"So, what do we think?" "I think that it's good that I chose a spot where it can be hidden." Liviana mutters, letting her shirt fall and fixing her jeans, turning to face Violet and Leona who linger behind her and the mirror. "It's beautiful, though. And I love it." "Well, if you love it, then somebody else's opinion should not matter." Leona says, giving her a pointed look as she comments that Liviana shouldn't care what her parents thought. "Yeah." Violet agrees. "It's your body, Livi. You can do with it what you please and your parents don't get a say in any of it." "It's your body, your life, and your happiness on the line." Leona says, placing a hand on her shoulder and spinning her back to face the mirror. Violet lifts the corner of her shirt for her to see the blue butterfly once more. "Don't let your parents dictate it, okay? You have to do what's right for you." "And if getting a beautiful picture of art tattooed onto your skin is what feels right for you," Violet adds,
Smoothing down the dark emerald silk, Liviana takes a deep breath, admiring the way it hugs her figure through the reflection of her mirror."You look great." Violet compliments from behind, flashing her a smile through the glass.Liviana spins around to return the gesture and compliment, complimenting the lavender dress her blonde friend wears. "You look amazing, Violet. Purple really suits you." She says, and Violet smiles."Thank you." Violet smiles."Alright," Leona starts, rounding through the door with her heels clicking loudly, her blue velvet dress dragging on the floor behind her. "How are we doing in here? Are we ready?"Violet only raises a brow at Liviana in question, waiting for her to take the lead, and when she nods, Violet does, too. "Yes, I think we are." Violet says, turning around to face Leona who nods, staring at her phone and informing them that they had twenty minutes to get to the venue."I thought you said it doesn't start until seven?" Liviana asks, and Leona
“Liviana?” The knocking persists and the woman in question sighs.Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Liviana tilts her chin up and plasters a smile on her face. “Coming!” She calls before turning to open the door, greeting the woman on the other side and praying she couldn’t see past her wide smile.. “Hi, Elara!”The mother-in-law couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Do not take that fake enthusiastic tone with me, Liviana.” She warns, strutting past her into the girl’s bedroom. “And don’t think that overcompensating smile is going to fool me into thinking that you’re alright, when I know that you’re anything but.”Liviana sighs, letting the door fall closed once more than she turns to face the older woman. There’s an inner battle of debate on whether to feign ignorance of having no idea what she was talking about, continuing her act of being perfectly fine, or to give Elara a peek behind the curtains to find her true vulnerable self that was riddled with anxiety, intimidated by ju
A smile that wavers is a smile of false of promise.The wise words of Drusilla Santora. Her version of never let them see you weak, though a much more shallow take, Liviana had to admit.Her mother's version of the uplifting saying, was one almost as superficial as the person who says never let them see you without your face - another one of her mothers most popular phrases, and unluckily for Liviana, it fit in perfectly with her mothers favorite lecture."Drop the grim expression, Liviana. You can't let them see you as anything less than promising. And what have I always told you about a wavering smile?""That it shows false promise." Liviana would mumble as she bows her head, avoiding her mother's eyes as she gets belittled in yet another of her parents' routine rants."Exactly." Her mother would agree. "And nobody likes a fake."Liviana wasn't sure why this conversation was replaying in her mind tonight. She knew it by heart- of course she did. It was a common "conversation" in her
The Castelli family was a masterpiece. A piece of art held at the highest standards, while everyone stood around admiring them. In every detail, they were the ideal. Every stitch, every shot, every stroke of their brush was all done with such craft that it was nothing less than a picture of perfection.Their reputation was one of the best, with not a single scratch to ruin their image. It was pristine, and it was something they all made sure of.Elara Castelli was the queen. A ruler who wore her heart on her sleeve- a sleeve that contained a dagger. With a strong mind and loving heart, Elara had a perfect balance between kindness and cruelty. She was an angel whose wings were made of hellfire. They sparked, and she would watch as they fall, turning those around into ash. And if you were lucky, if you were kind, she would do you the honors of helping you rise from the ashes and become better. She was gracious, understanding, caring, and a killer. And as much respect as she was given, s
The room is filled with a silence that raises tensions; the family sitting around with bowed heads as they sat before the angry woman, waiting for her to speak- or more so, yell.And that’s exactly what she did.“Do you have any idea of what you’ve done?!” Elara shouts, wagging a finger in her daughter’s face as she lectures. “Do you?!”“I know exactly what I’ve done.” Amara says with a shrug.“Is that so?” Elara scoffs. “Because I really don’t believe that you do-““I was doing my job.” The daughter declares, a smug smile on her face as she turns to look at the ‘happy couple’ that’s been the hot topic ever since they announced their engagement. And from what she was seeing, in the uncomfortable way Liviana sits and the glare Blaze gives, after tonight, they weren’t going to be happy or a couple for much longer. “And as far as I can tell, I’ve done a pretty good one.”“Oh, I’m sorry? Your job?” Elara scoffs, spinning around to share a look with her husband, who can see the dangerous l
