Chapter 1

Harmony Eland braved the winter alone, giving all her warmth to a child.

*****

The wedding march echoed through the grand ballroom of Farrynden's most luxurious hotel.

Harmony wore a custom-made wedding dress worth one million dollars, clutching a bouquet of white lilies of the valley.

Under the envious gazes of everyone present, she walked step by step toward the man waiting at the end of the red carpet.

He was Emmett Webb.

He was the head of the Webb Group, a ruthless billionaire of Farrynden's business world, and the man she had loved for a decade.

It had taken her ten years, from that fleeting glance at fifteen to finally marrying him at twenty-five.

In those ten years, Harmony watched him go through one girlfriend after another, watched him stand at the peak of power, looking down on everyone.

But she never dared to confess her feelings.

She remembered being fifteen, in the library at Farrynden High. Spring sunlight poured through the big windows.

She was hugging a stack of books when she accidentally ran into someone, sending them tumbling to the floor.

As she scrambled to pick them up, she looked up and saw him.

Emmett was sitting by the window in a crisp white shirt, holding a copy of "In Search of Lost Time".

He glanced up at her, his face like something out of a painting, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "Need a hand?" he asked.

In that moment, Harmony could hear her own heartbeat.

It was only later that she found out he was a senior, the sole heir to the Webb Group, and the guy every girl in school secretly liked.

Harmony, meanwhile, was just a freshman. Her dad was a well-known antique dealer. Her mom had died young. Even though her family was well-off, she was always alone.

Harmony started engineering chance encounters. Every day, she'd arrive at the library half an hour early and take a seat near where he always sat.

She watched him read, jot down notes, and occasionally furrow his brow in concentration.

She never dared to interrupt, just quietly watched, keeping her feelings hidden deep inside.

After graduation, he went abroad for college. Harmony secretly kept tabs on him.

She learned he had a girlfriend, that he'd joined the Webb Group, and that he was becoming even more impressive.

Harmony was growing up, too. She studied law, earned her license, and helped her father manage the family business.

She thought she'd finally gotten over Emmett, until three years ago, when her father suddenly collapsed from a heart attack at a charity gala, and she saw Emmett again.

It was his mother, Tilda Webb's funeral. Harmony went with her father to pay their respects.

She saw Emmett standing in front of the memorial hall, dressed all in black, his gaze vacant.

She wanted to comfort him, but then she overheard him say to her father, "Mr. Eland, you were the last person my mother saw. Did you do your best to save her?"

Her father froze. "What are you trying to say, Emmett?"

Emmett said, his voice icy, "I checked the security footage. You hesitated for thirty seconds. Thirty seconds is enough for someone to die."

Her father's face changed. "Are you accusing me?"

Emmett said, turning away, his gaze sharp as a blade, "I'm not guessing. I'm certain. Mr. Eland, I'll remember this."

From that day forward, the Webb Group started squeezing the Eland family by snatching clients, poaching their best people, and even reporting them for tax violations.

The Eland business crashed hard. Harmony's father got sick and never recovered. Three months later, he was gone for good.

On his deathbed, he gripped Harmony's hand. "Harmony, Emmett's lost in his hatred. Don't hold it against him, but don't get close to him, either."

Harmony promised she would. But she just couldn't.

Three months later, the Webb Group was hit by a financial crisis and needed cash fast.

Emmett sought Harmony out and asked her to marry him for business.

"Harmony, marry me. The Eland family invests in the Webb Group, and we both get what we need," he said.

Harmony looked at him, the man she'd loved for ten years. There was no love in his eyes, only cold calculation. But she agreed anyway.

She hoped that maybe, after they got married, she could bring warmth to his life, help him let go of his hatred. Maybe, he'd learn to love her.

Harmony realized that she was quite foolish.

"I do." When the pastor asked the question, Harmony's voice trembled as she spoke those words.

She watched as Emmett slipped the ring onto her finger and leaned in to kiss her. His lips were cold. To Harmony, it felt less like a wedding kiss and more like he was sealing a business deal.

"Now, please exchange your keepsakes," the pastor said.

