Justina Valentine Born Novels & Stories

" He had never done that in his life, but this was the first time, for the sake of having a woman named Valerie. The next day, Valerie was ready in her simple office clothes. Dressed to the nines, she left for the office by bus. She traveled on foot to get to the bus stop, where the bus he often rode would pass. After getting on the bus, Valerie immediately took a seat in one of the window seats. She put both handsets to her ears and played a playlist of slow songs while enjoying her journey to the office, which was something Valerie often did to accompany her. She was just a poor Valerie, born to a mother who did not consider her existence. Valerie's mother was a famous model, and her face

"She tried. You didn’t care enough to hear it." Ava didn’t stop. "You want to know the funniest part? She didn’t even need your life. She was Elena Valenti. She had guards, cars, money, a father who could buy your airline if he got bored. But she gave all of it up to stand behind you." Julian gripped the phone until his knuckles went white. "I didn’t know." "Because you never asked." Ava’s voice dropped. "You loved having a woman who waited, cooked, packed, forgave, and never made you feel small. You didn’t love her. You loved the service."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience." "I am." She smoothed her dress over her knees. "I am Valentina Reyes. My father is one of the Castillo cousins. Not close enough to matter but close enough to be invited when the new patriarch requests a full gathering." She said it without bitterness but the facts landed heavily. "I have been coming to these things since I was seventeen and I have never once been asked what I wanted for dinner let alone what I wanted for my life." "That's—" "Normal." She finished. "In this world that is just normal."

“That’s your cue, Mama.” “Stop calling me that,” I muttered, but followed her anyway. We’d barely taken a few steps when the door to one of the consultation rooms opened, and someone stepped out. Valeria. Or rather, Valeria Lombardi now, eight, maybe nine months along, her belly round beneath a loose beige dress. She looked pale and tired, like all the light had been drained from her. The kind of exhaustion that didn’t come from pregnancy, but from surviving someone like Rino.

Her eyes flicked to me. “So this is her.” She didn’t smile. She just nodded once and said, “Then you need to hear what he did. To me. To all of us.” We sat in a candlelit back room while she poured us wine with steady hands. Her name was Valentina. Years ago, she was Lucas’s lover—and spy. She said she escaped when he tried to use her as a pawn in a scheme gone wrong. “He has a new plan now,” she said. “Something much bigger than revenge.”

VALENTINA’S APARTMENT – UPPER EAST SIDE – 7:45 PM Valentina sat curled up on the couch in the dark living room. The only light came from a small lamp in the corner. She still wore the black sweater from court. Her eyes were swollen and red. She hadn’t eaten all day. The pain from losing her baby sat heavy in her chest like a stone. The doorbell rang. She didn’t want to answer it. But after the third ring, she stood up slowly and walked to the door.

I say while brushing my hair in front of the vanity mirror. The door opens slowly and Valentina walks in carrying a silver tray filled with freshly chopped fruits, neatly arranged beside a small glass of juice. “I made this for you,” she says softly, placing the tray on the vanity. For a second I just stare at her. Valentina Massimo. The same woman that once looked at me like I was beneath her. Now standing in my room making me fruit because I’m carrying her grandchild. Life is strange. I smile faintly. “Thank you.”

Ava stiffened, but Damien stepped forward, protective, “No. We didn’t steal anything, she was never yours to claim.” Valentina laughed bitterly, her hands spreading in mock surrender. “Never mine? I found her bleeding on a roadside, broken and abandoned. Where were you then, Roth? Drowning in your wealth? She was dying, and I gave her life. I gave her a name when she had none. Valerie is mine because I made her.” Selena flinched at the name—Valerie. It was fading already, crumbling at the edges, but Valentina’s voice wrapped around it like chains.

she says. "I am good," Valentina says. "I am forty-seven, and I have three children, and I have not slept a full night in three months, and I am entirely, specifically good." "Because you chose it," Cristina says. "Because I chose all of it," Valentina confirms. "The practice and the twins and the book and the foundation and the marriage. All of it chosen. All of it is correct." "The twelfth year," Cristina says. "Of the practice."

Justin bowed his head slightly, and swallowed hard. “Can you please let me in? I promise I'll be quick with whatever I want to tell you”. Valerie exhaled deeply before rolling her eyes. She would rather not face Justin. I mean, why would she want to face him? He is her half sister's fiancé, and most of all her ex-boyfriend. “I'll give you 10 minutes. Once the 10 minutes elapses, you'll have to leave then” Valerie heaved, and Justin nodded as he got into the sitting room.