Chapter 18
That first summer afternoon when they met.
It had been a simple day.
A sudden sunshower caught her without an umbrella.
She wore a white dress-
And the rain had soaked her through.
The fabric clung to her skin, turning nearly transparent.
Vivian had relized the state she was in.
Her face flushed with shame as she tried to cover herself, rain drenching her until she was soaked to
the bone.
The downpour fell relentlessly, turning her into a picture of vulnerability–white dress clinging to
her skin, translucent, revealing.
Rhett had only glanced in her direction from the car-
And that glance stole his breath.
His heart slammed against his ribs.
Uncontrolled.
Undeniable.
That was the moment he fell for her.
He stopped the car.
Rolled down the window.
Offered gently, “Do you want to hop in? Looks like you’re a little… uncomfortable.”
Now this Mafia Rival Claims Me
Chapter 18
Vivian turned toward the voice.
Their eyes met.
And Rhett’s entire world stopped.
His brain blanked.
He could hear nothing but the wild pounding in his chest.
But she saw a young man and immediately grew wary.
She declined without hesitation.
“Thanks, but no need. I’ll be fine.”
When she turned to leave, Rhett panicked.
For the first time in his life, he acted on impulse.
He grabbed her hand and gently draped his coat over her shoulders.
“I won’t get in the car, okay? I’ll just wait with you. The rain won’t last long.”
And then, stupidly…
He stood in the downpour beside her.
Soaked to the skin.
Forgetting he had an umbrella in the trunk.
He forgot everything-
Except her.
Later, he shamelessly asked for her number.
Then studied her habits.
Orchestrated countless “coincidental” encounters.
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Confessed–again and again.
And when she finally said yes…
He felt like the luckiest man alive.
He’d never imagined he could love someone like this.
After all–he knew what love looked like in his world.
His father… was incapable of it.
Cold. Ruthless. A monster cloaked in elegance.
He collected women like trophies, mistaking possession for affection.
And then there was his mother-
The exception.
His father didn’t love her either, he simply wanted her, so he took her.Tore her from the man she
truly loved, forced her to bear his child.
That child was Rhett.
She couldn’t bear the life she was given, couldn’t bear him.
So she ended
ht in front of her son.
e with his own eyes.
ther stare at her corpse without even flinching.
had grown up believing he’d never love.
Couldn’t love.
But now?
Now, he had become both of them.
Like his mother, he had loved with all his heart.
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And like his father–he had destroyed the one he loved.
He downed drink after drink.
Until the floor was littered with bottles, empty and forgotten.
He lay curled up on the couch, drenched in sweat and alcohol, body wracked with pain.
His face pale, breath shallow.
He’d torn his own stomach apart–but didn’t care.
No one came.
No one could save him from this guilt.
Vivian…
She must’ve been in a thousand times more pain.
He closed his eyes, voice cracking:
I’m sorry.
If he died like this….
Maybe it would be better.
The darkness took him.
And in that fog, he remembered.
Vivian, fumbling in the kitchen, trying to learn how to cook for his weak stomach.
Vivian, sitting beside him with a thermos of warm soup, reminding him to eat every few hours.
All the ordinary tenderness…
Gone forever.
Maybe death wasn’t so bad.
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Maybe Caleb was right.
Maybe she’d never come back.
–
But even in self–destruction, Rhett didn’t die.
Charles and the others had found him just in time.
Now, in the sterile hospital room, Rhett opened his eyes.
Alive.
Barely.
Charles let out a breath of relief.
“You scared the shit out of us, man.You really wanted to die over this? Look… I know you’re wrecked. But dying won’t fix it.”
“If you really regret it, then tell her. Caleb might be after her, but it’s not over for you–not completely.At least let her know the truth. That you’re sorry.”
“You really want her to hate you for the rest of her life? You want that to be the final memory she has
of you?”
Rhett stared at the ceiling, his face unmoving, but something shifted in his eyes.
A long silence passed.
Then he finally said, hoarsely:
“You’re right. I have to find her. I have to find her family. I need to apologize.”
“Maybe… just maybe… she’ll forgive me.”
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