LOGINWhen Liviana Santora takes her sister's place in an arranged marriage with Blaze Castelli, it isn't only her last name that changes, it's everything she's ever known ⏤ her life, her mind, her heart and soul ⏤ her idea of love. But could the same be said about Blaze?
View MoreTime.
It was a funny thing. Confusing and scary, dreadful.
For some, it was much more positive than that. They found hope in time.
"Time heals all wounds."
They looked forward to the next day ⏤ the next week ⏤ month ⏤ year, and so on.
They anticipated getting older and the change that time would bring them. The wisdom and knowledge ⏤ the experiences they would have in that time, the ones you're told to enjoy because they happen in the best years of your life and time flies, so you're supposed to enjoy it while it lasts.
Liviana never knew what the hell those people were talking about.
"Time flies," yet her days dragged on until she gave up and ended them early, crawling into her bed at merely 6pm just to make it feel like the day was over and she had made it.
"Time heals all wounds," but why hadn't it healed hers? She still sat in pain, waiting for it to lessen with each passing day, but it never did. If anything, it only hurt worse.
Time is something Liviana hated. She loathed the whole idea of it. The fear, the hope, the pressure of it. Everything.
It wasn't until she met Blaze Castelli that she understood what everyone talked about, how they warned her to not waste time, as it's something you can never get back.
She wished she had listened.
Now, as she sat in this cold, empty room, bloodied and broken, she wished that she hadn't wasted that year on things that, looking back, seemed so minor compared to what she was going through now.
She wished that instead of arguments, she would have just apologized and held him close, like everytime was the last.
Instead of ignoring his existence, she would have told him how much she appreciated him, and how much he had done for her in their short time together.
She wished that instead of 'I hate you', she could tell him how much she loves him, that there was nothing he could ever do to make her truly hate him.
But she didn't, and now it was too late, because she never knew if she would see him again.
Time was something Liviana hated, but it was also something she took for granted.
And now it seems as though her time is running out.
The room was still buzzing with energy, the air still thick with a stubborn kind of tension they couldn't seem to shake no matter how hard they tried, forced to sit and play nice while Leona told her story all over again, start to finish, this time without any of the usual interruptions. It wasn't easy to get them there, as the second Blaze dragged his sister back into the bar, hauling her over to the couch by her arm and practically tossing her onto the leather seat, the tension seemed to double tenfold, and whatever light remained was quickly flushed out by the dark cloud she carried over her head, frowning and grumbling through every thoughtless word she spoke, rambling through the details of how they'd gotten here. Leona did her best to explain, sharing her feelings first and telling them how sad she's been feeling lately, feeling isolated and alone, totally misunderstood, and how Amara's audacious phone call only made it worse. She said she felt like an outsider - the black she
"You know, I'm getting real tired of having to chase your ass around!" Blaze huffed as he caught his sister's thin wrist, forcing her to a stop for all of a second. "Could you please just slow down? Talk to me? Maybe explain why the hell you-" "No!" She was quick to shoot him down and snatch her wrist away, stumbling back a step from the force. Still, she doesn't stop, doesn't slow down, doesn't even look at him as she turned to storm away. "I'm done trying to explain myself! I'm done trying to play nice, okay? I'm going home!" He couldn't help but scoff, the sound coming out half-amused, half-disbelieving as he echoed the words back to her quietly, repeating them with a question. "Play nice? When have you ever done that?" Trailing slowly behind her.His words - the teasing lilt to them, like he knew her better than that, and knew she'd never do such a thing - knew she barely knew what nice was - pulled a tattered groan from her throat, the woman stopping in her tracks to throw her
The bar was buzzing with tension, the air turning heavy, thick, filled with cigarette smoke and every unsaid word, thought, and feeling they couldn't be bothered to share - they didn't know how, didn't know what to do or say or how to explain, where to even begin, so they didn't. They didn't speak, didn't dare to try, and let the silence eat them alive. After everything, it didn't seem worth it to fight. Not anymore. Not when it was obvious where their parents stood, and who they stood with...Defeated, Blaze sighed, letting his eyes close and his head fall back against the couch, eyes slipping shut with the rough, almost pained, sound. "Fuck," he breathed, shifting around on the leather with another deep sigh, one hand squeezing at his drididn'tas some kind of lifeline, the other tapping away the ash off a cigarette he continued to nurse. Anything to drown his sorrows. Livi watched him closely, perched nearby his right side, an ashtray sitting between them and keeping her away. She
The silence was loud, deafening, terrifying, and it threatened to send Liviana down a deep, dark spiral if someone didn't start speaking soon. Besides, wasn't that the point? Isn't that why she came? She could've sworn it was... But looking around the room at people's faces, all dark and gloomy, she began to doubt herself. This looked like a room full of enemies rather than family. As if to prove her right, Leona pipes up - the first to speak in minutes, voice shaky as she asked, "So, what are we waiting for exactly? What is this about?" Across the room, Elara scoffed. "You know very well what this is about!" Quirking a brow, Leo wondered, "Do I?" Shrugging after a moment's worth of thought, declaring, "I really don't think I do..." Blaze huffed a laugh, bitter and unamused, the sound rumbling in his chest and startling Liviana off of It - the raven lifting her head to watch his face. "Then why the hell did you ask us here?" He questioned, turning his sister's way. Livi hummed,
Liviana didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't know what to say, where to sit or where to look - didn't even know where to put her own hands.Her head was empty, mind blank, wiped clean by the anxiety that leaves her with nothing but that sinking feeling in her gut.She tries to ignore it.
Dinner ended soon after that, when Elara brought up the possibility of Liviana becoming the next mafia queen.Conversation died down and as soon as their dishes were empty, everyone rushed off in desperation of getting away from the tension that just kept getting thicker with each passing second, s
"I can't do it Livi. I have to go ⏤ I have to run." "No, you can't!" "I do." Emilia says, cupping her little sister's cheek, a sad smile gracing her lips. "And I need you to let me." "But what about me? A- And Tino?" Liviana stutters out excuses, trying to find a reason for her sister to stay. "
Time. It was a funny thing. Confusing and scary, dreadful. For some, it was much more positive than that. They found hope in time. "Time heals all wounds." They looked forward to the next day ⏤ the next week ⏤ month ⏤ year, and so on. They anticipated getting older and the change that time wou
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