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‘For the thousandth time, stop apologizing,’ Cissy was saying as she opened the door to her apartment.
She walked in and was followed immediately by an apologetic Noel, who wore a complicated expression as he looked toward Samuel’s sister.
Another apology was already on his lips but, seeing the look on Cissy’s face, he quickly changed his mind.
‘Thank you for doing this,’ he said instead.
‘Stop thanking me as well,’ Cissy said shortly before turning to the entrance of the doorway. ‘You lot coming in or not?’
Charles’ face soon appeared in the doorway, and there was a short pause as he hovered at the entrance as if debating whether to proceed or turn back.
‘Well, what are you waiting for? A red carpet?’
He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt as he took a deep breath and took a hesitant step forward. He took another step, and he was finally inside the apartment. He let out the breath he was holding, and looked down at his feet as Samuel came in behind him.
Cissy huffed in impatience and turned to Noel. ‘Is he going to be like this all the time?’
Noel frowned slightly and turned to look at Charles. Charles, feeling the weight of his gaze, slowly looked up and met his eyes.
‘Come here.’
His eyes cleared as Noel’s familiar voice broke through the haze of uncertainty and anxiousness that was clouding his mind.
Charles walked forward until he was standing right in front of Noel before stopping and looking down at his feet.
‘Such a loyal dog, isn’t he?’ Cissy tutted as her eyes roved over Charles’ figure. ‘Where are your things?’
Charles’ head raised slightly in confusion at the question. ‘Th… things?’
‘Did you lose brain cells in that prison? Where are your clothes? You are not planning on wearing that your whole life, are you?’
‘I don’t have any… things.’
The last word rolled off his tongue as if it were a foreign concept to him. Cissy shook her head as she tutted to herself.
‘Come on then,’ she said, turning to walk deeper into the apartment. ‘Might as well show where you’ll be sleeping. We’ll figure out your clothing situation later.’
Charles hesitated and glanced at Noel. It was only after Noel had nodded before he followed after Cissy.
Noel let out a heavy sigh after they were out of sight and collapsed on a nearby armchair.
He glanced hesitantly at Samuel who was looking around the apartment with an odd look on his face.
‘Everything alright? You’ve been awfully quiet.’
‘Just thinking.’
Noel bit his lips and was about to open his mouth when Samuel cut him off.
‘Don’t apologize.’
Noel closed his mouth as Samuel gave him a knowing look.
‘It doesn’t have anything to do with you or Charles, so there’s no reason to apologize.’
‘I need to apologize though,’ Noel protested weakly. ‘I brought a convicted felon -no scratch that, I brought a rapist into your sister’s home. I… I know he wouldn’t do anything, but still… I understand if you’re upset and want us to leave.’
Samuel snorted at that. Though he did feel a bit iffy letting someone like Charles close to his sister, if he had to be concerned about one of them, she wouldn’t be the one he would pick.
He knew from experience that his sister was more than capable of taking care of herself and Charles was in no shape to hurt as much as a fly, let alone his sister. Besides, it wasn’t like Cissy spent much time here anyway.
There was an amused smile on his face as he glanced back at Noel. ‘Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have suggested it if I didn’t mean it.’
He perched himself on the arm of Noel’s chair and stared wistfully at the door. Noel must have figured out what was going through his mind because his next question hit close to home.
‘How is Jayden doing?’
Samuel snorted. ‘How do you think?’
Noel couldn’t say anything to that. Luckily enough, he didn’t have to because at the next second Cissy came back around the corner with a wincing Charles in tow. He seemed a bit out of it as he stared at Cissy’s unyielding back, and Noel thought he saw a hint of fear in his eyes.
He didn’t think too much about it and just stared curiously at Cissy. ‘Back so soon?’
Cissy gave him a deadpan stare. ‘It’s a dingy two-bedroom apartment, not Buckingham Palace. What do you expect?’
Before he could respond to that the doorknob suddenly turned, and Jayden appeared in the doorway. His feet were sure and steady as he walked up to Charles.
Charles slowly raised his head and he was met with Jayden’s calm face before a fist suddenly connected sharply with his jaw.
Samuel and Noel immediately stood up at the sickening crack but Jayden had already turned and walked out of the apartment.
Before they could even process what had happened they heard Cam’s loud voice coming from the hallway before Leo suddenly burst in.
