Chapter 100 EMILIA They say ignorance is bliss. Whoever said that has never buried their brother. I stand in the rain, dressed in all black, clutching an umbrella like it can hold me together. But nothing can. Not today. My eyes blur as I stare at the headstone: Luther Christian Vanderbilt (1995-2018) Just seeing it makes it hard to breathe. In front of me, my mother – always perfect, always cold – is on the ground, sobbing like a child. Her elegant coat is soaked, her hands shaking as she reaches for the gravestone like she can pull him back. My father stands beside her, trying to hold the umbrella over them both, but he’s crying too hard to see straight. And then there’s my little sister, Diana, standing beside me, shaking with anger and grief. She looks so much like Luther when she smiles and like me when she cries. But she’s not smiling now. She’s sobbing – and every tear feels like a dagger. “Was it worth it?” she snaps. Her voice is loud enough for people to turn. She doesn’t care. “Tell me, Emily, Was he worth it? That lowlife you love. That trash you brought into our world. Was he worth Luther’s life?!” Her words slice me open. I want to speak, but nothing comes out. “Diana…” I manage, barely above a whisper. “Please. This is Luther’s funeral. Show some respect.” She laughs – a bitter, broken sound. “Respect? You want me to show the same respect you did when you got our brother killed?!” Her voice cracks. “It should’ve been you, Emily! Not him!” I flinch. I deserve it. Every word. Every hateful glance. Now I’ll never hear his laugh again. Never see the way his eyes crinkled when he teased me. He’s gone. Because of me. And Diana isn’t done. Her whole body shakes as she cries harder. “Now I’ll never have a brother again. I’ll never- I’ll never-” She breaks. And I do, too. But I don’t get to cry. Not here. Not yet. Because this is my fault. Through my blurred vision, I can make out a figure, drenched in the rain, with nothing but a cap with Luther’s college scribbled on it. My eyes meet his bloodshot ones and he gives me a sad, heartbroken smile. I blink, and suddenly I’m not seventeen anymore. – I’m here sitting in the warm bath Liam made for me, the water up to my chest, bubbles clinging to my arms, my skin still stinging like it remembers what Stone tried to do. I keep scrubbing, like I can erase it. Like I can be clean again. But I’m just… tired. So tired. The kind of tired that sinks into your bones and won’t leave. noveldramaHe’s still in the room, sitting with his back to the tub like he promised. Silent. I swirl a finger through the bubbles and try to sound light, even though my voice is barely steady. “Why are you so quiet? Scared the girl you’re stuck with might be a murderer? Not legally, but- cold. ‘Emilia. His voice cuts in, Firm, soft, and so full of something I can’t name. It stops me He says my name like it means something. Like I mean something. 18:10 And just like that, I’m seventeen again. And nineteen. And twenty. Every version of me that ever broke is reaching for the version of him that never once let go. “Have you ever loved someone so much you’d die for them?” I ask quietly. “Or at least… thought about it?” Liam doesn’t say anything, but I feel the way his body tenses. I let out a small laugh, sad and dry. “You probably haven’t. You don’t really do the whole love thing, right? Feelings, relationships… they’re all too messy.” He still says nothing. Just listens. “I would’ve died for Zane. Once.” My voice drops. “I just never thought my brother would die for him instead.” Chapter Comments 38 POST COMMENT NOW <SHARE