Nobela ni Barbara Rose

“Are you sure about this?” Blaze asks, lips pulled into a thin line of disapproval while he stares up at the building - some breakfast place where he and his brother agreed to meet. Though he was now coming to regret that decision. “It’s never too late to change your mind, y’know? We could still call them and cancel-“Quickly, Liviana shakes her head, insisting otherwise. “No, we can’t do that,” she says, fixing the man with a frown full of her own disapproval.He scoffs before he can think better of it, asking, “Why the hell not?” Arguing further before she could answer. “It’s not like we won’t have the chance to see or speak to them ever again.”“It doesn’t matter, Blaze!” Livi chides, reminding him of the promises they’ve made. “We told them we’d be here, so here we are,” she nodded up at the restaurant, insisting that since they’d already come all this way, they couldn’t just leave now. “I’d hate to waste everyone’s time like that,” she huffed, her own regret beginning to creep in

It wasn't until noon the next day that Liviana and Blaze finally emerged from their bedroom, stepping out of the safety of their own little world and into the harsh reality of the world beyond their bedroom door. The one that never seemed to welcome them back in with open arms, but instead, more and more issues to tack onto their never-ending list of problems.Blaze sighs, giving the raven's hand a gentle squeeze, his other hand resting on the knob, waiting. "Are you sure you're ready for this, love?" He glances her way, assuring her there's no shame in waiting another couple of hours if she wasn't. "If you need another day to yourself, that's fine, too. They'll understand," he promised, insisting that even if they didn't at first, by the time he was done talking to them, they'd understand perfectly in the end. Or, at the very least, be accepting enough to leave her be. He'd make sure of that much.Quickly, she's shaking her head, swearing that wasn't necessary. "I'm fine, Blaze. Real

"I didn't mean it, y'know?"Immediately, a frown twists itself onto Liviana's face, and she freezes. At this point, after nearly two hours of basking in the warmth of each other's arms and murmuring sweet apologies, an explanation was the last thing she was expecting. In all honesty, she was hoping they were past the idea of a conversation at all.Livi tenses up against his side, dropping his hand altogether, abandoning the invisible shapes she'd spent the past thirty minutes drawing into the back of it in favor of picking at her own heated skin instead. Quickly, any comfort she'd found in the quiet of their bedroom or his touch - the feel of his body against hers, acting as some sort of shield, teddy bear, and anchor all in one - was soured by the statement, replaced by a sense of impending doom. God, she always hated this part. The one where they had a conversation, and she said too much, and somehow made 'the worst' get even worse. Still, she forces herself to at least try to bear

Liviana locked herself away for what felt like an eternity, hiding for hours on end before, finally, she’s forced to confront the tension she’d been trying her best to avoid, but to no avail. Eventually, she realized it was pointless. She would have to face her husband and his rather daunting silence sooner or later, and with him she would be forced to face that anger he tried so hard to hide from her, as if she hadn’t already bared witness to it more times than even she cared to admit. And honestly, she had no idea what was worse anymore. The way he used to scream and shout and let all his emotions out, no matter how mean or ugly, always letting every thought fly freely from his mouth without so much as a second thought or a single regard for how it could hurt her, how it would make her feel, or the unwavering silence he so often wore like armor now, almost using it like a weapon to avoid making all the same mistakes again, fending off his own reckless words before they could cause a

“Tell me again- what did they say exactly?”Liviana huffs, watching as the man paces in front of her, a look on his face that screams with utter exhaustion. He was so sick of this - of her. And the kicker? They’d hardly even started.“Just that they wanted me to speak to you and your parents about this- this thing,” she explains with a shrug, at a loss. She was just as frustrated and confused as he was, but she tried to be kinder about it - to have patience for the man she’d become entirely too dependent on.Though it seemed as though he didn’t have the same sentiment. “What else?” he snaps, impatient and so obviously irritated that Livi can’t help but falter.“They want me to try to sell their idea. Something about a- a-“ she stutters, trying to recall what the two women had told her exactly, but she couldn’t. She was hardly even given a chance.“About a... What?” He rushes, snapping his fingers like he could magically conjure up the answer on his own. “What was their idea? What do t

Liviana stared at the two like they’d each grown an extra head, eyes blown wide like she couldn’t believe what she’d just been told, like she couldn’t even begin to comprehend what was being asked of her this time around.Slowly, she blinks out of her daze, eyes darting between the two, waiting for someone to crack first. When neither do, she’s forced to find the words and speak. “I’m sorry... you want me to do what?” She asks, voice straining in her disbelief, desperately trying to find the mind to deal with this - with them, and yet another one of their crazy ideas.Drusilla shrugs, repeating herself like it was no big deal. Like she wasn’t asking the world of her daughter. “Well, we just thought that since you’re a Castelli now, and you have a seat at their table-““That, what?” She asks, almost daring her mother to finish the question. Maybe then she would hear how ridiculous she sounded. “That I could get you a seat at the table, too? That I’m actually some sort of golden ticket?