Until The Last Day Novel

Chapter 18 11 299 Wouchers Chapter 18 Lorenzo's POV It was the first time I ever saw Aria like that. She was shattered, hysterical, and cruel. From the first day we met, she had always been cheerful, polite, youthful. She carried that fresh-graduate, twenty-two-year-old brightness that reminded me of another version of life I once had... the version of me when Claire and I were both eighteen and the world felt like sunlight, not winter. But that brightness was never hers. It was neverher. It was just borrowed color from a past I refused to face. Everyone around me pitied Claire.

Everyone saw her as the girl whose future was stolen and destroyed. And they looked at me like I had to shoulder not just my mistakes, but her entire lost tomorrow. And they were right. I was the one who had to carry it. After the accident, I didn't sleep properly once. Either nightmares woke me screaming or guilt kept me awake until dawn. But even through the darkest grief, I never thought of leaving Claire. Not once. I didn't run from responsibility. I suffered with her.

I fed her, carried her, held her through her trauma, through my own trauma, through all the years where pain became normal. But fate never stopped. We never got a break. One disaster followed another, and I couldn't lift either of us out of the ruins. I drowned with her. Chapter 18 11 288 Vouchers And in that drowning life... in the stagnation... in the slow suffocation... I started craving oxygen. I missed the sun. I missed the version of Claire who laughed at seventeen and dragged me through life with wild courage. A part of me was desperate to feel that life again. To feel anything again.

Aria wasn't the one I wanted. What I wanted was the illusion she represented. "When I was with her... it felt like I could breathe again," I whispered to myself once, ashamed even alone. She wasn't the cure. She was the drug. Every time I saw Aria, I told myself it would be the last time. Every time, I knew I was betraying Claire. Every time, I swore it would end. But addiction doesn't listen to reason. Addiction listens to escape. And in the end, I crossed a line I could not erase. When I remained silent, lost in the truth of why I destroyed my own marriage, Aria grew furious.

"So you're just going to throw everything away for a dead person?" she snapped. My head jerked up. My eyes met hers. Something sharp and lethal finally surfaced inside me. "Don't," I said quietly. "Don't say another word." Aria froze. She had never heard my voice like that. She tried to backtrack, her lips parting to explain- Chapter 18 288 Vouchers but footsteps pounded across the floor from behind her. Before Aria could even turn- My mother grabbed her by the hair and yanked her backwards. Aria screamed, losing balance and collapsing onto the floor.

Her hands trembled as she tried to push herself back up, eyes wide with shock. "What-? Mrs. Moretti-" Lola stood above her like a storm about to devour land. Her voice was not loud-but every syllable was sharp enough to slice bone. "You dare talk about Claire like that?" Aria's face went white. Lola stepped closer, eyes full of grief and fire. "Claire may be gone," she said, voice trembling with rage. "But she is still family. She is still my daughter. And you are not qualified to speak her name.

You are not qualified to even stand in this home." Aria sputtered, "I-I didn't mean-" "You did." Lola snapped. "And hear me clearly. My son will never marry again. Not after what he destroyed. Not after what he owes Claire. And especially not someone likeyou." Aria swallowed hard, humiliation flooding her features. Her cheeks flushed red, then drained pale. She staggered to her feet, brushing her skirt, eyes darting everywhere but my face. She said nothing else. She just ran. 1154 Chapter 18 288 Wouchers The door slammed behind her so hard the frame shook. Silence fell again.

Mom turned slowly toward me. Her eyes were full of bloodshot sorrow. She stared at me for a long, unbearable second-then suddenly lifted her hand andslapped me across the face. The sound cracked like a whip. My cheek burned instantly.I didn't move. I didn't defend myself.I stood there like a criminal accepting his sentence. Mom's voice broke. "Tell me, Lorenzo..." she whispered, trembling with fury and heartbreak.

"Did Claire lose hope because of that woman?" 11 54 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.