Aiden I had reluctantly promised Drew that I would talk to Val, but deep down, I knew it was a promise I might not be able to keep. I had made the call but my call had gone straight to decline and I knew she had my number on the block. I did try for other phones and landlines but none of my calls were picked. Val was a force to be reckoned with, the polar opposite of Laura in so many ways. She didn't take nonsense from anyone and had a tendency to shoot straight, right between the eyes. That fierce independence was what made her special, and it was also what made confronting her such a daunting task. Despite the challenges, the thought of Laura's fragile health deteriorating due to the revelation of the truth scared me enough to muster the courage to face Val. I loved them both, and the internal conflict tore me apart every time Val crossed my mind. I had inflicted more pain upon her than Drew ever did. Those words I uttered in the club, dismissing her feelings and revealing the cru
Valerie As I stood there in the reception area, the weight of guilt pressed upon my heart like a relentless force. I was doing this for Laura and Val both. It wasn't just because of Laura that I was seeing her. "Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked, her voice snapping me back to the present moment. "No, I am her... boyfriend," I replied, the words feeling heavy and awkward as they left my lips. I could sense the smile on the receptionist's face falter slightly at my response. She didn't look much pleased at all. "Give me a second," she said, her tone shifting slightly as she reached for the phone and dialed a number. While she engaged in hushed conversation, I stood there awkwardly, my gaze drifting toward the entrance to the inner offices where Val's workspace resided. "Sir, why don't you sit down? Someone will be with you shortly. Ms. Caulfield is currently with a client," the receptionist informed me, her tone now tinged with a hint of reservation. Oblivious t
Valerie As I sat there in the upscale cafe, occupying a window seat with a view of the bustling street outside, I couldn't shake off the heavy weight of regret that hung over me like a dark cloud. This wasn't just any cafe; it was the kind where reservations were made months in advance, where the ambiance was refined, and where money spoke volumes. But none of that mattered to me in that moment. All I wanted was a chance to speak to Val, to make things right between us, or at least to let her know about Laura's condition. I glanced around the cafe, taking in the elegant decor and the laughter of diners enjoying their meals. A young couple passed by the window, their laughter and easy camaraderie reminding me of happier times with Val. For a brief moment, I allowed myself to indulge in memories of our short-lived happiness, of the moments when we were truly content in each other's company. But those moments were fleeting, replaced once again by the heavy burden of guilt that weighed
Valerie As I sat at my desk, trying to focus on my work, my mind was buzzing with a chaotic mix of emotions and thoughts. The conversation with Shay still echoed in my ears, her voice filled with excitement and determination. She seemed convinced that she had a solution to my problems, a way to finally bring the truth to light and find some semblance of satisfaction in the mess that my life had become. "I'm so fucking glad you did that, Val," Shay's voice rang through the phone, filled with an energy that was both infectious and intimidating. "Me too, I couldn't fucking go through it anymore. It was becoming fucking torturous," I replied, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders just by acknowledging the decision I had made. "I declare this as one of the best decisions of your life, Val," Shay exclaimed, her excitement palpable even through the phone line. "Thank you, but it still doesn't satisfy me. I think satisfaction can't come to me until the truth is out," I confessed, the wo
Valerie When I reached the cafe Shay was already there, but alone. Didn't she say she wants me to meet someone? Shrugging that thought away, I settled down beside her. She was busy reading something on her phone, that she didn't acknowledge my presence. She was too engrossed in her phone, and at that, I smiled like a cherished cat. Have you ever poked a person who is too engrossed into something? I have, and it's hilarious. Very slowly my finger travelled towards her waist. I was just this close to poking her, when she scared the hell out of me. "Don't even think about it?" She said, making me jump in my seat. My breath hitched in fear, and my hand rested over my heart. God, my own trick got used on me. "You scared me, Shay," I whisper- yelled. I was sure that I might have gained the attention of a few other people in the cafe. Shay smirked, making me smile. "I knew you would do something like this, so I learned a lesson from the last time, and made you believe that I was too bus
Valerie "I will let you publish it." My words loud and clear. "But I don't want mine or Aiden's name to be revealed. As much as I would like to destroy, him I don't want to. He was better than Drew, and even if he was a jerk? at least he told me the truth. You will write about him, but not reveal his name, just like mine, and to make the story better and bring more destruction to Drew's so clean image. I will give you the non-disclosure agreements that he had his mistresses sign. However, I would like to know one thing, Arnold. How can I trust you? What if you are one of Drew's men and all you told me was a story." He smiled. "Val, he isn't like that," Shay intruded. "No, it's alright. She is right. You are a scorned woman, Val. If I was in your place, I wouldn't have trusted myself. I came prepared for it, though." He took a folder out of his bag, and placed it in front of me. "If this story doesn't appear on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper, you will own everything I have.
