“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!
She watched him leave, enter the elevator and gave her a small smile. She shrugged in disgust. She’ll be actually marrying the same man who bullied her. Never in her life has she wished on meeting him again; he was her worst nightmare. And her worst nightmare had actually came back to haunt her once again. When Valentine entered her father’s room. He was sleeping peacefully on his bed. Sighing, she brought the chair closer to him and she sat. Hesitantly, she held her father’s hand. It felt warm and cozy. It has been a long time since she last held her father’s hands. The same hands who would beat her up. The same hands who she has always wanted to hold when she would feel frustrated. “I hope you’ll feel better soon and change, dad.” Knocks on the door erupted from the other side, waking Valentine from her nap. As she woke up, she realized she has been holding on to her father’s big, warm, calloused hands. She released her hold an
Time had passed with no updates or information Valentine gained about William, the man to whom she will be wed, bound by the contract she had signed yesterday afternoon. She woke up early to go back home, take a shower then eat her breakfast. Valentine was quiet for the entire morning. She almost thought of going to the restaurant to start her duties but Sofie had given her two days off. She never had off-duties. From Mondays to Sundays, all she does is work. Valentine cleaned everything that needed cleaning inside the house. She did the laundry, cleaned her father’s room. Disposed of the cigarettes and ashes. She was never going to deny that their house looked like an abandoned dump. It reeked of cigarettes and alcoholic drinks. It seemed to have germs, bacteria and anything unpleasant sticking into the walls.
Hours had passed and Valentine’s most favorite ringtone rang, indicating that someone was calling her. She dismissed it, thinking that she still needed more sleep. To her dismay, something tugged on her hair and pulled. She gasped in shock. “What the hell are you doing here?! Shut. That. Thing. Off!” Billy exclaimed. He was awake, looking furiously at his daughter while Valentine gave him the teary eyes on him that she had always practiced on hiding. She didn’t want to let her father see her as a weakling. “Get out of my sight,”
They both got out of the car. Like a gentleman, William opened the door and offered a hand for Valentine to hold which was very odd. She immediately thought this could be part of the act. She placed her hand on top of his and stepped out. They walked towards the new restaurant, the reason why they were losing customers. Valentine gritted her teeth. She was officially entering the restaurant that caused their problems. She didn’t know why they were losing customers. Valentine knew she was a good cook but what was keeping them from gaining more? Instead of making sure the date was going great as what William expected it to be, she thought of investigating the restaurant become her priority for tonight.As they were now closer to the doors, the doorman pulled it open, greeting them with a smile. Valentine considered that it wasn’t the doorman’s intentions to take away the costumers. In fact, he only pushes and pulls the do
.“I’m a chef from the restaurant a few minutes away from here,” she answered. Valentine noticed William’s face, he appeared to be that he was really listening intently to what she said. “What about you? What do you do for a living?”“I work at the Lux Style company.”Valentine’s eyebrow pushed upward. He was talking something interesting. The Lux Style was founded on 1983 by the great Alexander Fajardo. She nodded slowly, now getting the point. It all made sense to her now. The r
Cheers and claps filled the room when the audience heard Valentine shriek her answer. With a forced smile, she watched William stand up, hold her hand and gently inserting the ring through her finger. It was beautiful. The ring was made of white gold, its mount had no tiny diamonds engraved in it. The only thing that captured her attention fully was the sapphire gem gazing up at her. She wondered how much the ring would have costed. Valentine hoped he didn’t spend thousands just for an engagement ring. On the brighter side, the ring must have been an old one he found in the attic. She knew he wouldn’t even spend thousands of dollars for her. He was her bully after all. They hated each other.Speaking of hatred, Valentine snapped herself out of her thoughts and whipped her head to look at William. His smile was big as there were a few people who approached him, congratulating. She wondered, did he still hate her like before? Will he be humiliating her again now tha
Horrified at what she heard, she sighed heavily and surrendered. He was right. He knew she hated him. If she knew what his plans were, she would definitely walk to the other side and flip things around. “Just… take me to my house,” she muttered and turned her back against him. She was now facing the window where street lights looked blurry due to how fast the car went. “Wake me up when we get there.” She tried to close her eyes shut and erase her thoughts to lead her to a peaceful sleep. It didn’t take her more than five minutes to dive down in her dreams and snore. Meanwhile, William pushed the rear-view mirror to face his fiancé. His eyes looked straight at her through the mirror. Her soft snores did make him think she had now fallen asleep. The next morning, Valentine stretched her arms out and yawned with her eyes still completely closed. The soft cushion under her made her think that she was finally at home. She wanted to take more minutes of
They were eating without exchanging any words. She took a bath straight after washing the plates and utensils she used. And that’s when it hit her, she was only trying to avoid from talking to him all morning that she forgotten that she had no other clothes with her. Once she was done, she opened the door slightly but enough for her head to pop out. Her man—which she wouldn’t prefer calling him that—has been sitting on the bed, waiting for her to come out.“Will?” she called out his name sheepishly. She didn’t offer him a minute longer to reply and continued, “do you have oversized shirts with you that you don’t use anymore? And maybe some skinny jeans?”She felt like an idiot for trying to avoid him yet still asked for his help an hour later. Her hair was still damp and the water from each strand kept falling onto the floor. The air conditioner from inside William’s bedroom had crept in through th