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.
“You really don’t know what happened?”“No,” Leona answered, voice flat as she stared down at her phone screen.“You’re sure they didn’t mention anything?” Violet continued, practically interrogating the woman, who couldn’t be less interested. “Anything at all?”“Nope. Nothing.”“Really?” Violet pressed her. “Nothing?”Leo sighed, confirming again that no, they didn’t tell her a damn thing. “If they had, I would’ve told you by now,” she swore.The disbelief is written across Violet’s face and evident in the way she rolled her eyes. “Sure, you would,” she muttered, turning away from the woman with another heavy sigh, knowing that their history said otherwise.Leona scoffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”The blonde shook her head, answering, “Nothing...”“No, what was that?” Leona demanded. “You don’t believe me?”“I never said that.”“But you implied it,” Leo shot back, lifting a brow as she asked, “Why? Do you not trust me anymore?”Another sigh. “Leo, please. Don’t start.”The woma
“Can we help you with something?”The sound of Armani’s voice, sharp and straight to the point, cut in from his left, and Blaze sighed at the sound.“Mani-“ he tried to step in, tried to tell him not to bother, that it wasn’t worth it, but he wouldn’t listen.“No,” Armani held his hand up to silence him, his eyes trained on the temperamental man behind them. He took quick notice of the white powder dusted across the side of his nostril, but didn’t let it deter him. “The man obviously has a problem with us, and I want to know what it is.”Blaze scoffed and shoved his hand away. “Well, I don’t, so-““So go,” Armani waved him off. “I want to hear what he has to say. What’s the problem?” He turned in his seat, leaning back onto the bar as he took the man in, and the small group that lingered behind him. The sight had him laughing before he could think better of it. “Aw, and he even brought his emotional support friends!” he joked, nudging his brother before he paused, sighed, and added, “
The time flew by inside the pub, with drinks and music and endless rounds of pool to help the Castelli brothers pass the time. And once they started, once they stepped back into their dangerous little routine that had the drinks pouring and their minds racing, they couldn’t stop. They drank more, played more, and cared even less about the consequences than they had before.Blaze didn’t bother to track his drinks and dropped his brother’s tally too, trading in his old worries for new ones. He lost himself somewhere around his third or fourth drink when he got louder, sloppier, reckless in the way he spoke and carried himself.And maybe he didn’t realize that or maybe he didn’t care, but it only got worse as time went on, and by midnight Blaze would have half the bars attention on him, flicking over every so often to check in or glare when he’d make too much noise.Blaze paid them no mind and kept his attention glued to himself, his brother, and their evening. He completely missed how o
“Are you sure about this?”Liviana swallowed whatever hesitation remained. “Uh-huh.” She lied - rather poorly, she had to admit.Next to her, in the passenger seat, Violet cocked a brow and asked, “Really? You’re sure?”Her jaw tightened, as did her fingers around the steering wheel. “Mhm,” she hummed, eyes glued to the road ahead of them. She tried to ignore the weight of Violet’s heavy stare, and the way her eyes seemed to burn through her, all thoughtful and knowing at once.It was overwhelming, and it took everything she had not to cave under the pressure. She tried to avoid her eyes, as if that would help.“Really?” Violet repeated the question, utterly unconvinced, even when Liviana nodded and insisted that yes, she was really sure. She wanted to go out. She needed to.Livi was desperate for an escape.For a long second, Violet only stared. She watched her, considered her, played with her words while carefully choosing her own. “Okay, then...” She chewed on the question for a m
Liviana stepped out of the bathroom with one goal: to forget everything.Forget her husband, and their marital problems, and that one broken promise that seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, though she had no idea why.Why did today feel so different? So detrimental? So disappointing
Dinner passed by in a blur, smoother once the tension settled, the chaos dissipating into quiet conversation as everyone tried to ignore the elephant in the room - Liviana and her obvious lies.The raven sat in silence as they ate, merely poking at her own food as her mind ran in circles, eyes dart
The man shifted nervously where he stood, perched against the brick walls of the old bar, finger hovering above the button while he second-guessed everything.What if she didn’t answer? What if she did, and everything he feared came true? The thought of hearing her say it - that she hated him, that
Blaze and Armani were more than just brothers. They were friends, too. Best friends. Confidants. And there wasn’t anyone else in the whole world who proved to be as loyal or kind. There wasn’t anyone else they could trust. Not with their deepest, darkest secrets or the emotions they could never qui
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