LILY"In the pages of a book, we find an escape and a mirror reflecting our own stories, struggles, and triumphs. I encourage you to share your thoughts openly, fostering an environment where the exchange of ideas becomes a cherished part of our meetings..."I stood amidst the crowd, staring into space, hating the feeling that had enveloped me.Elated. I was supposed to be elated.Running a book club for senior citizens? This was my dream come true. Among the people I loved, what more could I wish for?Alessia delivered a hurried speech with Claudine at her side. Her restless movements and hopeful gaze conveyed her excitement, seeking a reflection of her emotions on my face.My lips twitched, sending her little heart at peace. Beside me, Sarah held my hand, squeezing for comfort. For the second time, I saw her fighting tears and losing."...Let this book club be a source of inspiration, fostering new friendships and providing a space where the love for literature transcends age."Obse
ADLERHe was sober for the first time in months, and it was not because Athena was most likely waiting for him before a church altar but for another reason; he had given hints, but little enough to fly over their heads.Listening to the chatters coming from downstairs, Adler sighed and looked into the mirror; a fresh haircut and a shave didn't hide that he was a shadow of himself.The last four months were no easy feat, waking up to the weight that increased with every thought of her. He wasn't sure how he held on. Did he? That wasn't holding on; sending himself through gruesome torture wasn't holding on.But it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough punishment for being the core culprit of her demise. He was supposed to be there for her. He was supposed to fucking be with her. He let her go.Adler turned on the sink and splashed water against his face to keep more awake. He needed to feel every bit of it, every pain, the loneliness, and most significantly, the fear.It was D-day. The month
Kyra's voice echoed from Adler's main room, likely the cause of her delay. Quickly turning, they ascended the stairs, narrowly avoiding a collision with her frame at the open door."What are you doing?" Salvatore demanded.Oh, he knew. That question shouldn't be asked when Adler had the muzzle of a nine-millimeter pistol pressed to his chin, and right before their gaze, his grasp on the gun tightened.Rune felt his stomach sink. Green eyes stared straight ahead at Lily's pendant, which she refused to take back. The months of drowning himself in liquor had hidden his real grief; now, it was all open for them to see.Kyra stepped forward, and Adler rested a finger on the trigger, forcing her to halt. Rune could see her tremble and hear her stern voice shake, but Adler, never shifting his gaze from the pendant, said nothing."You don't know what you're doing. You can't do this." Each word falling from her lips was forced.He could, Rune thought, and if they did nothing about it, it woul
LILY.The familiar smell of lilies teasing my nostril woke me up from my restless nap, and shifting to my side and finding a stem of Lily placed on the small drawer next to my bed, I smiled to myself, tracing the white edges with my pupils.Lids feeling heavy and sore reminded me of what had gone on some hours before I drifted. The wet spot on my white sheet acted as a souvenir.A shame, right? Because for all I knew, Adler was on his honeymoon, probably the happiest he had ever been."Gosh, not now..." I muttered, shutting down that train of thought. It was enough bawling my eyes out for the past forty-eight hours.I stretched my limbs beneath the soft, velvety blanket, reveling in the room's dimness. The air held a subtle coziness, soothing against my skin, contrasting deeply with the chill that had tormented me before the ticking clock overhead lulled me to sleep.It made the room feel like a sanctuary.As I let my gaze wander, my eyes caught the dim glow of the bedside lamp. It wa
RUNEHe had just raised the blinds and declared the scenery outside void of suspicious activities when the heavy thuds descended on the hotel room door.Rune caught his breath, snatched the gun from the table next to him, and aimed it at the door, waiting for the first head to slip through and get a free pass to h'l Fire's concert.The pleasant smell of the eucalyptus diffusers and drop-dead gorgeous chandeliers hanging over him was just a terrible reminder that it wouldn't be long before Domenico was creeping in and putting an end to him.Suppose he wasn't the one at the door. Rune took a deep breath and rolled over until a milk-colored sofa covered him, and raising the gun over his shoulders, he waited.The last twenty-four hours changed his perspective on who should be at the top of his wanted list. They were two of them, and by god, he wanted to fuck them..... Up mentally, of course. Fingers tightening around the gun, Rune waited, listening to the television blare.Adler had lef
ADLER"...please stay."Wishes came true, for here she was, just like he had yearned and groaned for. Five months of torture proved effective, he blinked, except she hadn't woken up from the dead; she had been alive but made sure Rune kept it a secret.There and then, like a stripped movie, the occasions he had slammed his car against a wall, stayed before a loaded gun, and slammed his fist against a mirror replayedAll those times she was here, all because of one mistake he would never make again.She stood in silence, and the trembling subsided. Her eyes welled up once more as she gazed into his, and as he gently stroked her cheek with his thumb, she drew in a deep breath.He knew that reaction, for it had taken all of his power not to howl at the sky and pump fists into the air when he scaled her window with a stem of Lily between his lips—early years of street robbery had paid off.She had cried herself to sleep, and on the browser was information on the wedding. On another tab wa
LILYLast night was a mess.To correct that, last night, I was a mess.Lying on my bed, wide awake and hugging a pillow, every word I had spat the night before replaying in my head and bearing the brunt of my vulnerability. I wished I was calmer, wished I had controlled myself as he did, but then I had always been a crier, not just in front of people I swore I wanted nothing to do with.Adler.He sent emotions running through me like a tsunami, so intense I screamed and cried like a homeless banshee. Were there banshees with homes? Or did trouble-making dons yank them into houses that smelled like scented woods? Probably why they were always hysterical.Back to the issue on ground; I whacked myself mentally and mouthed an oww.In my angered state, I observed Adler appearing lost, and the candlelight, accentuating his hollowed eyes, intensified my sense of guilt.Mentioning a guillotine in connection to his near-marriage to Athena was just... Ugh, it made my mind go fuzzy. This was p
He stood by his word and drove me home immediately after a tumultuous breakfast that ended with me walking away into the outside air and humming. It distracted me from the thought of striding back into the house and dropping a brick on him.The ride back to Alessia's was marked by silence, tension heightening as the seconds stretched into hours. This time, he drove with me beside him, wondering the issue with the dark shades.But I kept my questions to myself, holding onto my purse as if for my dear life, and returned my gaze to the window.I wanted to ask him about Rune, for I had a sinking feeling nothing was alright with him and wouldn't be if Domenico discovered I was alive. But then I killed the thought; Adler wouldn't leave Italy without putting Rune under some protection.We reached my newly found home at noon to find Alessia waiting on the porch, fidgeting with her phone, and when Adler dropped and went round to my door, I saw her face contort into a frown.Adler opened the do