Unlike Jayden, his face was the farthest thing from calm as he marched up to Charles and punched him squarely in the face.
‘Leo!’ Cam yelled out as he tried to pull him away. ‘I told you not to do anything stupid.’
‘I don’t care!’ Leo screamed back, not taking his eyes away from Charles’ now bleeding face. ‘He hurt him, Cam. He hurt him, and I am never going to forgive him for that.’
Cam’s face was apologetic as he continued to tug on Leo’s arm. ‘Come on. Let’s get out of here and get some ice cream.’
Leo tore his arm away. ‘I don’t want any ice cream,’ he said angrily before stomping out.
Cam sighed and turned to Noel. ‘Paul is waiting for you in the lobby downstairs. He didn’t want to come up because of…’ his voice trailed off as his eyes moved to Charles. He cleared his throat. ‘Anyway, he wanted you to know he wants to speak with you.’
His eyes moved back to Charles, and it looked as if he was going to say something, but he just shook his head and turned to follow Leo out.
Samuel seemed worn out as he stared at the closed door. ‘I need to make sure Jayden is alright. Are you… will you be okay?’ he asked Noel.
Noel nodded absently. ‘How did they find out?’
‘I suspect Jayden told them and to be honest, I don’t blame him.’ He sighed. ‘Things always seem to get complicated no matter how hard we try.’
‘I’ll say,’ Cissy whistled silently. ‘I felt as if I was in a soap opera. No offence little bro, but if this is how things get around you, I might have to reconsider your invitation to future events. Other people’s drama is not good for my skin.’
Samuel smiled weakly. ‘See you around, big sis,’ he stated before walking out of the apartment.
Noel turned to Cissy. ‘Sorry for that mess before and for… well everything. I really didn’t mean for that to happen, and I appreciate-‘
‘Get out of my house.’
Noel closed his mouth and nodded before turning around to leave.
Charles stared silently at the now empty space as a mix of different emotions filled his features.
‘What’s wrong?’
He looked up to meet Cissy’s scrutinizing gaze.
‘You couldn’t have been expecting a warm welcome’
Charles shook his head. ‘No, that’s why it’s strange. Why are they being so nice to me?’
Cissy stared at him for several seconds before turning away in disbelief. ‘Crazy bastard,’ she muttered silently, wondering what the hell she had gotten herself into.
~
The lobby of Cissy’s apartment building was bustling with activity as Noel got off the elevator. Navigating through the throng, it took a while before he spotted Paul, who sat by himself in the far corner of the lounge.
He made his way sheepishly over. ‘Hi,’ he greeted as he stopped before him.
Paul looked up and shifted, creating room for him to sit down.
‘How did you find out?’ Noel asked after a few minutes of sitting in silence.
‘Leo.’
Noel shifted uncomfortably. ‘I’m guessing Jayden told him.’
‘He did.’
‘And he told you?’
Paul snorted. ‘Yelled it at me is more accurate. He tends to get very loud when he is angry.’ He paused for a second. ‘or excited, or happy, or sad… he tends to get loud in general.’
Noel glanced apprehensively at him. ‘Are you mad?’
‘Depends. How long were you planning on keeping it a secret?’
‘Till I got everything settled.’ An apologetic look came on Noel’s face. ‘I was going to tell you I promise.’
‘I believe you.’ Paul took a deep breath and finally turned to look at him. ‘How are you doing, honestly?’
‘Honestly? I don’t know.’
Paul nodded as if that made sense. Noel’s gaze turned curious as he studied his boyfriend’s face.
‘You haven’t asked me why I am doing it.’
‘I don’t need to know. I just want you to be happy. If doing this is going to help with that then I’ll support you as much as I can.’
Noel took his hand gratefully. ‘Thank you.’
~
Samuel was watching them from a corner of the lounge and after making sure they were alright, resumed his attempt to track down his own boyfriend.
He found him waiting outside by the revolving doors with his arms crossed.
‘There you are,’ he said after catching sight of Samuel. He uncrossed his arms and walked up to the waiting car. ‘Come on, we don’t want to be late.’
‘Wait, where are we going?’ Samuel asked, jogging up to catch up to him.
‘We have a party to crash.’
Samuel suddenly noticed that Jayden was dressed far too nicely for a normal day out. ‘Hold up, whose party are we crashing and why?’
