I stare at my reflection in the mirror, not quite believing what I'm looking at. It's Saturday, the day of my engagement party. The days flew by so quickly that I can hardly believe I'm here. Somehow, I didn't think that I could make it here, not with everything that's happening. But I have. I apply blush to my cheeks. I hear the noise downstairs, which means that more and more guests are piling in. I'll admit that I'm nervous—none of this is being easy. Convincing my parents to take part of this took quite a bit of pushing, according to Luca. They didn't want to have to do this with Mary still missing. She hasn't sent them a single message. They have no idea if she's dead or alive. Alive, probably. But they're still worried. Quite frankly, that's mean and selfish of her considering she wasn't kicked out. She was the one who had all their support. There was no reason for her to walk out on them and not inform them of her whereabouts. The strange part about that, though, was that sh
Luca I see Mary before Laura does.My brows crinkle in confusion. I move away from my group of associates without excusing myself. I look around and see that some people are slowly looking at her. Their facial expressions change when they look at her. Why wouldn't they?She's wearing all black, and there's a thin black veil covering her face. I stand behind Laura and place a hand on her shoulder. Stopping her. Reassuring her. I don't know anymore. This is the most bizarre thing that I've ever seen, and I can't deny that a small seed of fear is planting itself in my heart. What's the meaning of this? Why would she come here wearing a black dress? I thought she was missing. This makes no sense. It's like she dyed a wedding gown and veil black. Actually, I think that's exactly what she did. She stares directly at Laura will hollow, empty eyes. If I'm being honest with myself, I don't know how I recognized her so easily. She looks nothing like the charming woman I met during those eve
I can’t control my emotions no matter how hard I try. I stare at the bandage on my arm as another sob bubbles in my throat. I wish I could close my eyes and will all of this to go away. I wish that this was a nightmare that I could wake from, like the one I had of Mary standing at my door holding a knife and lunging at me. God, that felt so real. And what happened at the party was the same, only I couldn’t see her face as clearly because of the black veil. I shudder just thinking about it. My head pounds as I try to recall what happened at the engagement party. I remember how my heart stopped when I saw her. That’s something I won’t ever forget. Seeing her standing there with that black dress will forever be engraved in my memory, and I won’t forget it until the day I die. The worst part is that I’ll also have a scar to remind me of what happened; of how bad things got. I have no doubt that this stab wound will scar. I can’t believe Mary tried to stab me. Thinking about it makes m
When I wake up, the room is empty and I have no idea what the time is. I rub my sore and gritty eyes. I can feel how swollen they are from all the crying I did. It's the least of my worries. Everything is hitting me harder than ever right now. My heart pounds in my chest when I look at my bandaged arm which is feeling heavy and sore now. I think I need more painkillers, but I don't want to call for a nurse. I want some time to myself so I can process all of this. It's nearly impossible, but I have to manage. Constance is asleep on the chair in the corner of the room. Seeing her pinches my soul. I'm glad she's here but at the same time, it's yet another reminder of how my family failed me. That they did. All of them. Even dad, who allegedly meant well. I lost a lot tonight, and my family is one of those things. Sure, maybe a few years down the line we might act like nothing ever happened. I might visit them or call them during the holidays, but my love for them is gone. All that's l
Luca Tonight was undoubtedly the worst of my entire fucking existence and I've been through some heavy shit before. This one tops all the others, though. I never once thought that things could get this bad. When Laura refused to let me touch her at the party, I felt my soul—or whatever is left of it—shatter. I couldn’t believe it. I felt that I had lost the woman I loved, the woman that made me feel like I could leave my past and my demons behind me. I watched her friends take her away from me and I was helpless. I couldn’t stop them. I had to let her go. It was the most painful thing that I had to do. I couldn’t make sure that she was going to be taken to a hospital and that she would be treated. Someone else would have to do it for me because she refused to even look at me. I stared at the floor. Her blood was on the tiles. The bloody knife was just lying there. Mocking me. It was proof that I had failed to protect Laura. I let her crazy sister harm her under my own fucking roof.
I'm discharged in the morning. I wish I could stay at the hospital for longer, because if that was the case then I wouldn't have been forced to make an important decision so early in the morning. Luca offered to take me in because of the situation with my parents. He also said that it wasn't safe for me to stay there with Mary running loose. So much had happened that it never crossed our minds to contact the police and file a report. She should have been arrested for what she did. She tried to kill me. She would most certainly try again because she told me that she would. Luca was so in shock that he didn't think to tell his bodyguard to keep an eye on Mary. Apparently, she ran as soon as she could. It's not that the guy tried to stop her. He didn't know what to do. He knew she was my sister and didn't know how to go about things. So, nobody knew where Mary was. Once again. She was hiding somewhere and making diabolical plans to murder me. My life was in danger. Luca said I'd be sa
I wake up at around noon to a knock on my door. I know it's Constance. She's the only one who would check up on me at this time. I roll out of bed with a groan and make my way to the door. I try not to fall as I reach the door. I got up too quickly. I unlock the door. She smiles at me and gestures at the tray she's carrying. It has always astounded me how she manages to keep a smile on her face regardless of the situation. It cheers me up a little. Her happiness has always been contagious. "I brought you some soup and your pain medication. How's that arm?""Sore," I admit. "I'll take care of it while your soup cools a little, and then you can eat it. It'll do you good. I'm glad you managed to sleep for so many hours.""Have you heard any news about her?" I ask. I can't bear to say her name anymore. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. "Unfortunately, no," she answers. "Your father has men looking all over for her, but it isn't easy. She was always smart, and so hiding is no big
Luca I think about calling Laura but decide against it in the last minute. She's probably resting. What she went through wasn't easy, and to make things worse she still ended up being stabbed. I can't get over that. I can't unsee all the blood, and the knife slicing her arm. I was helpless and only stared. I let her sister hurt her. I can't move past this. I don't think I'll forgive myself for not acting quicker. Things with the family are worse than ever. Miguel left; he's disappointed in all of us. I won't say that I don't understand what he's going through. I'd be hurt too if I were in his position. What we did with him was unacceptable and I only wish that we had done things differently. But I can't change the past. I had a meeting in the morning and not having Miguel there took a toll on me. He never contributed much to our discussions, but knowing he was there was a comfort. It was having someone who was blood by my side. Today, I didn't have his support, and I felt his abse