A Quiet Kind of Ruin のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 1 - チャプター 9

Two years had passed since I bolted from the chaos that was the Jackson family showdown. I made my escape to a sleepy town on the edge of the south, where I traded my past for a new name and a gig at a local flower shop.To the world, I was another casualty of Hudson City's most notorious mafia feud, presumed dead in the Jackson family's brutal power struggle.I had even convinced myself of that lie.There was an empty grave with my name on it in the family plot, where I would occasionally drop off the freshest white roses, a silent tribute to the 'Eleanor' everyone thought was gone.However, everything changed the day the flower shop door swung open.A big-shot client waltzed in, requesting a floral arrangement for the Jackson family patriarch, Roman Jackson's, birthday bash. I kept my head down, lost in the blooms, until a voice, shaky and filled with disbelief, cut through the silence. "Mrs. Jackson?"The rose I was holding jabbed me, a sharp reminder of reality.I looked up

My heart felt like it had been pierced by a rusted knife, a sharp pain shooting through me.I looked at him, hardly able to believe my ears."She's out to get me..." I managed to choke out, each word heavy with the pain I felt.Roman's expression was all worry and clear favoritism as he said, "I've told you. Liliana lost her parents because of the Jackson family. Sure, she's bitter and can be a bit over the top, but she doesn't actually want to kill you! She's just...just acting out!""She doesn't want to kill me?!" I cut him off, my voice rising with the pent-up hurt and anger of three long years. "She messed with my brakes, and I ended up with three broken ribs!"She poisoned me, and I was out cold for three days! She blew up the deal site. Look at the burns it left me with! And just now, she tried to strangle me with a rope! If the doctor hadn't come in when he did, you'd be looking at a dead body right now!"I was shouting so hard that my wounds started to bleed again, the ba

However, Liliana was not satisfied yet.She pulled out her phone with a lazy grace, pointed it at me, and switched to video mode."Smile for the camera, Mrs. Jackson," she sneered, her eyes cruel and unblinking. "It'd be such a waste not to capture this moment."Tears covered my face, and just when I thought all hope was lost, the door burst open with a loud kick, and Roman finally made his entrance, though late."Eleanor!" He took in the scene with a horrified shout, furiously throwing the two men off me. "You dare lay a hand on my woman? You're asking for it!"He drew his gun and fired twice, crippling each man's leg with a single shot."You're lucky Eleanor's still in one piece, or you'd be dead by now."The two men were quickly dragged off by the Underboss, who had hurried in, and Roman gently wrapped me in his arms, his voice a soothing whisper."It's all right now, Eleanor. Don't be scared. I'm here, and they can't hurt you anymore."As I collapsed into his warm embrace,

Two years of grief thinned Roman to a shadow of his former self.Then, one day, an anonymous email landed in his inbox.He clicked it open, his heart skipping a beat.There, in a series of photos, was Eleanor, the very person he could not stop thinking about.The second he got the lead, he had his Underboss pinpoint Eleanor's location from the buildings in the snapshot. Learning her coordinates, he dropped everything, hopped on the next flight, and zoomed off without a second thought.His heart, locked in ice for two years, was then ablaze with hope, giving him a reason to live.He was desperate to see Eleanor.Even if she could not forgive his past wrongs, even if all he got was a glimpse of her from afar, it would be worth it.However, in the strange city, without knowing where to find her, he roamed the streets, a mess, circling again and again, hoping for a miracle.It seemed luck was on his side.Turning a corner, he spotted the woman he had not stopped thinking about fo

After that, things between us took a weird turn.Roman, who used to just creepily watch me from afar, suddenly got all up in my business, making his every move obvious.First, he started bringing me meals three times a day, and it was pretty clear he was the chef behind the not-so-great-looking grub.Then, every evening, like clockwork, he would show up with fresh flowers in hand.The flowers were from the shop where I clock in and out, a place where the owner once did me a solid.He sought my forgiveness in the most groveling way, bending over backward to win me over.However, how could one piece reshape a bond that had been shattered into bits?All I knew was that Roman, a germophobe, used to whip up meals for Liliana, while I only got a taste of his cooking when he felt guilty enough.All I knew was that Roman had showered Liliana with flowers time and again, yet that was the first time I was on the receiving end.His so-called sweet gestures felt more like he was keeping t