‘Your beloved fiancé, who else?’ Jayden stated as if it was obvious.
Samuel gave a painful grimace at that term. ‘Please don’t call her that. Besides, I’m not even dressed.’
Jayden glanced down at Samuel’s ratty T-shirt and jeans and his nose wrinkled slightly in distaste. “I suppose we can stop and change”.
In a few minutes, they were already speeding through the streets of the capital. It didn’t take them long to arrive at the Bennett’s mansion home which, true to Jayden’s word, was already bustling with the noticeable signs of a party.
‘I don’t get it,’ Samuel whispered as they made their way through the guests. ‘Why are we here?’
Jayden grabbed a flute of champagne from a passing waiter and handed it to Samuel. ‘What else?’
Samuel wanted to press for a more definitive answer but he decided it wasn’t worth the effort it was going to cost him.
They wandered listlessly around as the soft chatter of conversations and clinking glasses floated in the air.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’
Pearl was staring at them with a mixture of surprise and anger on her face. There was a pregnant pause as Samuel’s eyes immediately dropped down to her belly before reaching back up to meet her eyes.
‘Hello,’ he said weakly but Pearl was no longer paying attention to him.
Her eyes were fixed on a spot behind his head, and he slowly turned around to see a smiling middle-aged couple walking towards them.
‘My, what do we have here?’ the woman asked curiously as she approached.
She had a gentle face with wrinkles etched by time and laughter, and lips which seemed always ready to curve into a quick, welcoming smile.
‘You didn’t tell us you were inviting your friends from school, darling,’ she reproached gently.
Pearl scowled and muttered under her breath, ‘They are not my friends.’
Fortunately, her parents didn’t hear her.
‘Well, aren’t you going to introduce us?’
‘I don’t think-‘
‘I’m Jayden, ma’am. Jayden Mills,’ Jayden stated brightly, smoothly cutting her off.
‘Jayden Mills, I see,’ Pearl’s mother murmured very clearly charmed. ‘Your family name is a recognizable one. And who is your friend?’
‘This is Samuel,’ Jayden answered with the dazzling smile still on his face. He didn’t notice, or more accurately, he ignored the sudden change that came upon the couple and went on. ‘We are quite close with Pearl, aren’t we? Why we can technically be considered family.’
Pearl winced painfully at those last words and Samuel just stared at his boyfriend, both of them wondering what the hell he was playing at.
There was a pregnant pause as Pearl’s mother’s eyes moved slowly between her daughter to Samuel and for an instant they dropped down to Pearl’s belly.
‘Is he…’
She found that she couldn’t finish her thought and the sentence was left to hang palpably in the air.
Her husband who had kept silent till now cleared his throat. ‘I take it then that you are here to do the honourable thing.’
Samuel looked up to meet his eyes without hesitation. ‘I am.’
‘Good.’
‘I wasn’t finished. I am going to do the honourable thing, but I don’t think that entails getting married to her.’
‘What?’ Pearl’s father hissed. He kept his voice down to prevent unwanted attention to their conversation and he was trying but failing to keep his temper in check. ‘You insult me in my home, beguile my daughter with your wiles, seduce her into your bed, and now you want to force her to carry your bastard!’
‘That’s hardly fair,’ Pearl protested.
‘Quiet!’ her father snapped. ‘You have disgraced me enough. And you,’ he came back to Samuel. ‘You are going to marry her whether you like it or not. I’ll not have my family name stained by a bastard!’
Samuel’s temper was starting to flare up. ‘Do not call my child that word!’
Pearl’s father scoffed. ‘Why not? That’s what it is, isn’t it? I have a whore for a daughter and a filthy bastard for a grandchild!’
Samuel immediately saw red. His fists were already clenched but before he could strike, a warm hand enveloped his fist. He turned and seeing Jayden shake his head slightly helped him step out of his haze.
Jayden’s face was calm as he stared down at Pearl’s father. ‘I think we’ve heard enough of that word for one night, don’t you?’
‘What-‘
‘After all, as gentlemen, we can’t dirty the ears of the ladies with such foul language.’
Jayden’s voice was light, but his eyes were as cold as steel as they bored directly into the fuming face before him.
Pearl’s father was about to argue but there was something in those unyielding eyes that made him change his mind. ‘Very well,’ he huffed. ‘The Bennetts are renowned for their unimpeachable dignity. I’ll not be known as the patriarch who let down the side by having an… illegitimate grandchild.’
