LOGINBlaze and Liviana left without so much as another word, fleeing the penthouse hand in hand and in a silence that spoke volumes. They were both utterly exhausted, and although they were relieved to find themselves safely tucked into the solitude of his car after such a long, demeaning day, there was something left unsaid, something that was rotting away in between them that tainted any sense of comfort they could've found from the space. Instead, as soon as they're inside, settling into the tension-packed car, the silence begins to eat them alive. Livi's mind raced faster than the car they were in, practically running in circles with all those same thoughts, all the same dreadful scenarios that haunted her perspective on life. All those little doubts and her greatest fears, and the 'what if's' that kept her up at night and made her sick with worry. Worried that she'd done something wrong, something so awful that this - whatever this was, whether it was some kind of sick joke or karmic
Liviana wasn't sure why she was so nervous to see her husband again - it had only been two hours since she'd left him at the family manor, after all. It hadn't been long at all, but for some reason, it felt like an eternity. It felt like she could be walking into the arms of a totally new person, and she worried if she would even know it or if she'd still be as clueless as she was when they first got married, missing every sign he'd sent her until it seemed to be almost too late. Almost. Still, despite her unwavering nerves and that vindictive voice in the back of her head that spoke ruthless nonsense, lie after lie about how he didn't want her - he hated her now, and he meant what he said before, about being sick of her - and endless words of ridiculous cruelty she forces herself to ignore, she marches forward. She takes a deep breath, denying each and every negative thought her sick and twisted mind tries to force on her as she waits at the elevator doors, every passing second feel
It didn’t take the two women more than an hour for them to collect themselves. They showered, cleansed themselves of both blood and bad energy, and changed their clothes, taking no more than a second or two more than they had to in an excuse to gather their bearings before they were meeting back up in the living room and, suddenly, it was time to have that dreadful conversation that, in the end, wasn’t all that dreadful.As soon as the two sat down and the silence slowly but surely began to fade, taking any awkwardness or tension with it, the conversation flowed between them easily. Naturally, even. Like they were always meant to be here and do this - speak, listen, and understand each other. Help and support each other. Like it was fate that they were the last two sisters standing. And who knew? Maybe it was. Fate certainly sounded better than the alternative - Amara and whatever Masterplan she was trying to execute this time. At least, Livi sure thought so. But from the sounds of it
The car ride was filled with an awkward silence and a million unanswered questions that had Liviana's head spinning with worry - mostly for her husband. Where was he now? Would he really come home? When? What would it mean when - if - he did? Would he be different? Would this change their lives - their marriage - as they know it? Was her life about to change forever again, and she didn't even know it?God, she couldn't even imagine the change, the damage, the turmoil, of whatever was to come. She couldn't stomach the thought of another day spent trying to clean up the mess left behind when her life, once again, was flipped upside down and she was thrown for a loop like it was a fun sport for the divines that made her. The ones that put her here in the first place. The same ones whose plan she's always tried to trust and believe in, even on her worst days, but now... Now she wasn't sure they had anything more than a very sick, very cruel sense of humor, and a taste for trouble, for som
It felt like a million years had passed by while Liviana sat in that car, stuck, and by the time she heard another peep from anyone inside that dreadful house, she could've sworn she'd driven herself mad a million little times by now, all with thoughts of him - her husband.Was he okay? Would she see him again? Of course, she knew she would. But that didn't stop her tortured mind from throwing all the possibilities at her, no matter how slim and unlikely. So, she couldn't help but wonder, what if something happened to him and she really was the last to walk out that door? What if that was the last time she saw him? What if that was the last time he saw her? Running away from him? Leaving him behind? For... what? For his family to tear apart like they would any other helpless victim of theirs? Like he wasn't their son? Their brother? Her husband? Would he think that she'd let them? That she just abandoned him?God, just the thought was sickening, and it almost had Liviana ready to jump
The chaos broke out again in loud voices carried out by years of pent up emotion - over twenty years of anger, resentment, and something like guilt that came spilling out in uncontrollable waves of Castelli fire and, for a long moment, it was hard to hear over all the noise. Liviana could hardly make out any real words aside from all the accusations and the names and insults that were being thrown until, suddenly, those harsh words turned into even harsher fists, punches being thrown left and right when, out of nowhere, Amara and Violet are charging at one another all over again when - to no one's surprise - Amara is crossing another line and Violet decides enough is enough.It's when Amara mentions her past - her family - that Violet snaps, refusing to hear such horrible things being said about her parents, her siblings, the people she loves, just because they weren't as fortunate as the 'great, all-powerful Castelli's.' She wouldn't allow her own flesh and blood to be ridiculed for







