Chapter One | Sacrifice

"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. "You can't leave us here. We won't make it. We need you."

"You don't need me." Emilia assures. "You never did. You're strong Livi, you always have been. The only thing I did was remind you."

"And I need you to keep reminding me."

"You don't." She shakes her head, pulling the girl into a hug when the tears start to fall. "You don't need me, Livi, you never have. If anything, I needed you."

"Then why are you leaving me?" Liviana cries, burying her face into her sister's shoulder as she holds onto her tightly, as if it was the last hug they would ever have. As far as she knew, it was.

"I'm not leaving you. I'm leaving them." She corrects. "I can't marry a man I've never met. I can't marry someone for business instead of love. And I refuse to just be another bridge for our parents to use to get what they want. That's not the life that I want."

"And so you're just going to leave? Just like that?" Liviana asks, hurt clear in her voice as she pulls away, looking at her older sister in disbelief. "You're not even going to try?"

"I have tried ⏤ I've been trying for years." Emilia defends. "I'm tired, Livi, I am so tired. And I need to go before it's too late, before I'm stuck here for the rest of my life. I would rather take the risk of running and being caught, then staying and having my future planned out for me. So, please, Liviana, let me go."

At her sister's pleas, Liviana knew that she would be leaving with or without her blessing. She also knew that if she told her parents Emilia had run away, they would catch her and they would kill her. She couldn't let that happen.

"Okay." Livi mumbles with a nod. "Go."

Emilia smiles, a thankful smile as she pulls her sister back into her arms, holding her tight. "Thank you, Livi." She whispers. "I love you."

"I love-"

"Liviana!" Her name is screamed as she slammed her door open, waking her from her light slumber. The girl groans quietly as her dream fades. Only it wasn't a dream, it was a reality, the reality of the night before when she agreed to help her sister run away, despite the consequences she knew would come to them after. "Wake up, you lying, little witch." Drusilla hisses, ripping the blankets off her daughter's body.

Liviana squints her eyes up at her mother, clearly confused by her words. "Good morning?"

Drusilla doesn't return the pleasantry, continuing to glare down at her youngest daughter. "Where is Emilia?"

Liviana pushes herself up onto her elbows, feigning concern. "Is she not in her bedroom?" She asks, head tilting in wonder.

"If she was I would not be in here talking to you, now would I?" Is the woman's response talking to her daughter as if she was stupid and a waste of time. "Tell me, where is your sister?"

"I'm not sure." She answers. Technically, it wasn't a lie. She had no clue where Emilia was right now, just that she was gone.

"So help me, Liviana. If you're lying to me right now, we will make you regret it." Drusilla threatens, pointing a finger in her daughter's face.

"I swear, mother, i don't know where Emilia is." She promises the woman who looks her over for any signs of lying, humming when she finds none. "If I did, I would tell you." No, she wouldn't. "I promise."

Drusilla hums, turning to walk away, going to join her husband in questioning their son instead, but that was more pointless than questioning her ⏤ Tino didn't even know their sister left.

---

"I knew we shouldn't have told her until it was time." Alonzo scoffs. "I told you she would try to run if she knew. We should have waited until it was too late."

"You wanted to just spring it on her the day of?" Drusilla shakes her head. "That's ridiculous."

"At least she wouldn't have had the chance to run." He reminds, glaring down at his wife. "This is your fault. You figure out a way to fix it." He orders lowly, looking down on her as if she were a disgrace ⏤ the way he looked at all of his family, except Tino, his only son.

"Fix it how, Alonzo? What do you expect me to do? Hunt her down and force her down the aisle?" She scoffs, pushing out of her chair to storm away. "You're 'the boss', you fix it!"

"Drusilla!" He yells, demanding she come back.

Liviana shares a look with Tino, the two staying silent through their parents' outburst. They knew better than to intervene. It was a mistake they had made one too many times, and it never ended well for them.

An unsettling silence falls over them, the siblings too afraid to break it while the father only refused to acknowledge them, thankfully.

They weren't sure they could handle it if he did.

"The Castelli's want to know about the dinner where we were supposed to introduce Emilia and Blaze." Drusilla announces, walking back into the dining room as if she hadn't stormed off a moment earlier.

