Just when Valentine was about to sit down on the front passenger’s seat, Missy whispered to her that she wanted to be the one who’ll sit with William for the rest of the ride. Valentine, understanding fully that it was all part of their plan, agreed.Missy was the one who kept bombarding William with questions about where he had come from, what he does during work, if he gets to receive a good pay and what it would feel like to be a famous millionaire. After her questions, she started cracking jokes that were not too funny. Because of this, Valentine and Delilah was forced to fake their laughs until Missy arrived home.With Missy gone, the ride was silent. What filled the emptiness was Delilah’s voice as she guided William where her house was located.The next morning, Valentine took a deep breath as she was being brought down to the restaurant again by William. It was yet another day for work. Somehow, she felt good knowing that she had declin

That was the problem. Valentine didn’t know where William’s—their—house was located in spite of how many times she had been there. That was her fault for not paying attention to the directions, always complaining and zoning out of herself.“Why did Sofie leave that soup to you again?” Missy opened the pot, letting steam escape from being trapped inside. The scent of almost every ingredient combined, hovered itself in the air.“She told me it’s ours now. We can return the pot to her soon, though.” She looked at the both of them then continued, “are you both hungry?”Missy closed it back again and shook her head, disagreeing. “What about you, D?”Delilah held up her hand, gesturing them to wait as she continued typing down on her phone. Her brows were almost scrunched together and her thin lower lip got bitten by her upper teeth.“What are you busy again with, D? Is i

To Valentine’s luck, she managed the shop perfectly. There were not that much problems, her co-workers were easy to get along with, and the costumers were somehow quite easy for them to please. She wondered how Delilah was going, and Sofie too.She watched Missy crack jokes with the co-workers now that it was their time to close down the shop. The co-workers waved farewell as they left. Giggles and gossiping erupted from them right after. Meanwhile, Valentine and Missy waited outside.“When will William pick us up?” Missy tied her hair up into a ponytail.“He’ll be here any second now,” Valentine muttered. It made her smile a little realizing that he had become their personal driver.Not a minute longer, William pulled over in front of them. Missy pulled herself to the front seat while Valentine to the back seat.Valentine noticed William fix his rear-view mirror and she caught his eyes through it. “How was

“You’ll see,” he said. The elevator dinged in a different tone, indicating that they were now on the floor where William’s office was located.Valentine stepped back to the center, readying herself before the door opens. Once more, unexpectedly — which she needs to get fond with —, William snaked his hand to hers, intertwining the fingers tightly. Unfortunately, it was too late for her to complain.The familiar face of a woman Valentine recently met greeted them with a huge smile.“Pepper?”“Sweetie!” Pepper beamed.“What are you doing here? You work here?” Valentine’s mind was filled with confusion. But she managed to take a little trip back to a minute ago. “You’re training me?” She walked first out of the elevator, fingers still intertwined with William’s.“Pepper is a professional model trainer; as she’s been training the com

Her brows met and her nose scrunched up, disapprovingly. “There’s nothing wrong with telling me what you feel. Doesn’t it feel good to have the pain let out of your chest for once?”William smiled at her then nodded. “You’re right. Thank you, Valentine.”He was hurt because of his family and she treated him unfairly. Somehow, she felt her heart open up to him. She wanted to reach her arms out wide then give him a hug. She struggled to find words.Knocking came from outside the glass doors, then Missy and Pepper came inside, two pairs of shoes on Missy’s hands while Pepper had one pair of shoes with her. The both of them stopped in front of the couple as they shifted their eyes from Valentine to William, then vice versa.“Are we disturbing something?” Missy asked, giggling nervously yet alarmingly.“Did you two need more privacy?” Pepper asked.“No,” Valentine