“Can you repeat that again?” Valentine asked. Her eyes became narrow, looking and listening intently at him. She might have mistaken her voice for someone else’s.
A grin pulled on his lips. “Yes, I was the one who called you earlier.” His eyes went back to Billy’s annoyed expression and cleared his throat. “Valentine, let’s talk outside for a moment. I do think your father is annoyed by our presence.”
In return, Billy gave them a scoff. And in respect for her father, Valentine went outside the room with the unknown stranger. All she thought was they’ll speak only outside of the room but, he led her to the elevator.
“Where are we going?” she inquired.
“I just thought you’ll need a breather,” he simply answered. A simple answer Valentine thought it was hard to figure out. What was he going to do? What was he going to say? What did he mean by her needing a breather? Questions ran inside her mind as the elevator rose up. The beats of her heart just randomly shifted to a fast pace. She’s inside the elevator with a man she never met in her entire life.
As the elevator did a quick ding, it opened and revealed them a garden. They were in a rooftop.
“I thought we’re restricted from coming here?”
“I had permission. My brother owns this hospital.”
Whatever this man standing beside her was, whatever name he held and profession he took… he’s wealthy and fed up of power.
Flowers of almost all sorts were there, blooming beautifully. In the middle of the garden, there were two chairs and a table in between. A glass roof in green towered over to give shade. The man sat first and he gestured her to sit.
Tired from all the running and walking Valentine did, she sat down on the vacant seat and leaned her back, letting herself melt. It wasn’t that sunny and now that they’re at the very top, it was windy. He was right, she undoubtedly needed a breather. But the thought of him wanting to talk to her resurfaced.
“Who are you?” She whipped her face to look at him. He didn’t face her. Instead, he got his eyes stuck on the road where vehicles from two-wheeled ones to 10-wheeled trucks were crossing.
“William Fajardo.”
Valentine took time to process everything. She dug deep into her memory. The William Fajardo name sounded ridiculously familiar to her. She was certain she met a William Fajardo back then. And, it hit her. William Fajardo was the boy she met in school, a year older than her, who used to bully her at high school. He called her names, bullied her by her appearance and her outfit preferences.
“You!” She stood up abruptly. The chair moved slightly backwards, scratching against the floor.
“Yes, me,” William looked at her.
She found it hard to read what expression he was holding. He couldn’t be upset, worried, surprised or even happy.
“What do you want from me? Humiliate me again?! Will, it’s been seven years! I have been living peacefully without you in my life for seven years! And now, you’ll just come back then hurt me once more? Is that really how you play your games, William? You know I don’t want to take part in it. I don’t know what kind of prank you’ll be playing on me again now but just get out of my sight!”
“I told you–you needed a breather,” William muttered. “Please hear me out, Valentine,” he begged.
“Oh, sure, go ahead.” She crossed her arms over her chest and avoided his eyes.
“Just sit first.”
She pulled the chair back to its former spot and sat down cautiously.
“I need your help.”
“Oh, so you need my help now? What can I help you with, sir?” she mocked and pushed a brow upwards.
“More like… a deal.”
“A deal?” Her eyes perked at his words. “What do you mean by a deal?”
“You help me with my personal matters and I’ll help you pay your father’s hospital bills.”
She scoffed. “Hospital bills? Who said about his hospital bills? I can manage paying his bills with my job. He only passed out, anyway.”
“Your father requires treatment. He’s diagnosed with a Coronary Artery Disease caused by smoking. That treatment would cost thousands… money that I know you can’t fully pay for a year. If you want your father back, then let’s make the deal.”
Valentine couldn’t believe what she just heard. She hated her father; despised him from his face, voice skin and deep into his bones. She didn’t want near him either. But he was the only one left in her life. Maybe… Maybe by helping him would eventually have his mind and choices changed. She exhaled a long, deep sigh and nodded. “Okay. So, what am I going to do?”
“This would only be a contractual agreement. All you need to do is marry me and once my problem is all settled, we can call it off.”
“Marry you?” she laughed. “You’re serious, right?” Valentine immediately had the thought of choking herself to death of what William spoke. Marrying the man who used to be her high school bully was the last thing she wanted to do now before she dies.
“Yes, I’m serious. So, are you in?”
“Yeah, sure… not a problem…” she dozed off. What was she getting herself into? She looked up as William stood from his chair, looking down at her with a sweet smile.
“Now that we’ve agreed, I need to go. The contract will be brought later this afternoon. I will have to ask someone to bring it to you since I have far more matters I needed to take care of. See you, Valentine.” William’s voice has changed since she last saw and heard him. He had gotten serious and gladly responsible. That would mean she won’t have a hard time handling him.
