as she stood in the middle of the room, the silence pressing in around her like a vice. Her eyes darted—wild, unfocused—scanning the room as if searching for something, anything, to anchor her spinning thoughts.
Her gaze landed on the dresser.
A slow, eerie smile crept across her lips.
She took a shaky step forward, then another, until she was standing before the dresser.
“If pain is the only way to bring him here…”
“.....Then let’s make it convincing.”
Her hand shot out, yanking the drawer open with jerky force. She plunged her hand inside—fingertips trembling, seeking something only she knew.
Then—slam.
Once.
Her breath caught in her throat.
SLAM.
Twice.
Her whole body quaked, lips trembling as the scream built in her throat, clawing for escape.
SLAM!
Three times.
The sound echoed like gunshots.
She bit down on her scream, head bowed, body hunched over the dresser like a woman on the edge of detonation. Her eyes welled, not from pain—but rage. Madness. A storm caged behind glassy eyes.
And then, in a broken whisper, barely audible:
“Now You'll come. You always do.”
Pain bloomed.
She sucked in a breath but didn’t move. Her gaze dropped to the angry red mark spreading across her pale skin. Her lips curled into a twisted smile.
“Good,” she muttered.
But even through the agony, a smile pulled at the corners of her lips.
“That should do it,” she whispered, panting.
She pressed her bruised wrist to her chest like a badge of honor, eyes glinting with unhinged certainty.
“He’ll come to me. When he sees me hurt.”
Her smile twitched, uneven and manic.
“You can only ignore me for so long, Xander. Eventually, you’ll remember who was always there. Who really knows you.”
Her voice dropped to a cold, venom-laced whisper.
“And when you do, Arianna won’t stand a chance.”
Her eyes glinted, wild and glassy.
“And when he walks through that door… I’ll be the only thing he sees.”
She didn’t even wince as she reached for her phone with her uninjured hand, fingers trembling with purpose, not pain. Her breathing was ragged, but her mind was crystal clear—calculating.
She angled the screen, snapping a photo: her pale, tear-streaked face, the angry swelling blooming across her wrist like a badge of fragility. Perfect.
Then she hit voice record.
A sob broke from her lips, shaky and deliberate, laced with just enough panic.
“X-Xander,” she whimpered, her voice hitching as she let out a strangled cry.
“I—I fell. I think I… I think I broke my wrist—” She gasped mid-sentence, adding a soft moan of pain, her breath stuttering.
“It hurts… I—I don’t know what to do.”
She paused, her voice dropping to a broken whisper.
“Please… I need you.”
And then she let the silence stretch—just enough—for her quiet, breathless sobs to echo before hitting send.
Her smile returned the moment the message went through.
Then she hit send,
The game had only just begun.
...............
Across town, Xander sat sprawled on the couch in the mansion’s lounge, a stack of legal documents spread across his lap. His tie hung loose around his neck, fingers absently thumbing through pages, though his focus was elsewhere.
His phone buzzed once. The screen lit up.
He sighed, already knowing who it was before he glanced down.
Dozens of missed calls. A flood of unread messages. All from Harmony.
Arianna was right.
Harmony had been spiraling for a while now, growing more and more dependent on him for everything—And it wasn’t fair. Not to her. Not to Arianna. Not to him.
This wasn’t healthy. Not anymore.
“I told her I’d get her help,” he murmured to himself, rubbing a hand over his jaw.
“And I will.”
But his gut twisted with guilt all the same.
He tapped open his contacts, intending to call Alex and ask him to check in on her—just in case—when something caught his eye.
A new voicemail.
Frowning, he clicked on it.
The message began with ragged breathing, followed by a choked sob. Her voice trembled, laced with panic and pain.
“I fell… I think I broke my wrist. It hurts. I need you… please.”
Xander sat up straighter, a knot forming in his gut.
She sounded terrified.
Without hesitation, he set the papers aside and tapped her name, switching the call to speaker as he ran a hand through his hair.
The line rang twice before she answered.
“Bunny?” His voice was already tight, worried.
“What happened? Are you okay?”
“I—I fell,” she whimpered, her voice quivering with faux fear.
“Xander, my wrist—it hurts so badly. I think I broke it can you come over?”
He glanced down at the scattered contracts in front of him, rubbing the back of his neck with a weary sigh.
“Bunny, I’m kind of swamped right now,” he said, his voice gentle but strained.
“Maybe ask Zach or John to swing by? I just— I’m buried in work at the moment.”
“But I need you,” she cried.
“You’re the only one who understands. I don’t know what to do. Please come.”
Xander didn’t notice the shadow in the hallway.
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