Chained To Him | ✓

23. blackmail.

1 Month Later...

Celeste had been destroyed by the chain of wicked events following her. She had moved into a cozy apartment and she had enrolled herself into school to study chemistry. She thought school would keep her mind busy but the pain from the events had never stopped.

Even though she hated herself for this, she missed Luca every second of the day. It killed her inside but she wanted him, she needed him, she still loved him. She wanted the thoughts in her head about him to stop but it wouldn't. It was about Luca, Luca, Luca all the time. The only time her mind would stop wandering around would when she would do her college work. College had helped her mind ease a little but she still had a long way to go.

Dante came to visit Celeste a couple of time to check on her and make sure she's doing okay. At first Celeste didn't want to let Dante know about her whereabouts because of Luca. But ever since Asha left to study abroad for a full semester, she was scared she would do something harmful to herself. This led her to decide that it'll be nice to have some kind of company.

Dante had noticed that Celeste is no more the person she was when he first met her. She had completely changed into a very silent and emotionless person.

Celeste had an official stamp on her heart that said she was broken now, shattered really, robbed early of the tape and glue necessary to put herself back together. Her heart was beating but without any purpose. Her body ached as if she was worn out. She was lost, her mind and heart were lost, she desperately needed a reason to live. Her welcoming and warm memories that could make her smile have been blocked by the dark cloud hovering over her.

Dante thought about how he almost doesn't remember her smile, the soft yet contagious smile that had everyone around her beaming. He hasn't seen her smile, not once since she left Luca's home, not since Luca ripped her insides to shreds. From the outside, to a stranger, she would look normal and put together, but Dante saw her true self. Even though from the outside she looks repaired, inside she's under destruction. Fighting her own battles every single day, trying to stay alive every single day.

Asha almost cancelled her trip abroad for Celeste, but Celeste, being the sweet girl she is, wouldn't let her cancel it under any circumstances. She was in unbearable pain, it was killing her slowly, like a poison. Being alone was one of her biggest fears during the time but she still thought about others, made sure everyone else's lives went undisrupted. Asha had told Dante to check up on Celeste constantly and he has.

Dante knew Luca wasn't in any better shape than Celeste but Luca wasn't the victim here, he was the one who caused it all. This made Dante disappointed in Luca, which is why he didn't talk to Luca for the first two weeks.

Luca was going down the same hole as he did when Adriana left him. Dante found him those two weeks later, passed out on the floor of his living room him with almost 15 bottles of alcohol surrounding him, clutching onto the letter Celeste had written. He almost thought Luca had died from alcohol poisoning. He had gotten even more ruthless and destructive, and Dante was worried that Luca might hurt himself.

He didn't know if it was right to tell them to work it out, he couldn't imagine the extent of harm done, he didn't even think he had the right to tell them anything. However, the two people he cared about and loved are beating themselves down to nothing, so he had to help them both find closure whether it may come through them rekindling their tragic romance or separating.

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Adriana had everything under her grips now. Her plan to ruin everyone around Luca and then watch him burn was going great. One more important detail left to tie up.