Sweet Darkness

Chapter 1 Spiral of Regret

Ding...Snap.

Ding...Snap.

Ding-

Over and over again, Vincenzo flicked his golden lighter open before closing it with a loud snap. The collective dings and snaps grew in rapid succession as the man's movements quickened just like his racing thoughts.

His lighter had always been able to calm him down. Why was it failing him this time?

In the waiting room he was in, there was no openness. There was no space for him to breathe; was he even?

Although he felt stifled in the waiting room, Vincenzo could still smell the strong stench of disinfectant hitting his nostrils, overwhelming him to the point of almost choking him.

Feet tapping anxiously against the squeaky-clean tiled floors, Vincenzo was practically shaking in his seat. His hands were still bloodied, a sight he was used to except for the fact that this time, they felt heavy on his hands.

It was her blood after all. The one person who should have never bled in that room ended up taking the bullet for him.

Around him were grey chairs, hard-backed and made completely out of plastic. They were completely lacking in personality just like the rest of the hospital. Everything around him was hard and cold, from the chairs to the white walls that were glaringly bright to Vincenzo.

The ceilings with their grid-like ceiling lights were almost mocking him with its bright lights, as though they were poking fun at the doom and gloom that exuded off every cell of his body.

Why wasn't his lighter working for him?

At this point, Vincenzo swore he was getting a migraine soon. The doors to the surgery room remained shut in front of him, a reminder that he had no way of knowing whether she would come out of this alive.

How much blood had she lost already?

The sounds of sirens were still echoing loudly in his head, along with the faint memory of his pleas for her to stay awake. Vaguely, he recalled another hand on his shoulder, squeezing him tightly as he held onto Cha Young's hand.

Slam!

The doors to the surgery room opened. Vincenzo's head snapped up so fast that it almost gave him a sprain. To his disappointment, it wasn't Cha Young's doctor who came out. Instead, he had to watch as another family burst into tears of joy and hugged the doctor right in front of him.

As they celebrated, his heart only sunk more.

Their cheers, while genuine, only sounded like ridicule to his ears, as though they were taunting him for not protecting Cha Young.

Where were his quick reflexes when he needed them? Had he turned just in time, the bullet would have hit him instead.

"Stupido! Assolutamente stupido!" Vincenzo slammed his fist against his thigh as he cursed at himself.

Vincenzo Cassano was spiraling down the dark path of self-blame over what happened to Hong Cha Young. There was no telling what was going to happen next.

If you think death was unpredictable, an angry Italian consigliere was even more unpredictable.

Ding...Snap!

CLANK!

The golden lighter would have dented the wall if it was made out of metal. In his blinding fury, Vincenzo had thrown the lighter against the wall. He was mildly annoyed when even that did nothing to quieten his mind.