Blood is thicker than water.It was a very popular saying, conveying the message that those who you share blood with are your family. And to most, that was the truth. DNA is what links you to love- a familial love you can only find in one place. And that's those you're related to. Parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents. That's your one and only family.It's the black and white way of thinking, the thought being that the ones you're born with are the only ones who will love you all the way to death. The ones you share the same blood with are the ones who brought you into the world and the ones who will be there for you when you leave it. They're the only ones you can count on, to love you, to comfort you, to see you through thick and thin.To those who share that thinking, they believe that family is only blood. You can have friends, spouses, strangers you look up to from a far. You can know them your entire life, you can love them with your entire being, and you ca
When Liviana was a child, she was the type of girl who truly relied on her imagination. On the sad days, the happy ones, the lazy days and even the exciting ones, the good days, but especially on the bad days. She was a girl who wasn't just a dreamer, but someone who loved to conquer up the greatest delusions, and whether they would be considered a daydream or a nightmare... Well, that was up to her fragile mind. For a girl with a wild imagination, every day was a surprise. She didn't know if, when she woke up, she would find herself in her bed or an imagined cloud. She didn't know whether her toothpaste would be toothpaste or some sort of pasty poison planted by the enemies she knew she didn't have - just another figment of her imagination. If her cereal was soup or a hotdog, a sandwich- something she would wonder as she imagined those tasty foods in place of the stale salad she was forced to eat. She'd wonder if the rain pouring outside her window was the tears of giants or the th
"What is he doing here?"Liviana is met with the question the second she slips into the room, her footsteps faltering at the sound. The raven spins around, eyes catching on her husband, who sits in the darkened corner of their bedroom. "Oh- Blaze," she breathes out his name, pressing a hand to her chest at the suddenness of his question. She hadn't expected him to be here, waiting. If anything, she thought he would have left - ran. "You scared me," Livi mutters, sighing at the thought. "Again..."This time, Blaze doesn't bother with an apology, instead, he pushes for an answer. "Well?" He asks, repeating the question. "What's he doing here?""I..." Liviana trails, clicking the door shut behind her and venturing slowly inside, hating to admit that she hadn't asked. The feeling of her husband's prying eyes pulls the disappointing answer from her before she has a chance to think of something better, shrugging as she says, "I don't know yet."Hearing this, Blaze frowns, repeating the answ
"Well, here we are!" Liviana announces, pausing outside of the closed door and pulling the man to a stop. "Your new bedroom," she says, cracking the door open and insisting he take a look for himself. "What do you think?""Wow," Luka mutters, strolling inside with a hum and a quick look around. "Nice place you've got here, Liv. Looks like it's fit for a king."She couldn't help but chuckle at his words. "Because it is," she tells, reminding the man of who it was built for. And Blaze Castelli would accept nothing but the best for himself and his wife. They deserved a nice place to call their home, and he made sure that that's exactly what they got. She could see the irritation flash across his face at the reminder, and she has to refrain from sighing as she switches from what seemed to be a sensitive topic. "So... do you like it?"Luka shrugs, eyes cast away from her own as he scans the bedroom he deemed his own. "Yeah," he answers after a moment of wonder. "I think that I do.""You th
"Why are you here?" Luka repeats the tired question, face to face with his supposed best friend who, at this point, he wasn't sure he recognized. Are they even best friends anymore? Could he even call them that? He would always be hers, but... could he call her his? God, he hoped so.Liviana narrows her eyes, refraining from an eye roll as she finds herself right back where she started. When was he going to get it? Could he? Would he ever understand? "Luke, I already told you-""No," Luka denies. "You already lied to me," he corrects. "And now- now I want the truth.""The truth? Oh, my gosh- what are you even talking about?" She stresses. "What makes you think I'm lying, huh?""Because I know you, Liviana!" He says. "I know you, and I know that you don't belong here - that you wouldn't have come if you didn't want to. You have to have a reason.""My sister is my reason!" Livi defends. "I would do anything for Emilia! You know that-""Anything? Really?""Yes!" She nods. "Anything - any
Hours passed by and before anyone knew it, it was 3AM and the party was in full-swing - somehow even crazier than it was before. Liviana almost couldn't believe it, having thought it couldn't have gotten any worse. But of course, she was wrong, and it did - it got worse.Drinks were flowing faster than the blood from her raging heart, and she could hear the wild beat of it drumming loudly in her ears as she danced - or at least tried to dance. Today she had found out that she wasn't such a good dancer, after all. And no amount of ballet lessons had changed that. Mostly, she just jumped around and smiled, calling it dancing as a desperate cover - something her friend had no problem pointing out."Do you even know what you're doing?" Luka wondered, grinning as he watched the girl frolic in the middle of the dance floor, and he just couldn't help himself - he had to tease her, even if only a little, because, otherwise, what kind of friend would he really be?"Of course I do!" She insists
Little Liviana stood tall and alone, pushed to the back of the room while her siblings danced around in the center. Emilia always was better at being the center of attention- she thrived off of the spotlight. And Tino... he lived and breathed to find even the smallest dose of fun. It looked as though they were in their element, having the time of their life. As much as she wanted to leave - even after her touching talk with her sister - she just couldn't bring herself to ruin it for them. So, she stayed.She stayed, sat, waited and listened, watching as the time flew by right in front of her eyes. And then, before she knew it, two more hours had passed, and it was after midnight. It was late, but was it too late? She couldn't be sure. All she had left to do was to hope and pray.The young girl sighs, head tilting to the side as she pries her eyes away from the scene, only to latch on to another. And God, if this one wasn't shocking, she wasn't sure she knew what shocking was anymore.
