CHAPTER 424
Back in the guest room...
Arianna stood her ground, fingers brushing the brooch at her neckline - small, nearly invisible, but she clung to the hope that it was working.
That someone, anyone - Xander - was watching. That he'd see her. Hear her. That this wouldn't be for nothing.
She swallowed hard, steeling herself just as Harmony broke the silence with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Well," Harmony said lightly,
"As fun as this little reunion has been... catching up, sharing secrets..." Her voice dipped into a whisper, sugar-laced and venomous.
"I don't want to talk anymore."
Arianna's jaw clenched.
"It's not up to you. We're not done."
Harmony's laugh was quiet, flat, almost childlike - and all the more terrifying for it.
"Oh, but there's nothing left to say," she murmured, tilting her head slowly.
"Besides, I've always been more of an action kind of girl."
She took a single, deliberate step forward.
Arianna instinctively backed away, her brows drawing together.
"Action?" she echoed cautiously.
Harmony's lips twitched, her tone suddenly brighter, sing-song.
"If anyone - anyone - comes between me and Xander," she said,
"I don't just talk about it. I do something about it. I don't ask them to back off. I make them disappear."
She gave a delighted little shrug.
"And the things I told you earlier? That wasn't even the half of it. That was just... a teaser. A highlight reel. You should see what I've done to girls who barely caught his eye. And you?" Her expression twisted.
"You stole him."
"You're delusional," Arianna said flatly.
"Xander isn't some toy you get to keep on a shelf. He's not yours. He's his own person, and he-"
"Chose you?" Harmony interrupted, voice rising.
"Is that what you were about to say? Oh, sweetie... he dumped you at the altar."
Her voice turned razor-sharp.
"He humiliated you. Left you standing there, alone, in your stupid little dress. And yet somehow... even then, he still couldn't forget you." Her voice cracked, high and breathless.
"He remembered you. All these years. All this wasted time when he could've - should've - been with me."
Her hands were trembling now, but not from fear.
From fury.
"You don't get to live this perfect little life with him," she seethed.
"You don't get to win," Harmony spat, voice trembling - not with fear, but with rage barely caged behind her teeth. Her eyes glittered, manic and glassy.
"Not after everything I've done: blood, the lies, the waiting. Do you know how many years I've waited for him to look at me the way he looked at you? For him to realize I was the one who was always there? Always watching? Always loving him?"
She took a shaky step forward, fists clenched, breath ragged.
"You weren't supposed to come back. You were supposed to stay buried in his past where I left you. And yet..."
Her voice twisted into something shrill and unhinged.
"You came back. And then he married you. You ruined everything again!"
She let out a choked laugh, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye with the back of her hand - though her smile didn't falter. If anything, it stretched wider.
"But that's okay," she whispered.
"I'm a patient girl. I've waited this long... I can wait a few more minutes."
Arianna's arms folded across her chest, her voice dry with contempt.
"What are you even talking about?"
That's when Harmony's grin returned - slow, feral, the corners of her lips twitching with barely restrained madness.
Her voice dropped, low and sing-song, like a lullaby laced with poison.
"Tonight... you won't be a problem anymore."
Arianna's heart dropped.
Arianna's eyes didn't leave Harmony's face.
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, but she kept her expression neutral-cold, even. She had to keep her talking. Had to give them time.
She reached subtly toward her brooch, fingers brushing the edge to make sure it was still angled right.
Please be watching, Xander... Please.
Harmony stepped forward, one slow heel at a time, her clutch now held tightly in both hands.
"You know," she murmured, almost conversational,
"When I was ten, I thought I was just protective. That it was cute-sweet even I wanted to guard him from the world."
She tilted her head, smiling like she was sharing a secret.
"But over time, I realized something else. It wasn't protection. It was possession. Mine. Every time someone looked at him, laughed with him, touched him-it felt like they were taking something from me."
Arianna didn't flinch, even when Harmony's voice dropped to a rasp.
"You stole the whole damn thing."
"Harmony-"
"Don't," she snapped.
"Don't say my name like you know me. You don't. You never have."
Her hand slipped inside the clutch slowly, deliberately.
Arianna's breath caught.
Harmony's voice softened again - sing-song, childlike - her eyes glassy with unshed tears and something else.
Something wild. Something wrong.
"I had a plan, you know," she whispered.
"Poetic. Painless. You'd just drift off, go to sleep, never wake up. Like a fairytale ending. But you... you just had to drop your drink and ruin it all. You're just too stubborn to die quietly, aren't you?"So now....."
Her hand dipped toward her clutch, and when she pulled it out, the glint of silver caught the light.
"Now I get to be the heroine of my own story."
She pulled out a knife.
A slender silver blade glints beneath the warm glow of the guest room chandelier. It was small, elegant-almost beautiful.
