Chapter 3

It was raining again in Farrynden the day Harmony was released.

Harmony stepped out of the prison gates in the same wedding dress she'd worn three years ago.

That was her only request. She wanted to make sure she never forgot the humiliation.

The dress was already in tatters, stained and filthy, looking more like some twisted performance art.

Her hair was cropped short, almost like a man's, and a faint scar marked her face. It was a souvenir from one of the so-called "cleanings."

She stood in the rain, staring at the familiar black Maybach across the street.

The car door opened, and Emmett stepped out, holding an umbrella.

Three years apart had left their mark. He was thinner, his eyes hollow, his jawline sharper than ever.

Wrapped in a black coat, he looked so lonely in the rain, a far cry from the bold, spirited man Harmony remembered from their wedding day.

"Harmony..." Emmett stepped up to her, his voice rough. "I'm here to take you home."

Harmony looked at him and suddenly laughed.

That smile made Emmett's heart skip a beat. It wasn't the shy or gentle smile he remembered. It was icy, mocking, and sent chills down his spine.

She said coldly, "Mr. Webb, you must be mistaken. I'm inmate 0743 now. Harmony died three years ago at the wedding."

"I know I was wrong," Emmett said, reaching out to touch her, but she pulled away. "Harmony, just give me a chance to make things right..."

Harmony cut him off. "Make things right? Emmett, what could you possibly do? Can you make up for every rotten meal I had to choke down for three years?

"Can you erase every scar on me? Or are you going to bring back the child you murdered?"

Her voice was steady, almost like she was just talking about the weather.

But Emmett could see something bottomless and cold in her eyes.

"I know what happened with Cecilia made you..." Emmett managed, his voice strained.

"Cecilia?" Harmony cocked her head. "Oh, you mean that woman who took the money and ran? Emmett, do you really think I hate you because of her?"

She stepped closer, looking up at him, rain streaming down her cheeks like tears.

She said, "I hate you because you ruined my life. Not because of Cecilia, not because of anyone else, just you.

"Emmett, my biggest regret is falling for you at fifteen in the library that day."

Emmett's face went ghostly pale.

He said, "Get in the car. It's freezing out here. Let's talk when we get home..."

"Home?" Harmony stepped back. "What home? You auctioned off my family's estate, forced my parents to their graves, and now I have nowhere to go. Emmett, is this what you call 'home'?"

Emmett blurted out, "I bought a new place, it's at..."

Harmony said, turning away, "Save it. Emmett, I'm not going anywhere with you. If I learned anything in those three years, it's that I can only rely on myself.

"I'll survive. I'll live better than you ever will. Then I'll stand by and watch as everyone abandons you, as you lose everything and end up completely ruined."

She stepped into the rain, her silhouette thin but unyielding as she walked away.

Emmett just stood there, frozen, watching Harmony vanish around the corner.

Then, as the rain poured down, he slowly collapsed to the ground, huddling in on himself, completely lost.

That was the first time in his life he ever tasted real despair.

*****