Novel-novel oleh Ashlyn Powers

Chiara was woken up by the repeated sounds of her ringtone. She sat up and looked around her room through hazy vision, trying to tune out the noise as she adjusted herself to reality. When her tiredness had subdued, she carried her phone and glance at the caller id displayed on her phone screen. It was an unknown number, and Chiara suddenly felt the urge to ignore it. Reluctantly, she answered, shuddering as her cild screen brushed against her ear. “H-hello?” She stuttered, suddenly getting a bad feeling. “Chiara? Did I wake you?” She calmed down when she heard Dante’s voice from the other end. “N-no,” She lied, trying not to ask about what happened the previous day. “I woke up a while ago…” “O-okay,” he paused for a while and Chiara could almost imagine him running his hand through his hair. “H-how are you?” She dragged her bottom lip through her teeth. “I’m good, great actually. It’s not like I’m thinking about yesterday or any—“ “It doesn’t sound like you’ve forgotten—“ “I

Chiara wasn’t the kind of person who could talk a sad person out of their depressed state. She was more of the kind of person who would encourage other people to do it, and maybe that was why her father was such a mess. Her father’s mental state wouldn’t encourage her to start now, but with Allegra’s pleading, she felt like she didn’t have a choice.She trailed behind Allegra in silence, mentally preparing herself to be emotionally present. She sighed, suddenly feeling unsure. What was she supposed to say to him?“We’re here,” Allegra suddenly announced, interrupting Chiara’s thoughts. The duo stared silently at the door that divided them and Dante. Allegra turned to Chiara, her face making her seem as nervous as Chiara was. “You know what to do, right? Just talk to him and try to make him feel better.” She didn’t wait for Chiara’s response before she opened the door and pushed Chiara into the room.Chiara stumbled but quickly steadied herself against the door which Allegra had shut.

Chiara had always hated funerals and her hatred became worse after her mother’s passing. The idea of forcefully parting with a loved one on a usually sunny day always made her feel like her emotions were being made a mockery of. Perhaps, because Dante had also had a taste of loss was the reason why they had chosen a cloudy day for Nico’s funeral. She didn’t think it was on purpose. It would have been sunny if they had left for the event earlier.Now dressed in a fitted black dress, Chiara stared at Nico’s picture, trying to convince herself that she felt nothing. He wasn’t someone Chiara knew very well. She only felt so uncomfortable because the world had pinned Nico’s death on her. It felt like this wouldn’t have happened if she never met Dante, if she had agreed to Nico’s terms back then.“Chiara!” She jolted, quickly turning to the source of the sound. It was her grandfather, dressed in a sleek black suit. He never seemed like he was on friendly terms with Dante, and a part of her

It had been a while since Chiara was able to have those quiet days she had savoured before. She used to crave for days without Dante—days she would spend with herself, her family or with work. Now, it seemed the days that she had spent with Dante was what she wanted.It was a particularly quiet day today. The restaurant was virtually empty and the only thing Chiara entertained herself with was the novel that she was reading from her phone. She lacked the inspiration to play anything on her piano. In fact, the only thing she wanted to do was to sleep until Aria woke up.The restaurant’s entrance door swung open and Chiara whipped her head up to look at the person who had entered. It was the man she had talked to yesterday, Stefan, was it?He smiled as he walked up to her, taking a seat on one of the stools in front of the bar table. “Hey, Chiara.”Chiara smiled at him, her gaze shifting to her fingers. She had thought of Stefan a lot since yesterday. He was nice and didn’t make her fee

The tense atmosphere was something Chiara had accustomed herself to since she moved in with Dante, yet as she packed her bags, she felt troubled. She knew she had to fill in for Aria and take care of things at home until her father recovered, but she had never told Dante about it. Sure, she hated the fact that her life was being lived on Dante’s terms, but she didn’t want to cause trouble for her father at the same time.A knock on her door broke her out of her reverie. The door creaked open and Dante walked in, wearing the same cold expression he had on since Chiara visited Aria at the hospital. Dante wasn’t the kind of person to feel bad for someone he didn’t know, so something must have happened to him, but she knew that he wouldn’t tell her.His gaze shifted to her travelling bag and they both tensed, the tension between them becoming more uncomfortably palpable. “Are you planning on leaving? I didn’t give you permission to do that.”Chiara bit down on her lip, her gaze shifting t

Chiara dashed into the hospital, Dante besides her and Allegra a reasonable distance from the two. Her father’s words replayed in her head like a broken record, and her eyes burned with tears that remained unshed. She refused to believe it—not until she had some sort of confirmation.She ran towards the receptionist, who gave her a startled look, and took a deep breath as if it would be any way to calm herself down.“Aria Ricci…” She mumbled, nervously playing with her hair. “S-she’s my sister.”The receptionist nodded and glanced at her computer. After a few agonising moments, she turned back to Chiara and Dante, a sympathetic look on her face as she pointed to a hall a few meters away. She quickly followed the woman’s direction, only stopping when she spotted her father who was pacing around in front of the door of what looked like an operating room.Her heart dropped and she stumbled towards her father. “P-papa! What happened to Aria?”As Lorenzo was about to answer, Dante reached