Hey, I hope you all had an amazing Christmas with your family! 💕 Here's an update! I know this chapter is a little sad but no good story is without its twists! ❤️ I'll update another chapter in a few hours so wait up for it! ❤️ XOXO! 💕
Claire⋅•⋅⊰∙∘∘∙⊱⋅•⋅And before I knew it, he was walking over to me. "NO!" I screamed, covering my head with my arms, making myself as small as I could.A guttural groan and a series of loud thuds echoed, my mind struggling to comprehend the chaos unfolding around me. He hadn't touched me yet, but I still wrapped my arms tighter around my frame to save myself. "Adriano, let him go..." I heard Mr. Capone say. His words sliced through my disorienting sobs, and I dared to peek through my arms, trembling. Adriano had Uncle Tony on his knees, blood streaming from his nose, a knife pressed menacingly against his throat. His arm muscles flexed with rage, and his eyes bore down on Tony with nothing but disgust. A glimmer of hope that maybe he'll get me out of here ignited. Adriano's rage radiated off of him as he held Uncle Tony in a vice grip, the knife a glinting threat against his throat. And a voice inside of me told me to shove that knife deeper inside his throat but my limbs wouldn'
Claire⋅•⋅⊰∙∘∘∙⊱⋅•⋅I sat on the couch, clutching the cup of coffee in my hands watching the smoke, observing it dance upward. On the table rested his mug, freshly prepared. I knew he was on his way up, so, I waited. The door opened and closed, I could hear his footsteps approaching until he came into my view. Our eyes met and he stopped before clenching his jaw and continuing to walk to the bedroom. "Aren't you going to have your coffee?" I asked. He stopped again, glancing at me with a slight frown and a hardened expression on his face, "Did you have enough air? You didn't come to sleep in bed last night so I thought you still needed some time alone," his voice was so brusque, so harsh. Swallowing hard, I averted my gaze to the mug clasped in my hands. "I'm okay now. Can we just enjoy the coffee before it gets cold?"He looked like he was thinking about it before he nodded to himself and walked over to me. He settled on the opposite couch, his gym gear clinging to his body. "I'
Claire⋅•⋅⊰∙∘∘∙⊱⋅•⋅New York... New York embraced me with the familiar sense of home, a sanctuary where I could finally exhale. Adriano maneuvered the car while I observed the trees blur by from the passenger seat."Claire," he called."Hm?" I responded absentmindedly."Say something."I shut my eyes, inhaling deeply. "What do you want me to say?""Anything," he urged.My eyes stayed closed; the tears from last night had drained me. No matter how I struggled, there were no tears left – just a hollow numbness."Thank you for the ride," I murmured in a low voice."Goddamn it, Claire, I'm so fucking sorry."I nodded, opening my eyes and meeting his gaze. "I know, you've said it a hundred times since I sat in this car with you. I know you're sorry, Adriano, so am I...""You have nothing to be sorry for, Claire," he insisted. A bitter smile played on my lips. "I do. Vincenzo will never forgive me.""It wasn't your fault."I sighed, the weight of regret settling in. "If I had told him the
Vincenzo⋅•⋅⊰∙∘∘∙⊱⋅•⋅Dead... That's what I felt from the inside. A chilling emptiness consumed me as I huddled on the cold floor within the shadows of my family's home. My brother had brought me here after they found me pathetically paralyzed in my apartment. I, Vincenzo Capone, got outsmarted by the woman I loved. Loved? Loved. It's insane how, in mere seconds, your perspective on someone can take a wild turn.One second you love them more than the whole world and the next, you hate them with every fiber of your being. Your whole being caught in this intense switch, like a tug of war between what felt great and what feels like a punch in the gut.Love and hate, surprisingly alike, are these crazy powerful feelings that have a knack for devouring you from within, like flames licking at the edges of your soul.In the end, both have the power to reshape you, leaving imprints that linger long after the flames have subsided.Claire Parker — She had me hooked from day one. I spotted
Vincenzo⋅•⋅⊰∙∘∘∙⊱⋅•⋅"Hello?" Her saccharine sweet voice echoed from the other end.A tumult of emotions surged within me—aversion, heartache. "Claire..." A sharp intake of breath from the other side cut through the silence. "Don't hang up," I sneered, my words dripping with a mix of bitterness and desperation."Wasn't going to..."A heavy silence loomed between us, a perplexing void where words seemed to evaporate. "Why did you do it?""What are you talking about?" Her nonchalant response only fueled my rage.In a heartbeat, my temper exploded. "GODDAMN IT, CLAIRE! FUCKING TELL ME!" She let out a chilling laugh, "Is it so hard to believe that I never loved you? I never even said it back, not even once, no matter what you said or did. Just fucking leave me alone now!" Her words cut through the air like icy blades, leaving a bitter taste of betrayal.My jaw clenched, and my teeth gritted so hard that a sharp jolt of pain traveled through my jaw. "You're wrong if you think I'll leave y
Claire⋅•⋅⊰∙∘∘∙⊱⋅•⋅"Is that really your plan?" I exclaimed into the phone, my pacing echoing in the living room."It's the safest option. If I let you slip through Vincenzo's fingers, he'll either kill me or, worse, never forgive any of us," Adriano replied in a hushed tone on the other end of the call. "We discussed this, Adriano. The moment I marry him, he'll surely kill me. I know him well enough to understand how a simple comment can trigger his anger. After what your father orchestrated, do you really think he'll easily let this go? He's marrying me to torture me," I stated, sitting on the couch and pushing my hair back."Maybe, but consider this: it's the best for all of us involved. We'll disclose everything the moment he's in power, or maybe even before if you two can find a—"I interrupted, firmly, "No! Not before he becomes Capo, Adriano. I'm afraid he might do something reckless. And your father, no offense, is a first-class jerk. He isn't even afraid to get rid of his own
Claire⋅•⋅⊰∙∘∘∙⊱⋅•⋅The next evening, I found myself in a clinic, nerves dancing beneath my skin. The sterile scent of antiseptic filled the air as I sat on the examination table, my thoughts racing.Dr. Harris, a middle-aged woman with kind eyes, entered, offering a reassuring smile. "Are you ready, Claire?"I took a deep breath and nodded, attempting to quell the nerves that fluttered beneath my skin. The room felt colder as I shifted my gaze to the medical equipment, its metallic gleam contrasting with the pastel walls.As the procedure began, a mix of discomfort and anticipation coursed through me. The rhythmic beeping of medical equipment and Dr. Harris's voice created a steady backdrop to my inner thoughts.I focused on a distant point in the room, trying to distract myself from the unfamiliar sensations.The rhythmic beeping of the medical equipment acted as a metronome, measuring the passage of time. Moments later, Dr. Harris spoke, "There we go. You should start feeling better
Claire⋅•⋅⊰∙∘∘∙⊱⋅•⋅Vincenzo departed for Chicago five days ago, and I found myself without a wedding dress or a wedding band for him.His silence left me yearning for a sign. No calls, no cryptic messages from unknown numbers; just an unsettling radio silence that instilled both fear and a profound sense of sadness within me. Preparing for the wedding on my own was tougher than I expected, with his absence hanging over everything like a dark cloud.Despite Bianca and Allegra's repeated offers to join me shopping, I politely declined. Even when Scott offered to pay for everything, I turned him down too. Numbness enveloped me; the idea of shopping for my wedding felt like an insurmountable task. It wasn't just disinterest – it was a profound disconnect from everything. I lacked the will to live, let alone engage in the preparations for what should have been the happiest occasion of my life. Bianca labeled it as depression, but I'm not convinced. It feels like even depression would hesi