"Tell them our selfish, ungrateful brat of a daughter ran away, so everything will have to be pushed off until we find her." He says. "And if she's still alive after we do, we will move forward with the wedding."

"What..." Livi trails, hesitating to ask the question that she assumed she wouldn't like the answer to, because she knew what it would be, but the confirmation would make her sick.

"God, spit it out already." The father huffs impatiently.

"What do you mean 'if'?" She forces the question out, looking between her parents. "What are you going to do if you find her?"

Alonso and Drusilla share a look, their silence answer enough, but the man still gives her the answer she was looking for, the words she feared as he confirms her thoughts.

"We'll kill her."

"You'd kill your own daughter?!" Livi bursts, standing up from her seat in shock. It was one thing to think about it and know it could be a possibility, but it was another to have it confirmed and become a reality, a fate. "What is wrong with you?!"

"Livi- " Tino tries, knowing what would happen if they stepped out of line.

"No!" she yells, pushing him away when he places a hand on her arm, a silent warning to calm down. "They're monsters!" She screams, looking into the eyes of her father, the man responsible for everything wrong in their lives. "You're the reason she's gone, and you'd still kill her for that? It's your fault!"

"Liviana, enough." Her mother warns, glancing warily at her husband, waiting for him to snap.

"And you." She turns, looking Drusilla up and down in disgust. "You'd let him kill her, too, wouldn't you? You always do everything he wants. Even if it meant killing your own daughter."

"I do what I'm told." Drusilla tells her, voice stern and full of warning. "You should too, if you know what's best for you."

Liviana laughs in disbelief. Why? She didn't know. This was something that wasn't only believable, but something that had already happened many, many times before.

"You're threatening me now, too?" She scoffs, shaking her head. "Of course you are. That's how a mother is supposed to treat her children, right? Like they're worthless?"

"Livi, let's just calm down." Tino suggests quietly, seeing his parents' patience drain faster with every thoughtless word that flies out of his sister's mouth. "Please, take a deep breath and think about what you're doing right now."

"I am thinking about what I'm doing-"

"You're clearly not." Drusilla insists. "If you were, you would have shut your trap a long time ago."

"I could say the same thing about you." Liviana retorts, looking over at her father. "Marrying a man like him? You must be brain dead."

A slap sounds throughout the room, and Liviana gasps, holding a hand to her burning cheek.

"Father!" Tino yells, pulling his sister away.

"You better watch your mouth when speaking about me or your mother. We are your parents and you will respect us, unless you want to meet the same fate as your sister." He threatens.

Words seem to evaporate from Liviana's brain as she stares at the floor, eyes empty as she's taken back into her shell, hand still holding her reddening cheek.

She's forgotten the consequences for standing up to her parents, she hadn't done it in nearly a decade, since she was sixteen and brave ⏤ when she had someone who protected her and gave her the courage she needed when it came to her parents.

But she didn't have him anymore, and she didn't have that courage either.

But she still had compassion, empathy, and loyalty. Maybe that was all she needed to protect her sister.

"What do I need to do for you to leave Emilia alone?"

"Do you know where she is?" Alonzo demands to know.

"No." She denies. "But I still want to help her. She shouldn't have to lose her life just because she doesn't want to marry a man she doesn't even know."

"No one does." Drusilla says. "But we all have to make sacrifices for the better of this family and our business. This time it's Emilia's turn."

"What if it's my turn?" Liviana mumbles, voice so quiet even she could barely hear it.

The father makes a noise of annoyance. "Speak up, Liviana. You know we hate it when you mumble."

"What if I marry Blaze instead?" She proposes sacrificing herself in place of her sister. She didn't care about her future, not if it meant Emilia got to go live out her dreams - she would just have to live enough for the both of them. "I can take Emilia's place in the arrangement, and you let her go."

"Livi." Tino shakes his head. He didn't want her to do this. He couldn't lose both of his big sisters.

"Will you let her go if I do this?" She ignores him, only placing a hand on his arm as comfort. For who? She told herself it was for him, but really, it was for her, too.

The parents share a look of contemplation, unsure if they were willing to let Emilia off the hook so easily. But what choice did they have? If they didn't have a bride for Blaze Castelli, the deal was off and they would not only lose business and money, they would also lose their credibility and respect. They would be damned to put a stain on their perfect reputation.

"I suppose you're engaged now, Liviana. Congratulations."