Until The Last Day Novel

Chapter 17 1288 Vouchers Chapter 17 Lorenzo's POV Since that day, I shut myself inside the house. I didn't see anyone. I didn't respond to messages. The curtains stayed closed. The rooms stayed dark. I didn't even turn on lights unless I had to walk to the sink. Empty bottles gathered around the couch and bed like ruins. Every night I drank until thoughts blurred into static. Every morning I woke up with a pounding skull and a hollow chest. Only my mother, Lola, came by sometimes...but even then, I barely spoke. Sometimes she left soup outside the door. Sometimes she begged me to open.

Sometimes she just cried quietly on the other side of the wood. But I couldn't move. I felt like time had stopped and I was stuck in January, in the snow, holding nothing, waiting for absolutely nothing. One morning, half hungover, I stared at the wall while the sunlight shifted slowly across the wallpaper. The dust in the air looked like ash. I didn't know how long I stared before I slowly registered that someone was knocking. I ignored it. The knocking continued. Harder. Faster. By the afternoon, the pounding became louder and louder to the point I couldn't pretend I didn't hear it.

With a weak groan, I pulled myself up and dragged my exhausted body toward the entrance. I opened the door Chapter 17 11 288 Youchers with almost no strength left. The person on the other side lost balance and stumbled right into me. It was Aria. She froze when she realized she had fallen into me. I immediately caught her shoulders just enough to keep her from collapsing-and then. just as quickly removed my hands like they were burned. "What are you doing here?" I asked flatly. Aria looked offended for a split second, but quickly replaced it with false concern.

"You haven't answered any of my calls," she said. "I've been worried. I haven't heard from you in days. I thought something happened." "I'm fine," I muttered, without looking her directly in the eye. "Go home, Aria. Don't come here again. 〃 She grabbed my wrist immediately. "Lorenzo, don't push me away like this. I know you're hurting. I came here to be with you." I recoiled instantly, ripping my hand out of her grip like I touched electricity. "I don't need you here," I said sharply. Aria's face darkened. "What is wrong with you? Why are you acting like a stranger?

You're acting like everything between us meant nothing." "Because it didn't," I said, ice cold. "It should have never happened." Chapter 17 11 288 Vouchers Her mouth fell open. "You can't be serious. Did you forget what we shared? Did you forget the sunsets we watched together? The nights we walked down long streets talking about everything? Did you forget the songs you sang to me? Those weren't fake." For a moment, the painful memories slammed into my skull. The beach. The fireworks. The road trips. The laughter. All those moments I once thought were small escapes, were in reality betrayal.

Those memories were knives now. I suddenly felt anger and grief rise up together all at once. My voice cracked as I shouted: "It should have never happened! Claire is dead because I didn't stop this. I failed her. I destroyed our marriage. I destroyed everything!" Aria stared at me like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So what?" she whisper-yelled, voice trembling with anger. "Claire is gone. There is no obstacle between us anymore. You and I are free now, don't you understand that?" I laughed bitterly. "Free?" I repeated. "Claire is dead.

And you think that makes us free?" Aria clenched her fists. "Why are you acting like she's still here? She's gone. She's gone, Lorenzo. She's not coming back. Why do you still choose her over yourself... and over me?" Chapter 17 18 288 Vouchers "Because I was her husband," I said. Aria's expression twisted. "She was crippled! She wasn't even-" I stepped forward and my voice roared, deeper than I recognized. "Don't you dare say that about her." Aria froze. My voice lowered, quieter but much heavier.

"You think after everything I did...after all the pain I caused Claire...that I can just forget her? Erase her? Pretend she was nothing?" I shook my head slowly. "No, Aria. Claire loved me since she was a child. She saved me. She would've died 10,000 times if she had to save me again. And I threw her away for a handful of moments that meant nothing." Aria bit her lip. Her face went pale. "...So all those memories between us, you're telling me they meant nothing?" "They meant nothing compared to Claire," I said, voice low. "They were a mistake.

The biggest mistake of my life," Aria looked like she was slapped. "You're being unfair. I was there for you when you needed warmth. I was the one who made you smile again. You can't blame everything on me." "No," I said firmly. "I am the one responsible. Not you. I chose this. I let it happen. I betrayed Claire myself. She wasn't weak. I was." 7 Chapter 17 11 288 Nouchers Aria's voice cracked. "Then what about us? What am I supposed to do now?" "Leave," I said quietly. "And don't come back." Her eyes filled with disbelief.

"You're actually choosing Claire even when she's dead?" "She is my wife," I replied, barely above a whisper. "She always was." Aria stared at me for a long time, but said nothing. I leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor, breath shaking. My hands curled into my hair, fingers locking. Claire was gone, but her shadow filled every corner of this apartment. Aria wanted me to forget. She wanted me to pretend Claire didn't exist anymore-just because she wasn't alive. But Claire's absence was bigger than her presence ever was. I was the one who turned our love story into tragedy.

I was the one who chose another woman while Claire silently faded away. I had been a coward. A traitor. A murderer without a weapon. Cedella Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella's storytelling style is immersive and addictive-perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.