Chapter Seven

VALENTINA’S POV

How dare he?

He thought holding my hand, shedding a few tears and whispering apologies would make me forget what I had seen?

After everything he had done tonight?

Just when I thought about giving him a chance to explain why he let me go to Russia on my own, he proved once again that I had made the right decision before.

It had taken a doctor and two nurses to calm me down. They injected me, making me fall asleep.

The moment I woke up, I found my dad right beside me. The dark circles under his eyes told me he hadn’t slept much.

The minute our eyes met, he stepped forward to help me up.

“Are you okay?” he asked. I remained silent, having no strength in me to speak.

“Do you want water?”

I nodded slowly.

He reached for the glass immediately. I watched him quietly. For the first time, I wondered what my disappearance had done to him. He had all the power to find me no matter where I ran. Yet, he let me stay away for three years.

Maybe he knew I needed to leave. He loved me enough to let me go.

Dad brought the cup to my lips. “Are you better now? Do you need something to eat?” He asked, his voice edged with concern.

I shook my head slowly.

Silence stretched through the room, and the air around us tensed, making the room feel small. Dad's face was tensed, and I could grasp that he had something eating his mind.

I sighed dejectedly. “Do you want to leave?” He asked softly, like he was testing the words.

“I know you hate this life, but I never expected you to—”

“No,” I interrupted. “I'm not leaving.”

He paused, studying me for a second. Waiting for me to change my mind, but nothing came. I had made my decision. This time, nobody was going to make it for me.

“A–are you sure?”

I nodded. “Yes, Dad.”

A soft smile tugged on his lips.

 “That's great,” he rose to his feet.

 “I have to take care of some urgent matters, but I'd have a maid sent here with your food. Please, try to eat something.”

I watched him leave, my mind returning to the decision I had just made..

I wasn't  completely sure what staying meant yet. But I knew what it didn’t mean.

I wasn’t staying for Renzo. And I certainly wasn’t going back to Daniel. For the first time in a while, I was going to figure out what I wanted. They could rot in hell for all I care. After everything that had occurred so far, the only thing that was on my mind was thinking about getting back on my feet.

I managed to eat a little when the maid brought the tray later in the day. The soup had gone cold and the bread was dry, but I forced myself to eat. My body still needed the strength.

 When I finished I pushed the tray aside and lay back down. Sleep came easy because of the medicine still in my system. My eyes closed and for a few hours my mind stayed quiet.

********

Three days had passed since the incident. Three long days of staying inside this same room with the same four walls. I managed to avoid Renzo the entire time.

Whenever I heard footsteps outside my door, I pretended to be asleep. He hadn’t made any attempt to talk to me, much to my surprise. Somehow, his silence bothered me more than his excuses had.  Part of me kept expecting him to force the door open with more of his excuses, but he stayed away and that silence only made the days feel longer.

That night, I could not stand the walls anymore. I pulled a hoodie over my head and walked downstairs as quiet as I could, careful not to make the floorboards creak.

The garden was dark and cool. Only a few lights from the house reached the path, leaving most of the grounds swallowed by shadows. I walked between the trees, my hands buried in my hoodie pockets.

I was almost in the middle of the garden when I felt a sense. I stopped. Something was definitely wrong. I couldn’t explain it, but every instinct I had been trained to trust was screaming at me. Someone was there. Watching me.

My heart started beating faster. I thought it was an intruder. Maybe someone sent after my father, or someone sent after me. I did not wait to find out.

My body moved before I had time to think. I spun around and tackled the figure with everything I had. We both hit the ground hard.

 “Who the hell are you?!” I yelled, trying to keep him pinned.

“Valentina, it’s me—stop!” he said right away.

“Renzo?!”

I stared down at him, my breathing hard.

“What the hell are you doing out here?”

“I wasn’t trying to scare you,” he said calmly.

 “I just needed to know that you were safe.”

“You don’t get to check if I’m okay!” I snapped. “I told you to leave me alone!”

“I know what you told me,” he said. “But three days is a long time to stay locked in a room. I couldn’t just sit and do nothing.”

“That is not your problem anymore!” I shot back. “You lost the right to care about me!”

“I never lost that right,” he replied. “Not in my mind.”

“Stop talking like that!”

“I can’t stop,” he said. “Not when you’re this close and still looks at me like you hate every part of me.”

My grip loosened for half a second. Renzo moved quickly, rolling us until he was beside me instead od underneath me. We were both breathing hard, our faces only inches apart.

He immediately released me.

“Get off me,” I whispered, breathing hard.

He did. But none of us moved.

“Just give me a second,” he said, his voice soft and close. “Please.”

“I don’t want to hear anything from you.”

“I know you’re angry,” his eyes glued to mine.

“You have every right to be.” He paused to catch his breath.

But what you saw isn’t what you think.”

“I said stop!”

“I can’t,” his voice dropped. 

“Not when we’re this close again. Not when I’ve spent three years wishing I had made a different choice.” Not when I still remember us sitting under this same sky, talking until sunrise.

For a dangerous second, I forgot why I was angry. I remembered us. The girl I used to be.

The boy who had once promised he’d never leave me.Then I remembered how exactly that promise ended.

I pushed myself away from him.

“Don’t make me remember us, Renzo.”