‘I highly doubt that a century of family history could go by without a single family member having an ill-advised affaire d’amour,’ Jayden pointed out curiously.
Pearl’s father drew himself up proudly. ‘We are Bennetts. Not a single member of the family has allowed their passions to lead them astray.’
‘Really,’ Jayden asked amusedly. ‘Not even one?’
‘No,’ he replied shortly before turning away. ‘Come my dear,’ he said to his wife. ‘You don’t have to debase yourself to listen to this conversation anymore. I think we have said all we need to say.’
His wife hesitated. ‘But surely we can-‘
‘The subject is closed.’
He placed a hand on her back and gently steered her away. Pearl watched her parents leave with a complicated look. She turned furiously to Jayden.
‘Did you have to do that?’
‘Do what?’ Jayden asked innocently.
Pearl scoffed in disbelief and turned to Samuel who just shrugged at her. ‘Forget it,’ she huffed frustratedly and turned to leave but Jayden stopped her.
‘Are you still intent on blackmailing us?’ he asked in a breezy tone.
Pearl turned back to face him. ‘You’ve met my father and if you think that’s bad you have no idea what happens when we are alone. I don’t have a choice.’
‘And if you had a choice?’
Pearl frowned. ‘What?’
Jayden’s voice was still light as he reiterated. ‘I’m asking what you would do if you had a choice?’
Pearl thought about it and just shook her head. ‘What does it matter? I don’t and that’s that.’
‘It matters to me.’
Jayden’s voice was no longer light. Pearl stared at him for a few seconds before answering, ‘I don’t want to get rid of it if that’s what you mean. I don’t think I’ll be a great mother or anything but,’ she looked down at her belly. ‘It doesn’t feel right to let it go now when so many people already love it and want it.’
She looked up and was surprised to see a tiny smile on Jayden’s face. It was faint but it was there.
‘Maybe more than I thought.’
Jayden immediately looked away. ‘What about Samuel?’ he asked instead.
‘I don’t want to marry him either.’ She turned to Samuel. ‘No offence but I don’t think we will go well together and frankly, I’m not sure how we ended up together the first time.’
Samuel smiled. ‘No offence taken.’
‘It doesn’t matter though, like I said, I don’t have a choice in the matter.’
‘I won’t be so sure about that,’ Jayden whispered.
There was a commotion by the entrance and the sound of glass shattering suddenly reached them.
Pearl glanced over with a tired sigh. ‘What is it now?’
She walked over to see what the fuss was about, and Jayden glanced at Samuel before following directly behind her.
Her father stood in the centre of the ruckus with shards of broken glass by his feet which signalled him as the cause of that sound.
There was a look of fury on his face as a stuttering waiter tried to apologize. Beside the waiter was a handsome young priest who seemed just as confused as everyone was.
‘What’s going on?’ Pearl’s mother asked, walking into the scene. She paused when she saw the priest. ‘George?’
The priest, George, smiled faintly as he nodded respectfully. ‘Hello, Alice. It’s been a while.’
‘It’s been far too long! What a lovely surprise!’ Pearl’s mother was beside herself with joy. ‘Pearl, come say hello to your uncle!’
Pearl walked over uncertainly. ‘My uncle?’
‘Yes, this is my youngest brother. The baby of the family,’ her mother stated as she pinched his cheeks.
‘I’m not a baby anymore Alice,’ her uncle stated in amusement.
‘Of course, you are not. If you were, I could keep you here instead of letting you go waste away halfway across the world in some poor missionary home.’ She sighed sorrowfully. ‘What brought you home?’
Her brother glanced uncertainly at her husband. ‘David sent an urgent letter asking me to come along with the money to cover the transportation cost.’
‘Did you really? Oh David, thank you! What a lovely surprise for my birthday.’ She grabbed her brother’s arm. ‘Come, I must introduce to you everyone.’
Things slowly went back to normal as Pearl’s mother went around the room introducing her brother to all the guests.
‘Why do I have a feeling that things are not as simple as that?’ Samuel whispered to Jayden as he watched the pair.
‘For once, you would be right,’ Jayden whispered back as Pearl’s father discreetly slipped out of the party.
‘Come on,’ Jayden said before following him out of the room.
