๋࣭ ⭑⚝
Bromeley City - Airport Arrival
The plane landed with a soft thud, jolting Harriet awake.
Blinking sleepily, she pulled her jacket tighter and glanced outside at the busy airport below.
Her heart raced with excitement. Soon... I'll see him.
She hurried through the terminal, dragging her suitcase and clutching the small gift bag close to her side.
The black lace lingered at the bottom of the bag, hidden - but her cheeks still burned when she thought about it.
---
Meanwhile - Fred's Hidden Moves
Inside a dimly lit room somewhere near the Bromeley airport, Fred's men were already stationed.
A man spoke into a burner phone, his voice clipped.
"She's landed. She's heading to meet him now."
Fred, on the other end of the line, said nothing.
Just listening - his jaw tense, his knuckles white from gripping the glass of wine he was holding.
He imagined Harriet smiling at another man, imagined that gift bag in her hands not meant for him.
A feeling twisted deep in his chest - cold and sharp like a blade.
"You don't even know what you're doing to me," he thought bitterly.
---
Later - Outside Rufei's Apartment Building
Harriet stepped out of the taxi, her suitcase trailing behind her, a small gift bag clutched to her chest.
Her heart raced with nervous excitement.
"I'm finally going to see him..."
She hurried toward the entrance, her smile shy but bright -
until she froze.
Across the glass doors, she spotted Rufei.
And he wasn't alone.
A girl from his company - the sly one - stood close.
Far too close.
Before Harriet could even blink -
-the girl leaned forward and kissed Rufei directly on the lips.
Not a cheek.
Not an accident.
A real kiss.
Harriet's world tilted violently.
The gift bag slipped from her fingers.
Her chest twisted in agony.
Tears welled up in her wide, stunned eyes.
Without waiting for an explanation - without seeing Rufei immediately shove the girl away -
Harriet turned and ran.
The cold wind slapped against her face as she stumbled through the streets.
Her dreams - her efforts - all crumbling behind her like ash.
---
Across the Street - Fred's Man
From inside a parked black car, Fred's man watched everything through the rain-smeared window.
He cursed under his breath and grabbed his phone.
"Boss," he said urgently. "It's bad."
Fred's voice came low and lethal:
"Speak."
The man glanced back at Harriet's retreating figure.
"She saw the guy... another woman... kissing.
She ran away, boss. Looked like her heart shattered."
For a long moment, there was nothing but silence on the line.
Then Fred's voice came back, a dangerous growl:
"Don't let her disappear.
And find out everything about that man - now."
The man gulped, sensing the cold fury beneath those words.
"I'll handle it personally."
---
Meanwhile - At Fred's Penthouse
Fred stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring into the black rain-soaked city.
His phone slipped into his pocket.
In one smooth, violent motion -
he slammed his fist into the wall.
The sound echoed sharply in the empty room.
A small trickle of blood ran down his knuckles, but Fred didn't even flinch.
His eyes burned with a fury colder than ice.
"You made her cry..." he whispered, voice low and filled with a dangerous promise.
"I warned you..."
Lightning flashed outside, illuminating the shadowed lines of his face.
---
Outside in the City Streets - Night
Harriet ran blindly through the night.
The cold rain blurred her vision, mixing with the tears she didn't bother to wipe away.
She didn't know where she was going - she just knew she had to get away.
"Stupid..." she choked out, hugging herself.
"Why did I think..."
Behind her, the streets buzzed with life, but Harriet felt utterly alone.
Completely invisible.
She stumbled into a side street, leaning heavily against a wall, gasping for air.
The memory of Rufei and the girl kissing burned itself into her mind -
no matter how tightly she shut her eyes.
The small gift she brought - a carefully chosen present - was crushed in her hands.
---
[Fred's Private Room - Midnight]
The room was dim, the only light coming from the city beyond the window.
Fred's phone buzzed once.
He picked it up lazily - until he heard the man's urgent voice.
> "Boss... it's about Harriet."
A sharp pause.
Fred's hand gripped the phone tighter, his knuckles whitening. His wine glass cracked slightly in his other hand.
His voice was dangerously low:
> "Where is she now?"
> "Wandering the city... she's crying, Boss. We're tracking her."
The air seemed to drop several degrees.
Fred's jaw tightened as he stood up, eyes burning with something raw and unreadable.
> "Don't lose her."
He tossed the broken glass aside, grabbed his coat in one motion, and strode toward the door - the storm inside him finally breaking free.
---
To be continued...
***