Emmett took a velvet box from the best man and opened it. Inside were a pair of emerald drop earrings, which were the Eland family's heirloom.

They were the only thing Harmony's mother left her when she passed away.

Harmony was stunned. Those earrings had always been locked away in the family safe at the Eland estate. She'd never mentioned them to anyone.

"Emmett, what is this..." Harmony asked.

Emmett said, his voice echoing through the hall, cold and emotionless, "The police just found a stash of smuggled artifacts in the safe at the Eland estate.

"These emerald earrings have been identified as one of the national treasures stolen from the government three years ago.

"Harmony, you're under arrest for trafficking in national treasures."

Gasps and shocked whispers rippled through the crowd.

Before Harmony could even process what was happening, two police officers stepped up onto the stage and snapped cold handcuffs onto her wrists.

"No way..." Harmony struggled, her eyes wide with disbelief as she stared at Emmett.

She asked, "Emmett, you can't be serious, right? This has to be some kind of mistake..."

"A mistake?" Emmett let out a cold laugh, pulling a file from his pocket. "This is your father's ledger. Every smuggling operation he ran over the last ten years is right here.

"You inherited the Eland family, Harmony, so now you get to pay for all of it."

"My father was innocent! He already..." Harmony wanted to say he'd left that life behind, but the icy look in Emmett's eyes made her freeze.

She asked, "Did you set me up?"

Emmett leaned down, his voice a whisper meant only for her. "Harmony, did you really think I'd ever marry you?

"Getting close to you was just a way to get my hands on the Eland family's crimes. Three years ago, your father killed my mother.

"Today, I'm here to settle the score with interest."

It was like a bolt of lightning tore through Harmony.

"I didn't. My father didn't..." Harmony shook her head frantically, tears blurring her vision. "Emmett, please, you have to believe me. My father..."

"Take her away," Emmett ordered, straightening up without so much as a glance in her direction.

As Harmony was hauled off the stage, her wedding dress snagged on a flower stand, sending a whole row of blooms toppling to the floor.

She tumbled to the ground, her veil slipped off, and her painstakingly applied makeup was smeared by tears.

Guests pointed and whispered, some snapping photos, others snickering.

Harmony spotted Emmett's assistant, Cecilia Nelson, standing at the edge of the crowd with a smug smile on her lips.

Cecilia was Emmett's childhood friend and his rumored "first love" everyone talked about.

Harmony suddenly cried out, her voice a heart-wrenching scream, "Emmett, I'm pregnant. I'm carrying your child!"

The whole room went dead silent.

Emmett stopped in his tracks. He turned around slowly, his eyes filled with a complicated mix of emotions as he looked at her.

Harmony was on the ground, hands cradling her stomach. Just last night, right before their wedding, he'd slept with her while drunk.

She'd planned to surprise him with the news today, but never in her wildest dreams did she think it would turn out like this.

"Get rid of it." Emmett's voice was icy. "Harmony, you don't deserve to have my child."

He turned and walked away, never looking back.

As Harmony was escorted into the police car, rain poured down over Farrynden.

She gazed out the window at the huge wedding poster by the hotel entrance. Emmett and Harmony were smiling at each other in the photo.

The headline read: [The wedding of the century. A match made in heaven.]

Harmony found it quite ironic.

As the police car drove away, a black Maybach glided past.

Through the glass, Harmony caught a glimpse of Emmett in the back seat, with Cecilia leaning into him, looking every bit the loving couple.

She realized that this was all a trap.

From that first meeting at fifteen to her wedding day at twenty-five, she'd been nothing but a pawn on his chessboard for the past ten years.

Emmett had gotten close to her, played her, even married her, all for this moment, to drag the Eland family straight to hell.

Harmony dropped her head, staring at the icy handcuffs biting into her wrists. Suddenly, she laughed.

Her laughter was haunting, piercing the silence like a night owl's mournful cry.

Harmony whispered into the storm outside, her words swallowed by the rain, "Emmett, I curse you. I curse you to spend your life chasing a love you'll never have and to die alone.

"I curse you that one day, you'll fall to the ground before me, begging for forgiveness, and I will never forgive you."

*****