They followed him down a short corridor and watched quietly as he entered a room.
‘What are you doing?’ Samuel asked as Jayden boldly walked up to the door and knocked before turning the handle.
Samuel was left with no choice but to follow him into the room which appeared to be a large study.
There was a glass of whisky in his hand as Pearl’s father turned to face the sudden intruders.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Now is that any way to speak to someone to whom you owe gratitude?’
‘Gratitude?’
‘Yes,’ Jayden asserted. ‘Gratitude. I let you take credit for inviting him, didn’t I? Your wife was very pleased to see him.’
‘You?’
‘Yes, I was the one who sent the letter and the money as well. You’re welcome.’
‘Why?’ was all Pearl’s father said.
Jayden met his eyes. ‘Not a single one you said. How interesting.’
‘I see.’ Pearl’s father downed the contents of the glass and sat down. He stared at the empty glasses for a few seconds before asking. ‘What do you want?’
Jayden just stared at him.
‘Very well,’ he nodded and stood up. ‘I suppose it goes without saying you won’t breathe a word.’
‘Naturally.’
‘Then that’s all we’ll say. Have a good night.’
He walked out, leaving the two boys alone in the large study. Samuel who had remained silent during the whole encounter looked toward his boyfriend.
‘What just happened?’
‘I gave Pearl a choice.’
‘By blackmailing him?’
Jayden shrugged. ‘If that’s what you want to call it. I think of it more as giving him a larger sense of perspective.’
Samuel shook his head at him but didn’t argue.
Jayden glanced at him. ‘Is that all? Don’t you want to know the details?’
‘No.’
Jayden looked disappointed. ‘Why not?’
‘It’s none of my business.’
Jayden rolled his eyes. ‘Spoilsport.’
A small smile appeared on Samuel’s face. ‘I am curious about one thing, however.’
‘Hmm?’
‘How did you find out?’
‘Oh, that,’ Jayden let out a tiny chuckle. ‘She may not seem like it, but my mother is a notorious busybody. Whatever excuse she may give you one thing is true and that is she loves prying into people’s private life.’
‘Lucky for us then. And lucky for us that Pearl’s father is a hypocrite though no one would know that but us.’
‘Not really,’ Jayden murmured almost to himself, but Samuel caught it.
‘What do you mean? You promised not to tell anyone.’
Jayden avoided his eyes shiftily. ‘I’m not going to tell anyone.’
‘Who is going to tell and how would they even know?’ Samuel pressed.
‘Who else would know? It takes two to tango you know. I wasn’t going to take the matter further -my original plan was to persuade him and leave it at that…’
‘But?’
Jayden’s gaze hardened. ‘He insulted your child.’
Samuel sighed. ‘Jayden…’
‘I can forgive him for many things, but I can never forgive him for that.’
Samuel placed a gentle hand on his arm. ‘Trust me, I know how you are feeling but you can’t do that to him.’
Jayden shrugged his arm off. ‘I know you’ve already forgiven him because that’s who you are but it’s not who I am.’
A fond smile appeared on Samuel’s face at his words. ‘You are truly the only person who sees me as a saint.’ He saw the protest forming on Jayden’s lips and cut him off before he could continue. ‘I know what you are going to say. I’m not saying I’m a bad person, but people just see me as your average nice guy. You on the other hand look at me and see an angel.’
‘Well, it’s the truth,’ Jayden muttered, miffed. ‘You are.’
Samuel’s smile widened. ‘I haven’t forgiven him and I’m still angry but I have my own reasons for not wanting you to do that.’ He leaned over to place a fond kiss on his cheek. ‘I’m not an angel nor a saint but I love you all the same for thinking so. I’m sure that’s going to cause issues down the road but for now I’m glad. It’s nice to know that in at least one person’s eyes, I am completely perfect.’
They slowly began to make their way back to the party. Jayden glanced curiously at Samuel. ‘If you haven’t forgiven him, why don’t you want me to pay him back.’
‘I’m doing it for my child not for him. The last thing they need is for their grandparents to be embroiled in scandal. Besides, I want their grandparents to be part of their life and they can hardly do that if their family is broken up because of this.’
Jayden considered his words. ‘Broken families are not always a bad thing, you know,’ he said finally. ‘Sometimes it’s what’s needed to bring them closer together. But,’ he sighed. ‘I do get where you are coming from.’
