Chapter 3

Harper POV

Only two days remained before the departure, and I spent almost the entire time lying in the servant's room.

The mattress was hard, the curtains faded and threadbare, and the air was thick with a faint, musty staleness.

My cuts were beginning to scab over, but the wounds in my heart, I knew, would never fully heal.

Thinking I needed to pack a few changes of clothes, I returned to the main house.

A light, cheerful humming sound drifted from my walk-in closet.

I paused, stopping dead in my tracks to peek through the door crack.

Aria was inside, wearing one of my haute couture gowns.

She posed in front of the mirror, shifting angles, as her phone emitted the faint click of the camera shutter.

"Why should she get to have all of this?"

Another click.

"Send her off to be that pervert's plaything… and all of this will be mine."

The doorknob felt ice-cold against my fingertips. I released it and stepped back.

As long as she cried in front of Joseph… his choice in the end… would always be me.

But... was Adrian really that terrifying?

My heart suddenly skipped and stuttered.

--

Finally, the day of departure arrived.

Early in the morning, a piercing scream tore through the sky.

Aria was standing on the very edge of the rooftop, only half of her foot resting on the tiled slope.

Joseph stood a few meters away, his face white as if all the blood had been drained.

"Aria…" He licked his chapped lips. "Listen to me… don't do this… we still have time…"

Aria saw me rushing over and wept even harder.

"Joseph, I'm not brave enough. I should bear all of this… but I'm scared, truly terrified…"

Joseph edged two steps forward, the tiles beneath his feet crunching faintly.

"It's not your fault. You don't have to go."

Aria's gaze swept over my face, a fleeting glint of light—a signal only I could read—flashing in her eyes.

"But… Harper won't agree…"

The wind suddenly intensified.

Her body swayed, her skirt billowing out, and she tilted backward, falling.

"Aria—!!!"

Joseph screamed, hurtling forward.

He slipped a foot on the tiles, but his hand shot out and clamped down on her wrist just in time.

Tiles shattered, tumbling and clattering all the way down from the height.

I rushed over and grabbed her other hand.

Aria was suspended between us, yet she thrashed wildly, struggling to break free.

Her nails dug deep into my skin, tearing at the flesh.

"Let go! Let me die. If I'm dead… Adrian will leave you all alone…"

Joseph looked at me, his eyes blazing red. "Harper… help me pull her up."

A fleeting, triumphant smirk flashed in Aria's eyes—a look that cracked my heart open further.

Joseph's roar, her weeping, and the wind's howl all pressed in on me.

My throat tightened. "So, the person who isn't weak is supposed to bear everything?"

Joseph yelled, furious, "She's already been through hell. You want her to suffer more?"

"Adrian will be here soon. She must be terrified to choose jumping."

"It's barely three stories," I sneered, the coldness in my voice absolute. "She picked the safest spot. She knew the bushes would catch her."

The anxiety in Joseph's eyes was close to ignition, ready to consume him.

"Harper, help me pull her up, now!"

His rage, his sheer lack of empathy, finally froze my heart solid.

I straightened up, my gaze sweeping over him with cold indifference.

"What if I don't?"

The next second, Aria yanked my ankle with sudden force.

I didn't even have time to scream before my body was airborne.

The wind tore past my ears, and the scenes of the three-story building blurred as they raced past my eyes.

In my mind, happy memories with Joseph flashed, frame by broken frame.

Then, I hit the bushes in the first-floor garden, the violent impact sending a surge of agony that finally snatched my consciousness.

The world swam, shaking in waves of white light.

A loud, relentless ringing filled my ears.

Gradually, I began to make out Aria's panicked, ragged sobs.

"I… I just lost my head… I didn't mean it…"

Next, an unfamiliar male voice cut through the noise, thick with suppressed fury.

"Is this how you treat my woman?"

I was lifted, nestled into a warm embrace.

Joseph stammered, his voice choked.

"She? Harper? She's… your woman?"

I forced every last ounce of strength into my throat, producing a weak, scratchy sound.

"The name on the contract… with Adrian… was mine…"

Joseph froze.

His jaw trembled.

The full realization crashed down on him.

After a long moment, he finally whispered, "This isn't real… Harper, you absolutely can't go…"

He let out a primal howl, his voice thick with sheer, gut-wrenching despair.

"I won't allow it—!"