A Quiet Kind of Ruin

My heart felt like it had been pierced by a rusted knife, a sharp pain shooting through me.

I looked at him, hardly able to believe my ears.

"She's out to get me..." I managed to choke out, each word heavy with the pain I felt.

Roman's expression was all worry and clear favoritism as he said, "I've told you. Liliana lost her parents because of the Jackson family. Sure, she's bitter and can be a bit over the top, but she doesn't actually want to kill you! She's just...just acting out!"

"She doesn't want to kill me?!" I cut him off, my voice rising with the pent-up hurt and anger of three long years. "She messed with my brakes, and I ended up with three broken ribs!

"She poisoned me, and I was out cold for three days! She blew up the deal site. Look at the burns it left me with! And just now, she tried to strangle me with a rope! If the doctor hadn't come in when he did, you'd be looking at a dead body right now!"

I was shouting so hard that my wounds started to bleed again, the bandages staining red as tears and sweat ran down my face.

Roman watched me fall apart, silent for a few heartbeats before he sighed and reached out to dry my tears.

I jerked away as if his touch was poison, snapping, "Don't touch me! I'm not backing down, not this time! She's going to pay for this. She's going to jail!"

Roman's face turned to stone.

He stared at me, any last trace of warmth in his eyes then gone.

"I've known Liliana my whole life," he said, each word deliberate and final.

"And yeah, maybe I've let her get away with too much. I'll ground her for three months, freeze her accounts, strip her of her privileges, and even pull her out of the family business."

Then, with iron in his voice, he said, "However, I won't let her go to jail and ruin her life. She's the last of the Jackson family Underboss' line."

He gave a subtle nod to someone nearby.

The Underboss, who had been lurking in the shadows, stepped forward and handed me a piece of paper.

I glanced down to see three bold words at the top: a forgiveness letter.

"Sign it," Roman said flatly, as if he were discussing the weather and not our fate. "Then we can pretend this never happened. When you're back on your feet, we'll still be Hudson City's golden couple."

I stared at the document, then at Roman, who felt both familiar and strangely alien, and a metallic taste rose in my throat.

That was insane!

"I won't sign it!" I slammed the papers onto the floor.

Roman stooped to retrieve them, brushing off the dust. His voice softened, almost pleading, as he said, "Liliana's never known hardship. She wouldn't survive a day in jail. Come on, Eleanor. Just do as you're told."

I turned away, shutting my eyes, letting my silence speak volumes.

Then, in a flash, the Underboss seized my bandaged wrist with an iron grip and twisted it.

A scream tore from me, raw and sharp.

The barely healed burns split open anew, blood soaking the bandages and my hospital gown.

He forced the pen into my hand, and I scrawled my name onto the paper, each letter a cut deeper into my soul.

Roman watched, a silent sentinel, sanctioning the cruelty.

Sweat and blood blurred my vision, but I forced myself to look up at the man I had loved for three years, my voice a raspy whisper as I said, "Roman, this is how you'd treat her? You'd do this to me...for Liliana?"

He did not even glance my way.

With the letter in hand, he seemed to relax. Without a backward look, he walked out, leaving an icy order behind. "Get the doctor. Use the best meds. Make sure she heals without scars."