Between Love and Ruin

***Rafael***

It was past 5 pm by the time my brothers and I returned to the villa from Barolo.

I could already feel her absence right from the moment we drove in through the gate, and when I got into our bedroom and saw that some of her things were gone, my heart sank into my stomach.

I was filled with nothing but rage and resentment, yet still—even at that—I didn't know how to go on living withou