LOGINThe time flew by inside the pub, with drinks and music and endless rounds of pool to help the Castelli brothers pass the time. And once they started, once they stepped back into their dangerous little routine that had the drinks pouring and their minds racing, they couldn’t stop. They drank more, played more, and cared even less about the consequences than they had before.Blaze didn’t bother to track his drinks and dropped his brother’s tally too, trading in his old worries for new ones. He lost himself somewhere around his third or fourth drink when he got louder, sloppier, reckless in the way he spoke and carried himself.And maybe he didn’t realize that or maybe he didn’t care, but it only got worse as time went on, and by midnight Blaze would have half the bars attention on him, flicking over every so often to check in or glare when he’d make too much noise.Blaze paid them no mind and kept his attention glued to himself, his brother, and their evening. He completely missed how o
“Are you sure about this?”Liviana swallowed whatever hesitation remained. “Uh-huh.” She lied - rather poorly, she had to admit.Next to her, in the passenger seat, Violet cocked a brow and asked, “Really? You’re sure?”Her jaw tightened, as did her fingers around the steering wheel. “Mhm,” she hummed, eyes glued to the road ahead of them. She tried to ignore the weight of Violet’s heavy stare, and the way her eyes seemed to burn through her, all thoughtful and knowing at once.It was overwhelming, and it took everything she had not to cave under the pressure. She tried to avoid her eyes, as if that would help.“Really?” Violet repeated the question, utterly unconvinced, even when Liviana nodded and insisted that yes, she was really sure. She wanted to go out. She needed to.Livi was desperate for an escape.For a long second, Violet only stared. She watched her, considered her, played with her words while carefully choosing her own. “Okay, then...” She chewed on the question for a m
The house was quiet, and the air felt still around them, almost as if the house was holding its breath with the women, who snuck through it without so much as another word. They tiptoed through the halls hand-in-hand, nervous as birds as they snuck past her parents’ room and the guests that still lingered downstairs.Like the Rivera’s, who returned to the kitchen for a second serving of dessert, and promptly called for Luka and Tino to come downstairs to join them.“Boys, hurry!” Cressida called out from the kitchen. “Luka?!”Liviana and Violet froze at the sound of her voice, sharing a wide-eyed, helpless stare.Was this it? The moment they were caught and their whole plan went to hell?“Oh, Lord,” the woman huffed, quieter when she asked, “Did you message him?”Mr. Rivera hummed. “I did.”“Good,” she breathed with a light sigh, setting something down a little harder, a little louder, than necessary while she complained about her son and his bad habits - which she didn’t know the hal
“Liviana?”The raven froze at the sound of her name being called, sucking in a sharp breath when the world seemed to stop with it.She watched as Violet faltered in front of her, stopping with a heavy sigh. Her shoulders tensed, and her grip tightened around the phone as she muttered quietly, “Leo, I’ll have to call you back,” as if she already knew how this was going to go. As if she were expecting it, and she was ready.Slowly, she turned around, meeting Liviana’s eye for a mere moment before looking past her to meet her brother’s.“Hey, Tino,” Violet greeted the man, offering him a tight-lipped smile.“Hey.” He nodded in return, eyes glued to the back of Liviana’s head.She could feel his gaze burning through her, but she didn’t dare to look at him. She didn’t even dare to breathe, too scared to make the wrong move, say the wrong thing, and make everything worse. So she avoided it - him - and kept her eyes on Violet.“What’s going on?”“Nothing,” Violet replied quickly with a shrug
Liviana stepped out of the bathroom with one goal: to forget everything.Forget her husband, and their marital problems, and that one broken promise that seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, though she had no idea why.Why did today feel so different? So detrimental? So disappointing it could’ve felt like the end of the world? Maybe the end of her marriage?It was one broken promise, one letdown out of many, and she couldn’t fathom why it felt the way it did. Why it hurt so badly, worse than all the other heartbreaks she’d faced throughout their relationship before. Why it felt more like a warning sign than anything else. A promise of what was to come - that ending she knew all too well. The one where they argued, fought, said something unforgivable, and found themselves right back where they started. Back to living their own separate lives beside each other, as if there were some sort of invisible line they couldn’t - shouldn’t - cross. Not again. Not after what happen
The moment dinner was adjourned, Liviana jumped out of her seat so fast you would think it was on fire. She abandoned her plate, which was still full, just as she claimed to be, and ignored the way Violet and her parents called after her when she fled.She swiped her bag from the front door and made a beeline for the stairs, taking them two at a time. “Blaze...” she mumbled to herself, already pulling out her phone and texting his number, demanding answers.Where was he? Was he okay? Why wasn’t he answering her? When was he coming home? Who was he with? Was it Armani? Was Armani okay? Should she be worried about them? About him? Why wasn’t he picking up the phone? Why would he do this to her?Why would Blaze break his promise? And worse, why would he ignore her? All she wanted - no, all she needed was to know that he was okay. That he was alive. Safe - and maybe even happy - wherever he was, even if it wasn’t with her.She huffed as she typed, rushing through the halls without so much
The moment Liviana left the restaurant that night, it felt as if she was walking into a world void of air. It was as though all the oxygen had been sucked out of the planet - if not just her lungs - and she couldn't breathe for days afterward. It was all too heavy, and she wasn't sure she could hand
Blaze could practically feel his heart tie itself into a knot in his chest at the sound of another distraction. Would he ever get the timing right? He sighs at the thought, turning around to greet the man, whose voice he recognizes immediately."Bryce," he greets, pushing out of his chair and offerin
"Are you sure about this?" Liviana asked, sparing a paranoid glance over her shoulder in worry. She couldn't believe they were doing this."Yep," Emilia nods, marching through their parents' garage with a determination Livi had never seen in her sister until now. And in all honesty, the look in her e
"I hate them!"A young Liviana startled in her seat when, out of nowhere, her bedroom door is thrown open and Emilia storms into her room with the complaint. "I hate it here," the older sister pouted, kicking the door shut behind her before collapsing onto her sister's satin sheets, climbing into the







