Sasha’s POVI was eating, but my thoughts drifted. Sooner or later, I’ll have to leave Valentino. He’ll end up with Sandra, not me. Suddenly, I can’t eat much anymore.I don’t really want him to leave.I’ve gotten a little attached to him, too.The more I rely on him, the more I realize he’s always there, solving everything for me.But I’m only here because I’m a substitute.Suddenly, my heart aches. I’ve gotten too used to Valentino’s care. I’ve come to expect it without even thinking.I’ve been enjoying how responsible he is for me.I put down my chopsticks. I can’t eat anymore.“What’s wrong?” Valentino looks surprised. I usually eat a lot, but today I’ve barely touched my food. I’ve eaten less than a third and already stopped.“Oh, I’m full,” I say.“Full?” His face twists in confusion. How could I be full after eating so little?“Yeah, I’m full. It was really good.” I smile, but it feels forced.“You didn’t eat enough. You haven’t even had a third of your usual. What’s wrong?” Va
Sasha's POV"Ma’am, you can’t go up like that!" "Yes, it's too dangerous, let me help you!" "Or, ma'am, I’m pretty strong. Should I carry you upstairs?"The maids all panicked when they saw I was trying to go up by myself. What if I fell? They knew Valentino would blame them if I hurt myself. After all, the doctor said my leg wasn’t ready for stairs."No, no, I’ll go up on my own. You all go on with your work." I smiled at them, took a deep breath, and started climbing the stairs.The first step was the hardest. As soon as I put my foot up, it felt like my leg might snap. I bit my lip, sweat already forming on my forehead. I couldn’t put too much weight on my leg, so I relied on my arms. But even that hurt so much that I felt like I was losing my mind.I finally managed to get the other foot on the step. I took a deep breath. I had only taken one step, but I was already tired and out of breath."Are you okay, ma'am?" one of the maids asked, clearly worried."I’m fine, really," I sai
Sasha’s POVI couldn’t help but feel a surge of envy and anger toward Sandra. She didn’t just take my father's company, she also stole the man I loved.I wanted Valentino back, but he didn’t love me. His bond with Sandra seemed untouchable.That night, I found myself thinking about everything. The more I thought, the more my heart ached until I finally cried myself to sleep.The next morning, when I got up, a maid came in to help me downstairs.I paused for a moment and asked, "Is Valentino here?""Sir has gone to work," the maid replied."Oh." I nodded, realizing he was purposely avoiding me.The next few days followed the same pattern. I barely saw Valentino. When I woke up, he was already at work, and by the time he came home, I was already asleep.It seemed like it had become a routine—he’d leave early and return late. Even though we lived in the same house, we hardly crossed paths.Despite this, everything else was taken care of. The maid was strong enough to carry me up and down
Sasha's POV "Kourtney, this is supposed to be a fun farewell dinner. It's the last night for all of us to enjoy together. Who knows when we'll work together again? Do you really have to ruin it for everyone?" I said, staring at her with sharp eyes.Kourtney shot back, "You're the one making things bad. If you left, wouldn’t everyone be happier?""If I left, you’d be the only one who's happy. Why don’t you ask everyone else if they're happy?" I replied, glancing around at the others."Yeah, Kourtney always thinks she’s right," someone chimed in."Exactly! Who even invited her to sit here?""She’s so annoying!""I can't even eat with her around. She thinks it's such an honor to be near her! Please.""Shh, don’t say it too loud. She’ll freak out again. She’s the worst kind of person."The comments kept coming from all sides. Kourtney's face went pale as she realized what everyone truly thought of her. She never knew she was so disliked, and now it was obvious.Her face flushed red, and
Sasha's POV "How are you, Mr. Valentino? Waiting outside for four hours?" A staff member suddenly asked, glancing at Valentino.Valentino shot him a cold look, and the guy quickly shut up and walked away."You... You've been waiting out here in the cold for three or four hours? For me? Why didn’t you let me know?" I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, and I grabbed Valentino’s hand without thinking.His hands were ice-cold. There was no warmth at all. I couldn’t even imagine how cold he must’ve been, waiting outside like that."Are you crazy?" I asked, my heart aching. It didn’t make sense to me."Can we go home now?" Valentino asked, ignoring my question."Yeah, of course, we can go home," I said, frowning a little.Without another word, he scooped me up into his arms and started walking out."I can walk by myself. You don’t have to carry me. You must be exhausted after waiting so long," I said, holding onto him. "I’m really sorry. I thought I’d be done earlier, but everyone kept a
