CHAPTER 427
Behind him, Rochelle moved to Arianna's side and pressed a cloth to the side of her forehead.
"She's waking up, Xander. The paramedics are almost here."
Xander's breath caught in his throat, a wave of relief crashing over him.
"Thank God," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion.
He hurried to her side, kneeling beside her, his hand trembling as he gently cupped her face. His eyes softened as he gazed down at her, his heart pounding.
"Arianna, baby," he whispered his voice low and tender, his lips brushing her forehead.
"Open your eyes. Please, just open them for me. Let me see those beautiful eyes again... let me see you."
He pressed a gentle kiss to her temple, his thumb brushing over her cheek as he spoke to her in a quiet, almost desperate murmur.
His whole world was in her, and the thought of losing her... it was too much to bear.
"Come back to me, Arianna," he breathed, his voice thick with love and fear.
"I need you, baby. I need you more than anything."
Harmony flinched at the sound. At the reverence in his voice. The kind of voice she'd dreamed he'd use for her.
A laugh, sharp and unhinged, bubbled up from her throat.
"No," she whispered, her voice trembling with fury, barely audible at first.
"No... no, this isn't right."
Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, nails digging into her palms as her eyes stayed locked on Xander.
"You think she's the one, don't you?" she hissed, her voice trembling with fury.
"You think she's the one you're supposed to be with, that she deserves you? You're nothing but a fool, Xander."
Her eyes flashed, a manic gleam sparking in the depths of her gaze as she watched him, her lips curling into a sneer.
"You're pathetic. You're so pathetic if you think that her, her of all people, can love you the way I did. She'll never understand you. She'll never truly see you."
"You're mine, Xander," she spat, her voice dropping to a low growl, filled with desperation and madness.
"You always were."
Xander didn't flinch as Harmony unravelled before him, her voice rising, her smile twitching with madness, her hatred bleeding into every word like venom.
But his arms only tightened protectively around Arianna, as if shielding her from the filth that spewed from Harmony's mouth.
"Why doesn't she just die!" She screamed
His gaze snapped to Harmony, ice-cold and blazing with fury.
"Enough," he growled, voice low and seething.
"Just shut the hell up."
Xander’s voice thundered through the room, raw and unyielding as he held Arianna close, his arms a fortress around her.
Xander’s grip tightened around Arianna, his voice a fierce, roaring storm that shook the room.
“She’s alive. She’s here. And if you ever dare wish her dead again, I’ll make sure you regret it for the rest of your miserable life.”
His eyes flashed with raw fury, burning with a wrath that promised consequences far worse than words.
“Don’t you ever forget—Arianna is mine. And I’ll protect her with everything I have.”
Harmony flinched, momentarily stunned by the sheer force of his tone.
"You don't get to say her name. You don't get to speak about love. You're sick, Harmony. Twisted. You don't love me-you obsessed over me. There's a difference." He stood to his full height, towering with restrained rage, his voice cutting like steel.
"You tried to kill her. You would've murdered my wife and child what? Because I didn't love you back?"
His voice cracked, not with weakness, but with fury barely held in check.
"You think that's love? That's not love, that's delusion. You're the one who needs serious, professional help."
Harmony trembled, her expression flickering from rage to desperation, back to rage.
But Xander wasn't done.
"You lost me even as a friend, Harmony. And after tonight?" He stepped forward, his voice now like a blade.
"You don't get to come near me. Or her. Ever again. You're going to rot for this."
His eyes, once filled with heartbreak, were now filled with finality.
“This is the last time you’ll ever hear my voice. The last time you’ll ever look at me,” Xander said, his voice sharp and final.
But Harmony was unravelling—her eyes wild, darting like a cornered animal’s, breath coming in ragged gasps. Zach and John had her by the arms, trying to guide her out, but she fought them like a woman possessed.
She screamed—a raw, shattering sound—clawing at them with trembling hands, her nails scraping skin as she thrashed against their hold, desperate to break free.
“Please! Please, don’t do this! You don’t know what you’re throwing away! I’m begging you—just one more chance! I’ll change! I swear I will!” Her voice cracked, twisting between sobs and manic desperation.
She thrashed violently, nails digging deep into John’s arm, leaving angry red marks as she screamed,
“You need me! You can’t live without me! You’ll regret this! You’ll miss me!”
"Get her out of here!" Xander shouted
Zach gritted his teeth, muscles straining to keep her in check as she lunged forward again, hair wild and face streaked with tears and sweat.
“The cops are coming in two minutes,” Zach growled, steady but tense...
Harmony’s frantic cries broke into hysterical laughter, chilling and unhinged.
“You don’t get to walk away, Xander! I’m everything to you! You can’t be free from me!”
Xander ignored her. Only Arianna was important.
He brushed a trembling strand of hair from her forehead, his fingers lingering as if to reassure himself she was truly there. Her eyes fluttered open—fragile, dazed, but alive.
Relief crashed through him. He leaned down and pressed a soft, urgent kiss to her lips, grounding them both in that heartbeat of silence.
“Hey there, beautiful…” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “You okay? Any pain? Anywhere?”
Arianna blinked slowly, then gave a faint shake of her head. Her gaze drifted past him—just in time to see Harmony being dragged away, screaming and wild-eyed, her voice echoing down the hallway like a ghost refusing to let go.
Harmony spiralled into madness behind them, her desperate screams fading into nothing but shattered echoes.
Arianna gave the faintest nod, her lips twitching with the ghost of a smile.
“Told you she was crazy,” she mumbled.
Xander laughed—just a breath, just enough to keep from crying. He kissed her hand and whispered against her skin:
“You’re never leaving my side again.”
Outside the door, Harmony’s shrieks were drowned beneath the sound of sirens—loud, piercing, final.
Her protests faded down the hallway as John and Zach forced her into the hands of the waiting officers. The chaos, the years of manipulation, the fear—everything she’d held over them—was finally over.
Arianna’s fingers tightened weakly around Xander’s.
“I knew you’d come,” she whispered.
“I always will,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
“There isn’t a world where I don’t find you.”
Rochelle slipped into the room, quietly kneeling beside them, brushing a tear from her cheek.
“We’re taking you to the hospital, Ari. You’ll be okay now.”
Xander gently lifted Arianna into his arms, holding her close like she was something sacred.
As he carried her through the hallway—past the flashing red-and-blue lights, past the whispers and shocked glances of guests—he didn’t care about anything but the steady beat of her heart against his chest.
Outside, dawn had begun to bloom across the horizon, soft golden light painting the sky as if the world itself was offering a second chance.
Xander helped Arianna into the ambulance, refusing to let go of her hand even for a moment. She leaned against him, head resting on his shoulder.
“You saved me,” she whispered.
“No,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her temple.
“You saved me.”
As the doors of the ambulance closed behind them, the first light of morning broke fully across the sky—bright, warm, and full of promise. And for the first time in a long time, everything felt like it would be okay.
They had survived the storm.
And together, they would build the peace that followed.
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