The kind of knife someone like Harmony would carry. Not because it was practical. But because it looked good.
Arianna stared at it, and then back at Harmony's eyes-wide, alive, brimming with anticipation.
Harmony raised the blade to eye level, admiring it like it was a prize.
She giggled.
"Harmony," Arianna said, her voice sharp and steady now,
“Don’t do this,” Arianna begged, desperation thick in her voice.
But Harmony was somewhere else—her eyes glazed, lips barely moving as she whispered to herself.
Her fingers danced along the wicked edge of the knife, a chilling smile twisting her lips like a predator savouring the hunt.
"This," Harmony said, her eyes lifting to look at Arianna,
"Is the end of you. I've been patient, but I'm done. You die tonight, Arianna. Only then will I fill those shoes as Mrs. King. Besides, I owe some very dangerous people a hell of a lot of money—money I don’t have. But once I'm Mrs King, every last debt will be wiped clean. Hell, maybe I’ll even toss in a few extra favours… just to show how damn generous I can be.”
"Harmony, no. You won't get away with this.."
But Harmony had stopped listening.
"I’ve imagined this moment so many times," she whispered, a wild gleam in her eyes.
"You'll finally be out of the picture. Gone. Dead. And Xander? He’ll be mine. Just like he was always meant to be."
She laughed, low and unhinged, the sound sharp and chilling.
"I’ll slip right into your life like I was born for it—He’ll grieve, of course. Cry over your corpse like the good little husband he is."
Her smile stretched, feral.
"He’ll be shattered. Losing his wife—oh, he’ll wail like a broken man… and that sweet, unborn child. But grief fades. And when it does? I’ll be right there. Waiting."
Arianna froze, her entire body locking in place as a sharp jolt of panic surged through her.
Her stomach churned, nausea rising like a wave. Instinctively, her hand moved to her stomach, cradling it protectively—as if her touch alone could shield the life growing inside her.
“You... you know about the baby? How?” she whispered, her voice barely audible, laced with fear.
"Oh, darling," she crooned.
"I heard you. Last night. Whispering about doctor visits and due dates while he kissed your stomach like a fool. You think you were being quiet?" She clucked her tongue.
"Walls are thin. And I have excellent ears."
Arianna's throat went dry.
"But don’t worry," Harmony cooed, her voice dipping into a mockingly gentle tone, almost lullaby-like.
"The baby won’t suffer… at least, I don’t think so. I mean, I’ve never killed a pregnant woman before—so that’ll be fun to watch unfold." She giggled, eyes gleaming with a manic thrill.
"I’ll be quick. Just a slice-maybe two. And then... silence. Peace. Finally."
"You're insane," Arianna breathed, taking a step back, her heels scraping against the floor.
Harmony's smile cracked.
"I'm in love." Her scream echoed off the walls, shrill and raw
"You won’t win," Arianna spat, her voice trembling with rage.
"You think by killing me you’ll have him? You’re delusional—he’ll never love you."
Harmony’s smile twitched.
"Love me?" she echoed, laughing softly—then louder, more unhinged.
"He already does. He just doesn’t know it yet. But once you're gone… he’ll come to me. He has to. He’s mine, Arianna. He was always mine."
Harmony tilted her head, eyes gleaming with manic devotion.
"You were just a chapter, Arianna… I’m the end of the story."
Before Arianna could react, Harmony lunged.
The knife was fast, too fast, but Arianna had seen the movement coming.
She threw herself to the side, narrowly dodging the blade as it slashed through the air where her skin had been seconds before.
The struggle turned brutal fast—Harmony's scream was primal as she lunged, the knife flashing in her grip.
Arianna barely managed to block the first strike, her forearm catching the blow with a searing sting. She kicked out, knocking over a chair between them, but Harmony was relentless.
They crashed into the wall, then the floor—grappling, kicking, the knife slashing dangerously close.
Arianna’s hand shot up to grab Harmony’s wrist, trying to keep the blade away from her throat. They rolled, Harmony snarling, eyes wild with obsession.
A sharp, burning pain exploded at the side of Arianna’s head as it slammed against the corner of a table.
White-hot stars burst behind her eyes. The knife clattered nearby, but the room spun violently, her limbs sluggish.
Blood trickled down her temple.
She blinked, trying to stay conscious, but Harmony was already scrambling for the blade again, screaming,
“It’s supposed to be me. It was always supposed to be me.”
Arianna had to survive. She had to protect herself... and the baby.
Harmony let out a low, satisfied growl, her face twisted with fury.
But Arianna wasn't done.
Not yet.
She fought back, her hands desperate, her movements frantic as she tried to break free.
But Harmony’s grip was ironclad. As she shoved Arianna backwards, her head slammed harshly against something solid—sharp pain exploding through her skull.
And then-
The door behind Arianna opened.
A loud crash.
A voice.
And then everything went dark.
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