"Time and memory are true artists, they remould reality neare to the heart's desire." -John Dewey- *** Time had passed by so fast, each year just seemed to go by faster and faster than the previous ones. For once there was peace in Clara's life. She felt like ever since she moved to Paris, things were a bit more complicated than they used to be, with Raphael and the lifestyle he had driven her into, quiet moments of solitude when she could just stay in her room while drinking a cup of warm chamomile tea felt like a blessing. Such serenity she had not felt in a long time, it almost made her lost track of reality. It was early December, the city had been painted with white hue of the snow. Some little children were seen playing outside and the shopping streets were filled with fashionista who needed to change up their looks. Winter had arrived in Paris and Christmas was making its way, the shops had been decorated with Christma

"Each betrayal begins with trust." -Martin Luther- *** Raphael was laying on his bed typing something on his laptop when suddenly his phone buzzed. He usually had his phone on silent mode but it seemed her had forgotten to do so, he picked up his phone on the bedside counter and looked who it was. It came from an unknown number, he usually ignored unknown numbers but he had no idea why he was so tempted to open it up and he did. What he saw really tore him, it was a picture of Clara and Corentin kissing, he zoomed in the picture just to be sure and no matter how many times he saw it, it was still both of them. Any rational man would double check the picture, in case it was a Photoshop, but Raphael had his pride hurt before anything else. He threw his phone on the ground and it smashed, cracking it's screen. He tried to take several deep breaths, but his fury could not be contained. His emotion got the best of him. His

"An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools." -Ernest Hemingway- *** Raphael had drunk his pain away that night, he went to the nearest bar and indulged himself in alcoholic beverages, shots after shots went by quicker than the bartender could make them, usually he was not someone who would resort to alcohol to ease his pain. Yet the pain he was feeling was beyond anything he had been through before. He just could not take it anymore. Something inside of him knew he should not be doing it and it would solve nothing, but you cannot make reason with miserable people. He was half drunk when he realized he could not go home alone, with all consciousness he had left, he called Gilbert and asked him to pick him up as soon as possible, knowing fully that the last shots he made would make him completely drunk. Still, he ordered them anyway. The bartender seemed to be concerned but he had known Rap

"No amount of guilt can change the past and no amount of worrying can change the future." -Umar ibn Al-Khattab- *** Dennis Bellavance stared at his dying daughter with tears in his eyes. As a man he had tried to keep his emotions away from the public eye since he had always wanted to appear strong for his family. Yet how could he remain strong when the only family member he had left was battling her life while he could do absolutely nothing about it. He picked up a glass of water from the side and drank it. From afar he could see the leftover dinner he did not finish since he could not digest it properly. He felt way too sick to eat anything. The hospital room was awfully quiet, it was only him and her in the room. The nurse had previously attended to her. They said as long as she was breathing she still had a chance of waking up. As the doctors tried to figure out what was exactly wrong with her. They were making attempts to

"Truth is rarely pure and never simple." -Oscar Wilde- *** Rainier stood in front of the hospital room. He squirmed his hands together, admittedly, he was nervous, anxiety filled every fiber of his being. He wondered if he made the right decision, but he had gone so far and he had no choice but to take a step forward. It was difficult heading out from his window without her sister knowing, he thought he was going to die, but there was a certainty in his mind, he needed to do it. He knocked on the door and after a moment, Raphael opened the door. He had known about Raphael, he was pretty famous after all, and his sister had shown him a picture of Clara with Raphael. But of course he was welcomed with a confused look from him. Behind them, on the couch, Corentin had also woken up from the noise, he had high sensitivity toward noises. Both men were now fully alert, Rainier knew they would be suspicious of him, first thing he did