Chapter Five: The Woman He Left Behind

Jane POV

“Valentina,” Raymond said in a serious tone, a tone that made me scared.

“Still remember my name, right?” Valentina said with a mocking, bitter smile as she stopped two feet away from us. “So why haven’t you answered my calls for the last four days, Ray? I left you a dozen messages, but none of them have been returned.”

“I’ve been very busy,” Raymond replied simply, as if her confrontation had not affected him at all.

“Busy, huh?” Valentina laughed, loud and sharp, without a shred of humor in her tone as she tilted her head. “You have always been busy. That’s your excuse for everything, Raymond.”

I held my ground and put all my weight on his sleeve as I looked at both of them. My mind was racing, trying to piece together the history written in the sharp tension vibrating between them. I was completely clueless about who this woman was.

Valentina looked directly into my eyes, turning my face to look at her, and studying my dress, with a look of pure disgust. She raised a well-groomed finger at my face, staring back at Raymond.

“Who's she, Raymond?” Valentina insisted, and her voice got louder as more guests could hear her. “Who is this peasant by your side?”

“You don’t need to know her name,” Raymond said, as his grip on my waist increased a little, dragging me half a step closer to him.

“She is Jane,” Mason interrupted, stepping forward with an amused grin as he raised his champagne glass toward Valentina. “She is Raymond's new girlfriend.”

“What?” Mason held his free hand up in his defense after seeing Raymond’s deadly expression. “I mean, she needed to know her name, right? It is best not to play dumb. You’ve already introduced her to the entire room.”

The fragrance of her thick floral perfume completely filled my perimeter as Valentina opened her eyes wide and stepped closer.

Saying nothing, Valentina gave a fake smile and said, “Hello, Jane,” before looking back at Raymond. “I didn’t realize you were bringing a new girlfriend to a public event, Raymond. Especially since you only dumped me five days ago.”

“Well, that was five days ago,” Raymond said, his voice entirely nonchalant.

Squeezing her hands at her sides, Valentina leaned in closer and whispered, “We are betrothed, Raymond. You know our families made an alliance, and it is a sacred contract. You can’t break it just because you found some new pet.”

My breath caught tightly in my throat as my legs weakened, feeling like they might give way at any moment.

This was completely wrong. This was not part of the deal. When I walked into his dark office that day and offered anything to save my father, we only agreed to a contract lover arrangement for one single year.

A contract marriage was something we hadn't talked about. Raymond had never once mentioned to me that he wanted to marry me, and when he did in front of many dangerous people, my head started spinning with sheer panic.

The speed of all the things was too much, and I felt like I was in a stream of water I couldn't swim in.

“You are insane,” Valentina shrieked, her voice breaking with rage. “You can’t just dump me like that, Raymond. We are meant to have a child together, an heir that will keep your legacy. I will make sure the Commission bosses find out before the night is over. My dad will bring the whole council down on you.”

The look on his face was that of carved stone; he didn't even flinch. “Be my guest, Valentina.”

Valentina's breathing started to get rough and her chest rose and fell as she glared at him, but then her eyes locked in with mine. She didn't shout anymore; she looked at me with a sharp, searching look like she knew me or something.

“Wait,” Valentina whispered viciously. “I've seen this face before! You seem so familiar.”

“Wait… aren’t you his accountant?” she asked, a cruel, mocking laugh rising from her throat as she looked at me, then toward Raymond. “You work in one of his lower offices. Are you really bringing a common working girl to high society, Raymond?”

No one replied. Raymond ignored her, his imposing stature remaining completely impassive, while Mason stood wide-eyed, his mouth hanging open.

Valentina spat, “You little thief.” Her face twisted with rage as she took one last step toward me. “You think you can simply come into his life and take him away from me? BITCH!!”

Before I could even think of an answer, Valentina lifted her right hand, palm flat and outstretched, and swung her arm directly at my face, as if she meant to punch me in front of everyone.

There were two loud, simultaneous clicks nearby. Two of Raymond’s personal bodyguards stepped out from the shadows of the pillars, dressed in dark suits, their handguns pointed directly at Valentina’s head.

I couldn't breathe as soon as I saw the weapons in the air. This was the first time I ever had the opportunity to look at a real gun in my life!

To my eyes, guns were on TV or far-out-of-the-way news reports, separated from my own serene world of spreadsheets, tax codes, and down-the-hall corridors of silence.

A few inches from my face, now, the cold metal caught the brilliant light of the chandeliers, and the sheer brutish weight of the thing made my knees instantly buckle.

I couldn't move. My fingers froze against Raymond's sleeve, my eyes locking onto the dark, empty barrels of the guns.

The nearby crowd froze, gasping in fear, while some women covered their mouths and others ran back to avoid any possible line of fire.

The speed at which Raymond’s men brought out their guns, ready to end a human life right in the middle of a luxury ballroom, paralyzed me.

No second-guessing, no warning, no fear of consequences. It was pure, uncompromising violence threatening to erupt over a mere insult, and the thought that people could get taken down easily in this circle was like a punch in the gut.

“Drop your weapons,” Raymond instructed, his voice low and completely calm, not even turning his head to look at his men.

The guards lowered their guns at once, slipping them back into their finely fitted jackets, and moved back to their positions beside us, but their eyes were on Valentina's shaking figure.

She stepped back, her lungs gasping for air as she understood that she had come so close to death because of an action.

I looked at him, my mind turning dark with regret and fear. My dad was in a private room, but as I looked around the room staring at dangerous faces, a single, frantic question replayed in my head on a continuous loop.

What the hell have I just gotten myself into?