JOYYの小説

┈◆┈┈◇┈┈•⊰⊱•┈◆┈◇┈┈ Leonardo ┈◆┈┈◇┈┈•⊰⊱•┈◆┈◇┈┈A soft thud hit against my door before it flung open without waiting for permission.Gloria stepped inside with the usual confidence she carried everywhere, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor as her gaze moved between Natalie and I.A faint smirk pulled at the corner of her lips. “Well… this feels strangely domestic.”Natalie shifted awkwardly beside me while I leaned back against the couch, completely unimpressed by Gloria's timing.“You usually wait for permission before entering rooms," I said dryly."And you usually avoid getting shot,” she replied smoothly, her eyes dropping briefly to the bandage wrapped around my arm. "Yet here we are." Natalie looked between us carefully, like she was trying to understand whether we were arguing or simply talking normally.With Gloria the line has always been thin. “What do you want?" I asked.Gloria walked towards the bar area and poured herself a drink with the comf

❈─────≪ °❀° ≫─────❈ Natalie ❈─────≪ °❀° ≫─────❈I stood in front of the window in my room with my arms folded tightly across my chesr, staring beyond the estate gates while the evening sky painted the grounds gold.From up here the estate looked peaceful, almost too peaceful for a place carrying as many secrets as this one did, yet the calm outside did nothing to settle the uneasiness growing steadily inside me.Leonardo's car still had not returned.My phone suddenly rang against the table beside me, pulling me out of my thoughts instantly.Mama.I answered before the second ring. “Mama," I breathed immediately."Stephen?” I asked quickly. "Is he back?”A softer chuckle came from the other end. "Yes he's home.”Relief crashed into me so fast my knees almost weakened beneath me. “Oh my God," I whispered, laughing shakily as tears filled my eyes. “Thank God." “He's exhausted and dramatic as always, but he's safe," Mama continued. “Now tell me about you. When are you co

┈◆┈┈◇┈┈•⊰⊱•┈◆┈◇┈┈ Leonardo ┈◆┈┈◇┈┈•⊰⊱•┈◆┈◇┈┈I stood behind my desk with a cigarette burning slowly between my fingers, my gaze fixed beyond the glass walls of my room as the darkness outside gradually gave way to morning.Empty wine glasses rested carelessly across the table beside me while the video continued replaying on my phone over and over again, each second of it sharpening the rage sitting quietly beneath my skin.Sebastian had tried to make a statement with that recording, something theatrical meant to provoke a reaction, but using someone uninvolved as a leverage was reckless in a way that disgusted me more than it intimidated me.Stephen had nothing to do with our war. That was the part Sebastian failed to understand or simply did not care about anymore.The sound of the gunshot echoed from my phone again, followed by how the camera shook and my jaw tightened immediately as I shut the video off for what should have been the last time hours ago.Instead, I foun

☠︎︎━━━━━⚔︎━━━━━━☠︎︎ Told From Afar☠︎︎━━━━━⚔︎━━━━━━☠︎︎The room was not silent, but it felt like silence had lived there for to long and forgotten how to leave, because even the smallest sounds carried weight inside it; The faint dragging of chains against concrete, the occasional drip of water somewhere beyond the walls and the uneven breathing of men who understood too late that fear arrived long before pain ever did.A single overhead light flickered occasionally, not enough to plunge the room into darkness but enough to make everything appear unstable and uncertain.Sebastian stood several feet away from the centre of the room, far enough to avoid the mess and close enough to control it. His posture relaxed in a way that made him more unsettling rather than less.Nothing about him suggested urgency, not the calm position of his hands resting on a chair, not the slow rise and fall of his chest and certainly not the expression resting across his face.Because Sebastian rarely loo

┈◆┈┈◇┈┈•⊰⊱•┈◆┈◇┈┈ Leonardo ┈◆┈┈◇┈┈•⊰⊱•┈◆┈◇┈┈ The elevator chimed and the doors slid open just as she stepped out too quickly like she had moved without thinking and only to realize it after she was already here. She stopped immediately, the motion abrupt to make it obvious that she had not intended to be here, her eyes landing on the table. Wrong place. Wrong time. For a second, nothing adjusted to her presence in the way most spaces naturally would when someone unexpected entered, because nothing within this house functioned on instinct or courtesy. Everything remained exactly as it was; deliberate, controlled, while she stood there like something that didn't belong. You're not going to stand there all day, are you?" Padrino said, his attention still on his plate, his to e carrying the kind of casual authority that did not require repetition to be understood. Palmira glanced softly at her, "He's inviting you to the table.” “Uh?" Natalie shook her head immediately, a

❈─────≪ °❀° ≫─────❈ Natalie ❈─────≪ °❀° ≫─────❈Soft sunlight filtered through the curtains, brushing against my face and pulling a slow breath from me as my eyes opened.I stirred slowly, stretching just a little before a sharp sting at my neck forced me to stop. The pain wasn't sudden; it crept in, steady and deep, reminding me of something my mind hadn't fully caught up with yet.I exhaled, adjusting against the bed. Then came a knock.“Come in,” I said, my voice softer than usual.The door swung open as the nurse stepped inside."Good morning, Natalie,” she greeted with a warm smile. "How was your night? How are you feeling?”I returned the smile automatically. “I'm okay." She studied me briefly as though deciding whether to believe that, then stepped closer to check the IV.Only then did I notice what she was wearing; a simple nightwear, a bonnet loosely tied over her hair. Not a hospital uniform."You slept here last night?” I asked, frowning slightly.She nodde