‘Thank you.’
They had arrived back at the party where Pearl’s mother was still going around introducing her brother to her guests.
‘Poor woman,’ Samuel murmured as he watched her bounce across the room.
‘Never mind her, we’ve got another engagement to keep.’
‘Huh?’ Samuel asked in confusion, but Jayden was already dragging him out.
They were already back in the car and speeding off to God knows where before Samuel had the chance to ask, ‘So where are we going this time?’
‘You’ll see.’
Samuel stared disapprovingly at his boyfriend. ‘You’re not very big on communication, are you?’
‘Talk is cheap,’ Jayden answered simply. ‘Actions speak louder than words.’
‘Still, it would be nice to know where I’m going before I’m dragged off.’
‘Don’t you trust me?’
‘That’s not the point,’ Samuel muttered, crossing his arms sullenly.
Jayden’s lips quirked slightly in a small smile. ‘Think of it as a surprise then. You love surprises, don’t you?’
Samuel let out a long-suffering sigh. ‘Fine.’
It wasn’t long after that before they had arrived at an imposing mansion. The butler let them in and led the way as Samuel looked about him in awe.
‘Wow,’ he whistled softly. ‘I wonder who lives here.’
His question was soon answered when the butler led them out to a balcony where Valentina was sitting with a glass of wine in hand.
‘You.’
‘Don’t sound so excited to see me,’ Valentina purred, setting the glass down on the table beside her. ‘I am not particularly leaping with joy either.’
‘What are you doing here?’ Samuel demanded fiercely. ‘Shouldn’t you be at school?’
‘Shouldn’t you?’
Samuel found that he had no answer to that, or at least, not any he was willing to share with her.
Jayden stepped forward and wordlessly placed a folder on the table. Valentina’s eyes were amused as she stared at the uninteresting brown folder.
‘I suppose that is my muzzle. I had heard you were at that stupid girl’s party and was wondering when my turn would come. I admit, I didn’t expect it to be so soon.’
‘You are very well informed,’ Jayden commented. ‘Aren’t you going to open it?’
‘No need. I can guess well enough that it would be something to make my face turn pale and my hands tremble. I assume you came with a list of demands in exchange for whatever is in there.’
Jayden placed another document on the table. ‘Silence for silence. You don’t tell anyone about us, and I won’t say a word about the things your family has done. You can look over the terms with your lawyer.’
Valentina didn’t even glance at it. ‘Do you have a pen?’
A few minutes later the contract was signed and she was once again alone on the balcony.
The butler appeared and stooped down to take down the now-empty glass but instead of leaving soon after he hovered uncertainly behind her.
‘What is it, Thomson?’
‘Forgive me if I’m overstepping the mark but shouldn’t you have read the contract before placing your signature on it?’
‘If it’s bothering you so much you can go over it yourself.’
The butler nodded gratefully and picked up the contract.
‘Well?’ she asked after he had quickly scanned the contents. ‘Is there anything in there you object to?’
‘Nothing at all Miss, but, forgive me for asking, shouldn’t you be more upset?’
‘You think so as well?’ she murmured thoughtfully. ‘Yes, I was also considering that, but he would have seen through my act at once. He is many things, but he is not stupid. More’s the pity.’
Thomson let out an indignant huff. ‘I think he is very stupid if he turned you down. Only a fool would turn down someone as beautiful and lovely as you if you would permit me to say so.’
Valentina was amused. ‘Beautiful yes, but you are the only person who thinks me lovely Thompson, sorry to disappoint you. You’ve always thought kindly of me even when I was a spoilt little girl throwing tantrums everywhere. Thank you for that.’
A faint blush crept up Thomson’s face and he cleared his throat awkwardly. ‘Yes well, even a butler is allowed to bias once in a while. As long as you are happy, that’s all I want.’ He paused. ‘Are you happy, Miss?’
‘I would soon be very happy, does that count?’ Valentina smiled. ‘Actually, I am very happy now. This unexpected visit has proved to be a very enlightening experience.’
Thompson’s gaze grew worried. ‘What do you mean, miss?’
‘I must have some secrets, even from you Thomson.’ Valentina’s smile deepened. ‘All you need to know is I can now take a step towards my future happiness.’
Author’s Note: Fate is a curious mistress, but who are we to attempt to comprehend her capricious mysteries.
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