A young Liviana sat quietly, nervously, in the corner of the over-crowded room, people watching as though her life depended on it. What was she watching for? Not even she was sure. But that didn't stop her from looking.Her green eyes scanned over the crowd with caution, darting around from face to face and person to person. She watches them closely, almost as if she was waiting for something. And in a way, she was. She was looking for clarity, waiting and hoping it would find her and help her make the right choices. Liviana was waiting on her guardian angel to offer some wisdom, but it was clear her angel must have been busy, having failed to provide guidance on each instance as of late. She was beginning to wonder if she even had one anymore... maybe she quit - who knows? Sighing at the thought, she tilts her head back, resting it against the wall and allowing herself a short break. Her eyes fall shut, and for a moment, she just thinks - listens. She just is. The air was hot, thic
Little Liviana stood tall and alone, pushed to the back of the room while her siblings danced around in the center. Emilia always was better at being the center of attention- she thrived off of the spotlight. And Tino... he lived and breathed to find even the smallest dose of fun. It looked as though they were in their element, having the time of their life. As much as she wanted to leave - even after her touching talk with her sister - she just couldn't bring herself to ruin it for them. So, she stayed.She stayed, sat, waited and listened, watching as the time flew by right in front of her eyes. And then, before she knew it, two more hours had passed and it was after midnight. It was late, but was it too late? She couldn't be sure. All she had left to do was to hope and pray.The young girl sighs, head tilting to the side as she pries her eyes away from the scene, only to latch on to another. And God, if this one wasn't shocking, she wasn't sure she knew what shocking was anymore.F
The set of the three Santora siblings approaches the lively house with caution. "Is this it?" Liviana asks, stopping to stare up at the place that was practically bursting at the seams with people. She couldn't believe she was here. She never thought they would actually make it - she hoped Emilia was more reasonable, and prayed she would come to her senses. And yet, here they were. They finally made it."Yeah," Emilia mutters, a smile stretching widely across her lips as she takes in the view behind her. It was everything she could have ever hoped it'd be. It was the perfect picture - practically ripped right out of the movies. And God, she couldn't wait to join in. "Come on! Let's go!"Suddenly, the girl is surging forward and rushing up the stairs, calling for her siblings to follow her in what they could only imagine being an overcrowded, overstimulating mess. It was safe to say that Liviana and Tino were nowhere near as excited as their sister was. "Wait!" Livi calls, taking a st
"How much farther?" A young Liviana questioned, trailing behind her siblings and dragging her feet with her dread. "I thought you said it wasn't far-""Because it's not," Emilia insists. "It's just up ahead.""Are you sure?" She asks, unsure of herself as well as her sister. Emilia didn't seem to know what she was doing, and it scared Liviana. Why did she agree to this?Emilia huffs, nodding. "Yes, Liviana. I'm sure," she says. "Just trust me, alright? I know what I'm doing."Did she? Liviana couldn't be sure, and she wasn't sure she wanted to stick around to find out. Was this really worth it? She didn't think so. "You know," Liviana clears her throat, skipping a step to catch up to her siblings. "It's not too late.""Too late?" Tino echoes. "Too late for what?""Too late to turn back-"At this, Emilia comes to a halt and whips around to face her sister. "Go back?" She asks, her eyebrows knitting together as she asks, "what do you mean turn back?""I mean that it's not too late to ba