Chapter 013

VALERIE 🎀

My steps halt and I turned around slowly to face him.

"W.. what? How—

His eyes narrowed, cigarette forgotten between his fingers. "Don’t play dumb with me, Valerie. I know you met him. I have people watching."

"You’re spying on me now?" I asked, my voice rising.

"Answer the damn question," he snapped, stepping forward. "What did Gareth want from you?"

"I don’t owe you an explanation," I shot back, fists clenched at my sides.

"The hell you don’t." His voice was a quiet storm. "Why did you meet him?

"Your spies didn't tell you that I didn't meet him willingly? I fired.

"I thought I was meeting you . I didn't even know he existed until I met him."

Zachary's eyes flickered, just for a moment and he masked it as quickly as he always did.

He then leaned closer and tucked my hair behind my ear,his expression dark.

"Your father and Gareth are business partners, shouldn't you know all your business partners? He murmured, his hot breath fanning my face.

My father knew Gareth? I opened my mouth, then closed it. What was I supposed to say? He wouldn't believe me anyway.

He straightened and stepped back when I fell silent.

"Tsk, tsk, you must really take me for a fool, Ursula."

"Zach, I swear, I know nothing about that."

He whirled around so fast that I thought his neck might snap.

" What did you call me? He asked.

"Zach?

His eyes darkened dangerously and I took a step back.

" You are not allowed to call me that. Never!

His jaw ticked as he ground his teeth against each other, his body vibrating in anger.

"Why? I asked before I could stop myself. "Isn't that your name?

He took a threatening step forward, his voice a low growl. "That is reserved for people who I hold dear in my heart,not manipulative leeches like you."

I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "Really? That’s rich coming from you. The last time I checked, the only manipulative douchebag here is you."

His face hardened but I didn’t back down.

He raised his hand and I flinched, instinctively.

Zachary's eyes narrowed slightly but he didn't say anything. He simply let his hand fall back to his side.

"I don't care about your relationship with Gareth", he said at last with a low voice. "but as long as we're married, you're to away from him".

I stared at him blankly, raising my chin defiantly. "And what if I don't?

" I will chain you to the bed if that's what it'll take to keep you away from him". The dangerous glint in his eyes told me he wasn't kidding. But I’d be damned if he thought he could control me.

"You wouldn't dare". My voice came out quieter than I intended.

He tilted his head, a silly smirk dancing on his lips. "Try me and see."

We stood there glaring at each other, none of us backing down. I lost track of time and my feet were hurting for standing too long.

With a defeated sigh, I dropped my gaze to the floor.

"I already told you", I began slowly, my shoulders sagging from exhaustion. "I didn't know who he was and as for his closeness with my father, I don't know about that either."

When I lifted my eyes, Zachary was staring at me, his jaw clenched tight, fingers balled into fists at his sides. He didn’t believe me. Of course he didn’t.

“You know what? Believe whatever you want.” I muttered, turning on my heel. “I’m out of here.”

I walked away, feeling the heat of his gaze burning into my back.

I stopped by the kitchen, grabbed a glass of water, and made my way upstairs. My head was pounding, and all I wanted was the comfort of my room.

But as I passed the dimly lit hallway, something caught my eye.

A painting.

Hidden beneath the shadow and if I hadn't looked closely, I would have missed it.

A dusty linen was hung carelessly over it, barely concealing it.

Whoever hid it had done a bad job as half of the painting was visible.

Curious,I removed the fabric and the dust from the fabric clung to my nose making it twitch. I sneezed hard and waved a hand in front of me to clear the dust.

The painting was finally exposed and it was a portrait of a woman.

Her back was turned to me and her head tilted slightly to the side, her eyes were filled with love, soft and dreamy with something intimate.

Her hair caught my attention. It was ginger. It fell in curled waves down her back, wild yet graceful. Something about it stirred a memory that I buried long ago.

I took a shaky step back. Was it merely a coincidence that the girl in my dreams also has ginger hair?

I could make out some writing on the lower part of the portrait. I wiped the dust off with my fingers and squinted my eyes to read what was written there.

'Moyei lyubovnitse, Anna.

Anna? Who was she? And why did that name feel oddly... familiar?

What does that phrase mean? I took a mental note to check the meaning later.

My fingers traced the contours of her face.

Even the soft smile on her lips had been captured perfectly. The painter was certainly in love with her.

" Don't touch that! His voice sliced through the quiet night, making jump slightly.

My hand froze midway , my breath catching in my throat. When did he get here?

Slowly, I turned to face him. His jaw was tight, his eyes turned a shade darker and were hooded with something I couldn’t quite place.

" Why? I asked, tilting my head. "afraid my filthy hands might taint your precious painting?

He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he took a few purposeful strides toward me, his eyes never leaving mine.

" You are not allowed to touch that." He said, enunciating every word.

Without waiting for my reply, he shoved me aside and draped the linen over the painting.

For a split second, I noticed his features softened as he took in the painting but they hardened when he turned to face me.

"What are you doing here? He growled.

" Nothing, you should have done a better job concealing your precious painting." I said, eyeing him curiously. Was Zachary in love with this Anna girl? I need to test it out.

"I don’t understand why you’re being so dramatic over a painting," I said, glancing at it again." Is she an ex? A secret lover?

He flinched. A movement so small that I almost missed but I saw it. And it thrilled me in the worst way. Zachary was hiding something and I'm going to find out what.

"It's none of your business." He gritted his teeth and his shoulders shook.

My lips curled into a slow smile. "I'm right, huh?"

"You really don’t know when to shut up," he muttered, turning his back to me.

"Nope", I shrugged. "I finally have something to use against you. You called me a manipulative leech, remember? I think it's time to test my skills."

He stopped mid step and turned to me, his expression. " Let's see how long you can hold on, Ursula."

With that, He walked away leaving me standing at the middle of the hallway.

Once he left, I let the brave front drop.

Zachary was capable of loving someone? I should really check the news again, I might have missed the apocalypse. But before then, I need to find out who this woman was. She could be the answer to all my questions.