Valentino awoke to an awful pounding in his head. He reeked of vodka and his back was killing him. He let out a groan and sat up, confusion buzzing through him when he realized that he'd been lying on a couch that didn't belong to him. Moreso, the house was very unfamiliar to him. He had no idea how he'd gotten there in the first place. A familiar red head walked in casually, her hair tied up in a bun. He really didn't remember anything from last night. He wondered if he'd ended up sleeping with her or if he'd merely crashed at her place.
"Well, good morning Mr grumpy pants" she said, raising the curtains a bit.
"What did I do last night?" He croaked. She turned to look at him, concern in her eyes."Tell me, I need to know if I screwed up" he said, but she walked away, moving towards the dinning room.
"What are you doing? Won't you give me an answer?" He said, sitting up. His head spun and his headache"She's gone" Xandre said to Xanthis, his eyes holding no emotion. Xanthis knew it was just a mask."She deserved it, Dre. You don't have to feel bad about it" he said. Dre sighed, the facade vanishing."I don't know. I just think that she would have been a better person. Just like I hope that Val will change too" Dre said."Change is inevitable, brother. Who knows? He might change, but will you ever forgive him for what he did to you?" Xanthis asked. Dre stood up and walked towards the huge window in his office. Xanthis had a point there. Could he ever forgive him? He horse whipped him. The hideous scars still made him mad. He couldn't even stand to look at them. Valentino had tried to kill him. He hated him. Dre didn't want to forgive him, but he was his brother. He couldn't have grudges against him, he was still family. He was just lost. Ellise and Alicia had convinced Dre to let go of his anger towards Valentino. Besides, what had happene
"I'm still trying to get over the fact that my baby is getting married! Can you blame me?" Ellise's mum said as they both went through photos of different wedding dresses. "I'm not a baby anymore, mum" Ellise said, chuckling. She shook her head, a smile on her face."You'll always be my baby even when you hit ninety""Mum!"There was a knock on the front door of Ellise's childhood home. She opened the door and there stood Anne."Hey," she said."Come in" Ellise said, giving her a smile. She nodded and walked in, her lips set in a tight line."Morning, Mrs Sumners" Anne said and Ellise frowned. Anne had never referred to her mum as "Mrs Sumners". There was something off about her."Uh- if you don't mind, I need to talk to Ellie privately" She said to Ellise's mum who nodded slowly."Oh, alright. I'll just leave you two to it" she said and ascended the stairs."Anne, is anything wrong?" Ellise asked, holding her h
"The patient is awake now. You can go and see him if you want to" A nurse said to a worried Noelle. She nodded, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket. Sighing, she pushed open the door to the ward and walked in. Val's dull eyes met hers and tears filled her eyes. What would have happened if she hadn't come to the bathroom when she had?He looked so weak and drained, her heart broke for him."I'm sorry" he croaked."I-I didn't know you were suicidal" she said, trying to hold back the tears.He lowered his gaze, his fingers fumbling with the bed sheets."How many times have you thought about it?" Noelle asked."A couple of times" he replied."How many times have you attempted it?" She asked.He swallowed hard, staring at her with a blank look in his eyes. "Three times""H-how? W-Why?""When I was thirteen, I was beaten and starved for a month. I wanted to die. I swallowed pills that I wasn't su
Anne stared at the poison vial which she held firmly. Taking a deep breath, she let her gaze wander to her reflection in the mirror. Hidden beneath all the make up were the god-awful bruises Barron had left on her skin. Thinking about the beating she'd received from him brought tears to her eyes.'Stay calm', she told herself.She had no choice but to do what Emperor X had asked her to do. Now, she was trapped in a web of disorientation.How would she get out of this mess? The plan was to visit the Monteros in pretence of just coming to see her best friend. She was to slip the poison into Alexandre's drink when no one was looking. Anne's nerves were already acting up because of how scared she was. What if she got caught? What would happen to her? Inhaling shakily, she grabbed her silver purse and stepped out of the bedroom and left the house. She boarded a taxi which took her to the Mon
"I'm sorry about what he said to you" Noelle said to Valentino when they got into the car. He sighed, turning away from her."He wasn't supposed to say that to you....""I hate therapists, Noelle. Now, I hate them even more" he said."You wouldn't mind me being your therapist?" She asked with a sheepish grimace.He stared at her, puzzled."You aren't serious, are you?" He asked. "I want you to get better, Val. You can't get better if I don't help you"He heaved another sigh, rubbing his eyes. "I don't know, Noelle...."She squeezed his hand reassuringly and pulled out of the parking lot. When they got to Noelle's home, Valentino inhaled sharply and got out of the car."Have you made up your mind yet?" Noelle asked."Not yet""It's for your own good, just so you know"As soon as this got in, Noelle froze. Val stared at her confused. Then, he saw
"Are you sure about this?" Xandre asked Dominic who was standing beside him with Dmitri."A hundred percent sure, Xan. He was with a red head" Dominic responded. The trio was standing by the large window in Dre's study."I guess it's time for us to pay him a visit" Dre said."Any time you're ready, Xan" Dmitri stated. He sighed."I want the two of you to go with two other guys" he said."We understand. We'll get going, then" Dom said."Make sure you're armed, just in case. Don't kill him if you find him. You have to make him come here, got it? Bring him to me""Yes, boss" Dominic responded. They left Dre's study and he lowered himself onto his chair, thinking about the possibility of Valentino not being Emperor X. When Dre's men got to the house, Dmitri felt a shiver run down his spine. The house itself looked like a haunted one and it had an ee
Noelle slowly sat down on a chair in the dinning room, her eyes drooping sleepily. She hadn't been getting any sleep lately, ever since she was stalked. She would always get nightmares each time she fell asleep. She couldn't keep going on like this, but she couldn't help it. She was on edge. Rubbing her eyes with her left hand, she brought the cup of coffee to her lips and sipped the hot liquid. Just then, the door opened and Valentino stumbled in. His eyes were bloodshot and he looked very tired. His eyes held dark bags and his hair was a horrible mess. She guessed that she wasn't the only one bothered. He hadn't been doing well either. Most nights, he would have night terrors and nightmares. With everything he had gone through, Noelle really didn't know how he was coping. He wouldn't say anything. He always had a blank expression on his face."Morning" she greeted."Morning" he replied, his
The constant threats coming from Emperor X still wouldn't die down and everyone in the Montero household was on edge. Ellise was worried about her boyfriend who seemed to be even more stressed as the days went by."I understand that you're concerned about all this, but you should know that we're working on it. The bastard seems to know how to play his game right and that's what makes it even more annoying" Dre said to Ellise, leaning back on his chair. Ellise was in Dre's study alongside Dominic and Dmitri who was sitting on one of the couches. She sighed, flopping down on the couch."Dominic, you have been receiving threat letters, haven't you?" She asked, her gaze meeting his.His eyes went wide."Yeah, Jade told me. Whoever emperor X is, he isn't giving up. What do we do? Everything is not alright. For starters, we know that Valentino is running away from something or someone. Could it be that emperor X is also after him?" Ellise s