Sasha's POV "Madam, the boss asked you to wait. Don’t go up yet. He’ll help you." One of the maids stopped me from leaving.Valentino quickly walked up the stairs, scooped me up in his arms, and carried me upstairs in just a few steps.He set me down in the room, looked at me, and said, "I’m going downstairs to talk to her.""Okay," I nodded.Then he turned and went back downstairs.When I glanced down, I saw Sandra sitting on the sofa. She asked one of the maids for a glass of water. The maid gave it to her, but it was clear she didn’t want to. Her eyes were filled with resentment like Sandra was here to steal something precious.Sandra, meanwhile, probably thought we were all fools. She acted like she already owned the place like she’d be the lady of the house soon.Valentino came downstairs. Sandra looked at him and called out, "Valentino—""Why are you here this late?" Valentino frowned. It was early morning, not the evening and the maids had been woken up from their sleep."I mi
Sasha's POV I glanced at the maids. "Come on, it's not such a formal time. You don’t have to be so strict. My husband isn’t here anyway. Sit down and watch with me. No one will care, and I’m here too." "Really?" "Yes," I said with a soft smile. The maids looked at each other, hesitating until one of them bravely sat on the sofa. Soon, the others followed, all sitting down on the couch, watching my TV show while eating. They were all so excited, but I stayed calm, watching myself on screen. I focused on finding places where I looked unnatural or my acting wasn't quite right. If I want to make a real career in acting, I need to improve. Even though I haven't signed with a company yet, I’m determined to sign with one that’s good enough for my goals. "You were great, madam!" "Madam, you're going to be a superstar!" "I’m your fan now, madam!" The maids kept praising me, but I just smiled calmly. That day, when the show aired, there was a big reaction online. Lots of people we
Sandra's POV I was busy with my plans. I grabbed a stack of papers and headed straight to the Rex family's old house.When I arrived, the Rex family was happily getting ready for dinner, but their faces changed as soon as they saw me."What are you doing here?" The old man's displeasure was obvious; he really didn’t like me."Grandfather, I have something important to tell you," I said, settling onto the sofa."Who’s your grandfather? Don’t shout. Sandra, isn’t it rude to show up uninvited and cause trouble? You used to date Valentino, but now he has a wife. Please don’t disturb us again, or we’ll call the police for harassment," he replied firmly."Don’t say that, Grandpa," I said, sounding hurt. "I have an important announcement. Sasha isn’t Valentino’s wife. She’s just using him to get to you because you don’t like me! Valentino has to do this!""What are you talking about?" Margaret interrupted, looking upset. "Valentino wouldn’t do that! He’s perfect for Sasha; he loves her!""R
Valentino’s POV I promised if I found Sasha, I was going to make her my wife. This time for real and no longer would she be a placeholder. “Arrgh,” I screamed as Jared let me in on Sasha being kidnapped by that fool, Dave Martin. I had beaten him to a bulb and had him leave her alone. After all these years, all these moments, he had been lurking, laying siege to Sasha, and I..I foolishly let her leave into harm’s way. Sasha was a beautiful bird and a lot of predators were circling her, trying to take advantage of her. “Get me Dave on the line, Jared,” my voice hurried as I threw my fists in the air. “Dave Partner boss?” Jared questioned. I didn’t know if to smack his face or to laugh this over with but there were no jokes tonight. Only thing on my mind was getting Sasha back, here with me, whole and as my real wife. “Fuck it Jared, I’m talking about Dave Martin, get him on the line now. Didn’t you just tell me he’s the one who’s got Sasha and you're talking some gibberish.”
Sasha’s POV “Let me go…please..let..me..g…” I had a wood plank on my head and I lost consciousness. It was at this moment I wished I had not run away from Valentino. Problems seemed to follow me each time I was away from him. He was a refuge and a strong fortress for me and this time, more than ever, I hoped he’d found me. I felt a weight over my body as I slowly gained consciousness. Studying the environment, I opened my right eye slowly, as it hurt so much, and my head hurt so much to open even my very own eyes. I was tied up in a chair and I couldn’t tell where exactly I was but it didn’t seem like a warehouse. I could tell this was someone’s house but couldn’t tell who exactly it was. “I am blindfolded so how do I even know where this is,” I uttered under my breath. Maybe I should scream and some passer-by could come to my rescue or call the police and I could get out of here. I didn’t want any of those men who must have brought me here to find me here. They were damn mea
Sasha’s POV “What was that?” I yelled, my voice shaking with frustration. I couldn’t believe Emilia had let me down like this. She was the only one I had trusted with my secret, the only person who knew exactly where I was. I had begged her not to tell anyone until I was far away, safe in Spain. And now, it felt like everything was crashing down around me. I felt this deep pain in my chest like someone was pressing down on me with the weight of a thousand boulders. Everything I loved had been ripped away from me. My family was gone, my company had been stolen from me, and even Valentino—my Valentino—was no longer by my side. There was nothing left for me here. Nothing. But when I heard Valentino’s voice over the phone, it did something to me. It was like a tiny spark in a room full of darkness. My heart, which had felt so cold and broken, suddenly stirred with the smallest flicker of life. “I can’t do this anymore,” I whispered, talking to no one but myself. “I can’t stay here.
