**Third person**With Karen's fingers hooked at the back of Victor's neck and her legs securely wrapped around his waist, they headed for the dining. “Wait, wait… Why don't we do it here first?” Karen suggested with a smirk.Victor mirrored her smirk. “Where?” “The top of the stairs,” she whispered with a naughty look. “And then we can go to the dining.”Valerie slipped out from under the table, her entire body trembling. She walked over to the study door and strained her ears, trying to catch any sound before she opened it.She tiptoed out of the study, watching her back with every step she took.“Faster! Harder!!” Karen cried with every thrust that Victor gave. Valerie traced the sound from a distance and then found the lovebirds. She observed the scene from the shadows before pulling out her phone again and making a video of them.And then she continued tiptoeing to the dining room.When she got there, Adam was still unconscious, and so she immediately picked up her bag and pla
**Third person** Everything seemed to amuse him, maybe because he had somehow ended up sleeping for about eighteen hours himself. “Yes, I guess we were both tired,” Val replied, feigning innocence. Adam grinded his teeth in annoyance, and his blood boiled; he'd just missed a perfect opportunity. “Sure, I guess we were.” The next day at work went quickly for Valerie. Adam didn't come to work, and she was going to see Grandma after work. And as soon as another fruitless day of working on that project ended, she headed to the knitting club. All she needed to make her feel better after a long day at work was Grandma's soothing voice. But when Val got there, Martha's usual seat was empty. "Hello, I'm Valerie Thorne; a member of this club,” she introduced herself to a woman by the window. "Please, do you know where Martha is?" Valerie asked without even waiting for the woman to respond to her first statement. "Oh dear, you were the one sitting with her last week,” sh
**Third person**“Sure, the voice on the other end replied. “What exactly are you looking for?”“Nothing in particular, just background checks and all.”“Okay then. Text me the details.”With that, the line went dead.“There was something odd about this Valerie,” Layla murmured to herself before walking over to see her friend.******************************Valerie left the hospital late and headed home. She was really grateful for Frances for taking care of Grandma. She'd even collected her number under the pretext of checking up on Grandma.“We're here,” the cab driver announced, snapping Val out of her thoughts. “Oh, thanks.” She gave him his fare and alighted.Getting to her house, she saw a small carton at her doorstep. She picked it up and looked around, but there was no one.So she unlocked her door and went in with the carton. And after unboxing, she was surprised to see that it was filled with files. Then she began scanning the documents one at a time. “Wow…. These are all
**Third person**He'd lied about everything just to be with Val??!“Hello, hello, Karen?” Layla's voice called out from the receiver.“You may leave,” Karen said to the guard. Her voice was surprisingly calm and steady despite the raging inferno inside. She brought the phone back to her ear. "Are you still there?" Layla asked."Forget it," Karen mumbled through gritted teeth.Either Layla didn't hear what Karen said or she desperately wanted to remedy the situation because she went on to say, “I know a better way to get Valerie out of here as soon…”“I said forget it!” Karen snapped, interrupting Layla, and the line went dead. Then she stood up and began pacing the length of her office, her fingers running through her hair occasionally.Why their home? Why not a hotel?Why must he taint their home with some whore?Why??! Her feet stilled in front of her desk. Then she swung her arms, wiping everything off the table in anger. Her flower vase, along with some files, fell to the floo
**Third person**Valerie's throat suddenly felt dry. She forced a swallow before pressing her lips together.Then Lucas massaged her shoulder. “Are you okay?” He asked sweetly, his piercing blue eyes staring down at her, and she felt her breath hitch.Yes, she'd signed a contract to act as his girlfriend, but that was only supposed to be in front of his family. Still, the way he spoke to her just now, the way he looked at her... it all felt good.Adam’s eyes widened in stunned horror. “Girlfriend? Who is that?” His eyes darted from Val to Lucas with his mouth hanging open.“Is there a problem?” Lucas arched a questioning brow, his focus returning to Adam.Adam's fists clenched by his sides and his blood boiled, but he willed himself to respond. “No, no, of course not,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady.Lucas took a sharp breath, his eyes never leaving Adam’s. “I must have heard wrong. There's no way you said something about making work difficult for my girlfriend, right?”“Ye
**Valerie**After I told Lucas that he sounded like a donkey braying, he caged me to the bed. His manly cologne filled my senses and awakened the desire I'd tried so hard to suppress.Feeling a wet sensation between my legs, I clenched my thighs.My gaze flickered from his eyes to his lips, and I wished our lips would meet. But at that moment, he rolled over to his side of the bed, and he closed his eyes.Was this how this night was going to end? With nothing happening? “Of course, that's how it should be,” the voice in my head fired back.But at that moment, my lips parted, “Uh... Can I turn off your lamp?” The words escaped before I had a chance to stop them, and my body moved too.I don't know why I said that; I wasn't thinking. Shit, I don't even know why I was doing this. Maybe it was because I'd been sex starved for over a year before my one night stand with Lucas. And that night only did more to fuel my desires.Hovering above him, I reached for the lamp and turned it off, pl
**Third person**“Good,” Karen said with a satisfied smirk and ended the call.Tessa lowered the phone, the weight of what Karen just said settling on her. She was to spy on Valerie and report back to her. So far, Val did seem odd, but there was nothing concrete.Except… Expect for the time when Adam sent Valerie flowers and a text message.“I hope you like the flowers. The offer to be my mistress is still on the table; have a nice day (inserts love emoji),” the message had read. She'd taken a quick peek at it before Valerie noticed she didn't fail to inform Karen about it.Maybe it was part of the reasons Karen wanted her gone? Or maybe it was something else. Anyway, that didn't matter to her, as long as she was getting paid. As long as the money was going to help with her mother's hospital bills...**Valerie**The whistling sound of the kettle snapped me out of my thoughts. I reached for the hot water and poured it into the tea cup on the counter, the smell of milk and honey fil
**Valerie** Wow… Was Adam really willing to divorce Karen and backstab his in-laws just to be with me? Me? The fat and ugly Ashley? An amused chuckle left my lips before I could stop it. I stared at his face a tad longer, and there was no sign that he was joking. He was actually serious? Taking over and divorcing Karen? Seems like I won't even have to do much since he was on the path of self-destruction. Then I smirked. "Well, I guess we'll never know.” With that, I walked away. What was he up to? Either way, it sounded exciting. An hour later, I was at the knitting club. A wave of warmth washed over me. There, by the window, sat Grandma and Frances, their heads bent over their knitting projects. A smile spread across my face as I approached them. “Hello,” I said with a big grin as soon as I was standing in front of them. "Valerie!" Grandma exclaimed, her eyes lighting up. "Good to see you; I almost thought you wouldn't make it.” “Uh, I finished working late. You look a