Chapter 4
I didn’t flinch. I stared down at the water. But all I could see were the silver glints of that hairpin, glinting under the moonlight.
I didn’t cry. I didn’t speak. Because at that moment, I realized something: she didn’t fall. She performed.
And he jumped to save the show.
But me? I was done playing as their audience.
Hakeem climbed back onto the yacht, soaked to the bone, Margaret in his arms like she was made of glass. Her head lolled, limbs limp. He laid her down on the deck and immediately started CPR. Chest compressions. Mouth–to–mouth. His hands shook as he pushed, breath catching on her name.
“Margaret,” he whispered, over and over. “Stay with me. Breathe. Please, baby-”
I watched from the other side of the deck, clothes dripping, knees raw from the polished wood. And through the tears in my eyes, I saw it. Just for a second. Margaret’s mouth twitched. Not in pain. Not in panic. But in a smile. She was pretending. The cough that followed was exaggerated. Mournful. Weak. The perfect little performance.
Hakeem let out a choked breath and pulled her into his arms the moment she started sobbing. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
My chest burned. Not from jealousy. Not even from rage. But from the weight of truth–that I would never win against a ghost.
He looked at me like I was the infection in his perfect night. Like my very existence had ruined everything.
“You humiliated her,” he said.
“She jumped,” I croaked. “You saw it, she jumped herself.” But it didn’t matter. Margaret whimpered into his chest again. just loud enough for everyone to hear. Her voice cracked.
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“Hakeem… I was so scared…”
That was it.
He stood up slowly. Turned to his guards.
“Strip her down.”
I flinched. “No! Wait, Hakeem-”
“Do it.”
They grabbed me. Tore my dress from my body like it meant nothing. I fought, but it didn’t matter. I was dragged to the center of the deck, bare under the spotlight, salt water drying
on my skin.
The whip cracked before I could scream. The first lash tore through skin and nerves, lightning–bright pain flashing across my back. Guests gasped. Some turned away. Some watched. The second hit made me stumble. The third made me bleed. By the fourth, I was coughing…violently. I tasted copper. Then blood hit the floor. A lot of it.
I fell to my knees, trembling, arms barely holding me up as more blood spilled from my mouth.
I heard Hakeem’s footsteps running. He knelt in front of me, cupping my face roughly. “What the fuck! Harmony?!”
My lips were red. Dripping. I tried to speak but couldn’t. Then behind him Margaret suddenly doubled over, coughing loud, gagging. Dramatic, practiced.
“Something’s wrong,” she sobbed. “I can’t breathe…”
That was all it took. Hakeem stood up in panic. Shouted toward the bridge.
“Get the med team! I need the fucking helipad cleared, NOW!”
They carried Margaret away like she was made of gold. And me? He turned cold again. Didn’t even glance back.
“Bring her home,” he told the guards. “Lock her in the basement.”
They dragged me by the arms through the lower deck, past the shocked eyes of strangers, the stained memories of roses and red wine. Through the private corridor, into the black car waiting at the dock.
That night, I didn’t sleep in silk. I slept on a cold stone. Beneath the house I once ruled.
While she lay in a hospital bed, faking every breath.
And Hakeem… still hadn’t learned to see the difference.
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The next morning, his men took me out again from the basement. I didn’t even have a chance to change my clothes or clean my wounds. The car ride was fast. Violent. No one said a word. When we stopped, I stepped out into the rain. Cold. Heavy. It soaked my clothes in seconds, but that wasn’t what made me freeze.
It was where we were.
Cemetery.
No. Not here!
My heart dropped. I took a step back, chest tightening. Panic wrapped around my ribs like
a vice.
“Hakeem,” I breathed. “Please. Don’t do this. Not here.”
He was already standing a few feet away, still as stone, rain dripping off his coat. He didn’t speak at first. Just stared at me like he didn’t recognize me anymore.
Then: “You’re not listening. You haven’t been listening for a long time. And now… I’ve got no other way to get through to you.” He turned to his men. Nodded once.
“Start digging.”
“No!” I ran, screaming, shoving at the guards. “Don’t touch her! Don’t you fucking dare touch her!” But Hakeem moved quicker. He grabbed me, yanked me back by the waist, spun me around and held my chin with one hand, steel–hard.
“You disobeyed me,” he growled. “You humiliated her. You mocked her pain. Now you’re gonna understand what loss actually feels like.”
I kicked. I struggled. My lungs burned from screaming. But no one stopped. No one cared. The ground cracked open in front of me. Shovels slammed into wet soil, flinging mud into the air as they dug past the stone markers and through the freshly packed earth.
Then I saw it.
My mother’s urn.
Black. Rain–slicked. Covered in dirt. Everything in me shattered.
“No! Please!” I dropped to my knees, throat raw. “That’s all I have left of her, Hakeem. Don’t do this. I’m begging you.”
He crouched beside the grave, staring at the urn like it was nothing but a paperweight. Then he spoke…quiet, even. Like this was business.
“The doctor gave me the report this morning.”
I froze.
“She went into short–term respiratory arrest from water inhalation and impact trauma. And they found a dislocated hip, nerve strain, too. Recovery will take months. And even then…” he trailed off.
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“She may never dance again. You knew how she loves dancing but you took that from her.” He glanced at me. But there was no warmth. No love. Just cold resolve. “You think I’m gonna let that slide?”
I shook my head, sobbing. “She faked it, Hakeem, she jumped! You saw her smile-”
“You broke her. So now I break yours.” And then, without hesitation… He dropped the urn.
It hit the mud–covered ground and shattered. Ash burst upward. Caught in the wind. Swirled in the rain like smoke from a funeral pyre.
I screamed. It didn’t even sound human. I dropped forward, trying to gather the pieces, hands clawing through the mud, through the shards, through the wet bone–dust of what used to be my mother. Ash stuck to my skin. Washed down my arms in gray rivers. I tore off my coat, tried to cover what I could. But it was all being washed away.