I usually write up to 2k words per chapter. Since the coins are more pricey the more words I write, I decided to cut the chapters in half. Hope you understand, thankies!
The lights inside the room were dimmed, although it was dimmed enough for them to see each other. They were standing near the bed, with William behind her. “I want to see you wearing it again,” William pleaded. His breath tickled against her neck as he moved the strands of Valentine’s hair aside to kiss her nape. “No,” Valentine replied promptly. What was he thinking? They already had a three-year old Xavier and a two-month old baby Yvonne to watch over. They just couldn’t simply hit a home run now that they had company. “Please? It’s been years since you wore my gift. I just want to see you in it one last time,” he begged. She scoffed, not believing in him with his words. “Are you certain with that ‘one last time’ of yours?” “Yes, I am.” She was convinced. Valentine sighed and wiggled out of William’s arms around her. She looked for the white lingerie he gave her the day after their wedding. It definitely had been a while since she wo
Twelve months had passed since they popped out the news of her pregnancy to Helen. And the mother-in-law herself popped the news out to the guests during her birthday celebration as well. Considering that there will always be paparazzi everywhere, it made the big announcement as a headline for the next day’s television news. Just after a few days since the announcement, Dave Henson, the manager of the restaurant where William proposed to her, apologized and introduced himself as William’s cousin. The second ‘little bird’ who did background checks on her for Helen. As Valentine didn’t want drama in her life anymore, she forgave him. After two months since Valentine gave birth to their first son, they went on a ‘little’ outing trip. Valentine, William, their baby, Billy, Helen, Vaughn, and Lucy went to Paris, France. Every time she would catch Lucy’s stare at her, she’d always receive multiple apologies at once. Yet, she forgave her too. Either once, twice, or
Just as planned, Valentine was already inside the room, she was just standing a meter away from the door, her back against the wall, and the gift she made for Helen was on her hand. William closed the door and she heard every step of his shoes click against the floor as he left.It had been minutes but Helen still hadn’t arrived. She was getting anxious; Valentine might have gotten inside the wrong room. Because of the nervousness she was earning, she’d been tightening her calves for a while now and they ached.Rather than making herself stand against the wall and wait for someone that took ages to arrive, she decided to get out of her position and pace around the room.The door opened as Helen came inside. To Valentine’s luck, it seemed that her mother-in-law hadn’t noticed her yet as she was busy talking with William. Quickly, Valentine went back to her previous position.As Helen walked in, she saw William carrying the gifts she
Valentine returned upstairs right after her conversation with Helen ended. Her husband was on his laptop. Based on the way he almost had his face plant itself to the monitor of his device, it showed that he typing away as if his life depended on it. Well, of course. William’s life did depend on it. She smiled at her silliness. “Hey.” “Why did you want to talk with her?” William asked as his eyes were still focused on the screen. “I wanted to tell her about this.” She circled her hand around her tummy as a gesture for him to understand why. His face softened and he closed his laptop. “How did it go?” the way his voice sounded smooth and cozy made Valentine want to jump on him, cuddle and scoop with him until this evening. “Well…” She plopped herself down on the bed, sitting with her back slouched and continued with a tone of disappointment, “I didn’t get the chance to tell her.” “And that’s because?” “I think your mothe
A maid knocked on their doors, as she said loudly that Helen requested for their presence as she wished to eat breakfast together with them. Valentine figured out that this could be the opportunity she’d take to tell her mother-in-law about the great news — which, she thought could be the reason if Helen would change her perspective of William and her.They got out of the room. Valentine thanked the maid for informing them and they followed her towards the dining room. Helen was already sitting on her seat with her food untouched.“Happy birthday,” Valentine greeted.She didn’t receive a verbal response. Instead, she received a stare. They ate their breakfast. All she could hear was the clink every time their spoons and forks knocked lightly against the plates. Just when they finished, Helen started a conversation about the company with William, making Valentine left out.She had to keep herself quiet just like what she did l
For every trip to almost all of the jewelry shops in the city the couple did to find the perfect gift for Helen, it took them half an hour until they switched to another shop. The both knew Helen Fajardo was a woman with the highest standards and expectations, considering that she was a wealthy widowed woman, of course she deserved something that would amuse her the most.Afterwards, they headed off to the arcade and spent the entire afternoon playing. They never once thought of eating for lunch. Valentine’s constant cheering, giggling, and laughing and William’s chuckling added fun to their little date.Not until William received a call from his mother, asking where he was and why it took the two of them to return back to the residence. They sped off back to the mansion not a minute later and had dinner together.It was a quiet one. They exchanged a few words every now and then, to be exact, it was only William and Helen who conversed, as Valentine