Valentino's POV I grab Emilia’s phone and frantically try to call Sasha, but I can’t get through. Frustrated, I look at Emilia coldly and ask, "Do you know where she is? What do you know about her?" "I... I don’t know," Emilia says, frowning. "Sasha is being super careful this time. She didn’t tell me where she’s staying. She said you might come looking for her through me, so she didn’t want to risk it because she thinks I can't keep a secret." Emilia pouts, looking all upset. "But it's late. Maybe she's already asleep, so not picking up isn’t that weird." Jared turns to me. "What about tomorrow?" I frown, thinking it over for a second. "Track her number. Find out where Sasha is," I say, determined. "Alright, I’ll get someone to track her phone and find her," Jared replies, nodding. Emilia just watches us, looking a little confused. She pouts again, like she’s thinking something over, but doesn’t say anything after a while. Finally, she shrugs. "You guys do your thing. I’m
Sasha's POV Fred and I are really funny after we drink too much. We keep guessing things and playing games, and we hold each other a lot.Gabriel looks annoyed as he tries to separate us, not wanting us to keep holding on to each other."Enough already! Stop it!" Gabriel frowns and says, "You’re both drunk.""We're not drunk!""Yeah, you’re the one who's drunk!" We both stare at him for a moment and then start laughing.Gabriel looks frustrated as he watches us, knowing he can’t change our minds.Luckily, Fred and I pass out after drinking. That gives Gabriel some time to clean up after us.Over the next two days, I talked with Gabriel and Fred about starting a film company in the United States.In the end, Gabriel agrees that Fred and I can work together to plan this film company.…Valentino's POV I keep searching for Sasha, but with Gabriel and Sandra causing problems for me, I haven’t heard from her at all.Jared comes to my house and tells me what he’s found during his search.
Valentino's POV Sasha disappeared, and for two days, I, Valentino, searched for her, but I couldn’t find her anywhere.Jared was looking everywhere too. He tried all kinds of things, but it felt like someone was always getting in the way. Many surveillance cameras had been hacked, and some videos were missing, so he couldn’t find Sasha directly.I was left with no choice but to use the simplest method: sending a lot of people to ask about Sasha’s whereabouts.All over the city, people were taking photos of Sasha, trying to find out where she was.But no one knew where she had gone.It was like she had vanished completely.I was losing my mind. I couldn’t believe Sasha had disappeared from my life, and I just couldn’t accept it.“It’s time for you to eat, sir,” one of the maids said, sounding worried about me. I had lost a lot of weight in just two days. “Even if you don’t eat, your wife might not show up. You should have a good meal. I don’t think she would want to see you like this.
Sasha's POV I looked at Gabriel like he was an idiot. "If I went to be a cook with this kind of skill, I'd probably get myself killed..."Seriously, who doesn’t know how to make hot pot? It’s just tossing everything into a pot to cook. When I was studying abroad and craved hot pot, I used to make it in my dorm all the time."Really? It all looks so delicious. You seem pretty talented. How could you get yourself killed? If anyone dares to mess with you, I'll take care of them first," Gabriel said, grabbing his chopsticks to sneak a taste.Once I finished setting the table, I told him, "Sit down and eat.""Alright," he replied.But just as Gabriel was about to sit, the doorbell rang."Who is it?" I asked, looking at him."I'll go check. Maybe it's some big star!" Gabriel joked as he ran to the door, chatting briefly with whoever was outside.From the sound of it, it seemed like more than one person had shown up. A little curious, I peeked out and saw a familiar face.Why is he here?I
Sasha's POV The maid stopped me as I was leaving and asked, "Where are you going, ma'am?"It seemed like she was confused about why I was leaving. Everyone always thought my husband and I were close, so this sudden departure must've seemed strange. Maybe they thought Sandra had some evil plan to push me out.The maids didn’t trust Sandra. They knew she wasn’t a good person, and it seemed like they wanted me to stay.I smiled at the maid and said, "I'm leaving. I'll see you later."I tried to walk out with my head held high, pretending everything was okay. But inside, I was breaking. I was sad, hurt, and didn’t want to leave at all.As I walked out, I could feel Sandra’s eyes on me. I knew she was smiling, satisfied with herself. With me gone, she probably thought she could hide better and make Valentino forget about me.The maids were glaring at Sandra, clearly not happy with her. But she didn’t care. She knew she would be the lady of the house soon and could treat them however she l
Valentino's POV I came back home, but I couldn’t sleep all night.Early the next morning, my phone rang. It was my grandfather telling me to come back to the old house.“I got it. I’ll be there soon,” I replied before hanging up.After changing into a fresh set of clothes, I went to Sasha’s room. She drank too much last night and stayed up late, so she was still fast asleep. Her sleeping posture was a bit messy, almost childlike, but she looked so cute.I tucked her in before heading downstairs.“My wife is still sleeping. When she wakes up, make sure to prepare some breakfast and soup to help with the hangover. If she’s not feeling well, call a doctor to check on her. I’m heading out.”“Yes, sir.”I drove off, leaving the maids to continue their work. I overheard them talking about yesterday and how drunk my wife had gotten.But one thing was clear—they knew I cared about her. They’d make sure she was well taken care of.I pulled up in front of the old house in my car. As I stepped