All Chapters of Valerio's Secretary: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Valerio's POVThe boardroom is still and quiet, one can hear the sound of a pin drop. I sit at the head of the table, my hands resting on the polished mahogany, my face set in an expression carved from stone. The board members are speaking now, their voices blending into a low hum of numbers and projections. I listen attentively, but only respond when needed, challenge weak arguments, and push for better margins.Physically I am present, but I’m not here.I am acutely aware of her presence across the room. She is seated at the side, her tablet in front of her, fingers flying across the keyboard. She might want to be invisible to everyone else, but she is the only thing I can see.I don’t look at her. I can’t.If I look at her, I will break and cross the room, take her in my arms, and tell them all to go to hell. I will tell them she is everything and that I think I am in love with her.But―I can’t do that.One of the senior board members leans forward, his eyes sharp. "There has been

Zara's POVThe morning air is cold and sharp as I step out of my car and stand in the parking garage for a moment, gripping my bag and trying to steady myself. I barely slept. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face at the board meeting, heard the coldness in his voice, and the way he denied me like I was nothing.I am done waiting for him to explain. Whatever I was thinking…that maybe the past would come back and work out, that was delusion. I am going to work, I am going to do my job, and I am going to pretend he does not exist.The elevator doors open on the executive floor, and I step out, my heels clicking against the marble while I keep my gaze forward and stern. I don’t look in the direction of his office. I don’t care if the curtains are drawn or if he’s in there. If he needs anything, he can do it for himself. I settle into my desk and open my laptop. Settling into the familiar routine of emails, reports, and shipment tracking and confirmation. I drown myself in work and

Zara's POVThe days blur into a painful routine. I go to work, sit at my desk, answer emails, and confirm shipments on autopilot. I don’t look at his office. I don’t speak to him unless absolutely necessary.He does the same.The silence is suffocating. I feel his presence like a physical weight even when the curtains are drawn, and it makes my chest ache with a longing I hate myself for. Every time he walks past without a word, it hurts. Every time I force myself not to look, it hurts more. And on other days, he stays behind his drawn curtains like a ghost haunting his own life until I leave the office. I feel like I am fading away.I go home, make dinner, play with Liam, read him stories, and tuck him into bed. Then, I lie awake at night, staring at the ceiling, replaying every word he said."I didn't know you then. If I did, everything would've been different."The words echo in my head. They are supposed to hurt, but they do, and I can’t stop thinking about them.At lunch, I sl

Zara's POVThe air in the office is still heavy, but there is a crack in the silence, and a shift in the tension. I feel it the moment I sit down at my desk. His curtains are still drawn, but the weight of his presence is lighter now than it was a couple of days ago. I delve into work, but my mind keeps racing back to the events of yesterday. The construction site, the dust hanging in the air, thick and gritty, and the sound of machinery echoing from somewhere deep inside the half-finished building. The way his hand gripped my arm when I stumbled and the way he whispered "Attenta." The charged silence on the car ride back, and the way his voice broke when he said he was sorry. Everything feels like I am in yesterday at the moment. I press my palms to my eyes and take a deep breath, my hands shaking.I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep pretending I don’t feel it and that I don’t love him. I love him. I have always loved him, and that’s the worst part of all of this.At noon, I wa

Zara's POVThe storm is raging now.I stand in the unfinished kitchen, my arms wrapped around myself, watching the rain lash against the exposed beams. The wind howls through the gaps in the walls, rattling the tarps that flap and snap like wounded birds. The sky is black, the clouds so thick and low that they seem to swallow the world.I’ve never experienced anything like this before.Valerio is standing at the counter, his back to me, trying to get a small camping stove to light. His hands move with practiced efficiency, and his shoulders are tense beneath his jacket. He’s trying to be normal, keep things practical, and pretend this is just another work trip.I know it is not.I just don’t know why he brought me along. I don’t know why he is pretending.The wind howls louder and I flinch."Are you scared?" he asks.I don’t answer. I am scared. I am scared of the dark, of the howling wind, of being trapped in this half-finished house with a man who confesses his love in letters and t