Valerie As I slowly woke up from the depths of sleep, the intrusive melody of my phone pierced through the peaceful of the morning. Irritation bubbled within me as I reached for the offending device, my mind still cloaked in the haze of slumber. Who could possibly be calling at this ungodly hour? Reluctantly, I glanced at the screen before answering, half-expecting it to be Drew, ready to unleash another wave of stress upon me. To my immense relief, it was Shay. But why on earth was she calling me so early? Shay was notorious for her late mornings, and I couldn't recall a single instance where she had been up before nine. Then it hit me like a bolt of lightning. The article. Had it been published already? The memory of handing over crucial evidence to Arnold the previous night flooded back, mingling with the anticipation that now gripped me. "Did it happen?" I blurted out as soon as I answered the call, my voice laden with a mixture of anxiety and hope. "No, sorry Val," Shay's v
Valerie Photographs of Drew and Laura were all over the page. The snapshots of contracts that Drew made his mistresses sign were splashed on the next page. The whole story I told Arnold was there! Aiden's and my name were kept anonymous, but the story of how Drew destroyed a woman was written precisely.He had even written about his sister and how cruelly Drew had hurt her. There were questions about how could a man do this and how much of a fool Laura was to not have known about all of this. There were even questions focused on her parents about how couldn't they have known all about it.The most eye-catching question to me was that Laura was to be blamed for the broken heart I carried. There was a whole article on me. Just me. No fucking Drew, nor Aiden. Just me. How did I feel about being used by two lovers who were in love with Laura but not me?“The love that she had thought to be hers was never hers, to begin with,” it said. Arnold had written about how I had felt and how lost
Valerie "I feel like a whale," I told to Shay, who sat at the end of the sofa while I laid on the couch with the remote for the tv. I was going to be around nine months pregnant in a week and this little buddy was going to come out soon. A lot has changed in last six months. I was no longer living in my apartment. Bryan had bought a new house which was closer to Travis and Aiden's house.The nursery was ready with hues of yellow and blue. Aiden and I had grown close but there had been nothing more than kisses and holding each other. The new house had many rooms and one of them was Aiden’s but he usually slept with me. He didn't go to his apartment often and just stayed here with me. He didn't want to miss any part of the baby and me being pregnant. He had warmed up to my heart, but hadn't been able to get that place back in my heart. His relationship with his mother was still rocky but they were at least talking. Whereas Laura and Aiden had drifted worlds apart.Laura had a breakdown
ValerieGod, this had to happen with me only. I groaned internally. this was right embarrassing. I felt Aiden sleeping on my legs with his hand feeling heavy on my belly. Besides it, I realize one more thing which was that I was going to puke. I felt it was coming, I knew it was and before I know I quickly pushing Aiden away and rushing to the bathroom kissing the porcelain seat. I puked and puked then brushed my teeth, gargled with mouthwash to get rid of that vile taste of bile. Being pregnant was not an easy task. "You have been caught red handed Aiden." It was Shay who was talking when I reached back to the living room. Aiden was on the floor rubbing his head. In my run to the bathroom, I might have pushed him a little too hard. Carmen stared at him while Shay busy staring at his share of uneaten food and smoothie. "I think we should have clicked the picture of the two together first," Carmen spoke without caring about the food. "Carmen she was eating mozzarella sticks and d
Aiden held my face and kissed me. I was stunned. I should have pulled back but I couldn't. I just couldn't. I was responding to his kiss, tasting our tears in it. Our kiss was passionate, our lips hungry for each other. It was a kiss filled with love and passion but yet soft. I could feel every part of my body needing his touch. It was wrong and yet it felt so right to do it. I was being lifted and pushed on my back. Our kiss never breaking. His torso in between my legs and my legs wrapped around him. His face in my hand and he took control over our kiss. Our tongues danced in sync. I was breathing heavily, I was feeling a need and then suddenly out of nowhere Laura popped up in my mind and the moment was lost from my side. My body stilled. My lips no longer responding to his and we break apart from our kiss. His eyes looked into mine searching for what stopped me. "What happened Val?" He asked concerned and worried. I closed my eyes and touch my lips. I knew that kiss we just had wa
Valerie "You... you what?" I finally managed to choke out."I didn’t know what else to do," he said, tears streaming down his face. "She was crying, Val. She was so upset, and I just wanted to make it better. I thought if I agreed, she’d be happy, and things would calm down. But I didn’t mean it. I don’t want to marry Laura. I don’t want to be with anyone but you."His words swirled around in my mind, but I couldn’t make sense of them. He had agreed to marry Laura? How could he do that to me, to us? I felt a surge of anger and betrayal."You agreed to marry her?" I repeated, my voice shaking. "How could you, Aiden? How could you do that to us?""I didn’t mean it," he pleaded. "I was just trying to calm her down. I don’t want to marry Laura. I love you, Val. You and our baby are everything to me.""But you said yes," I said, my voice rising. "You told her you’d marry Laura. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? Do you even care about what I want, what I need?""Of course, I car
I waited for Aiden to speak something. I wasn;t a patient being but with him I was trying to be. I could see he was fighitng a battle on the inside buit I couldn;t do anytging until he spoke himself. "Mom dropped by the office today," he began. "She demanded to know when I was marrying you," that was literally nothing new. Why ouldn;t the woman get the hint that it wasn;t happening. "I told her it was none of her business, and she went ballistic, telling me that wasn’t the way I should speak to her." I still hated that woman. Travis had made sure she left me alone, even cutting ties with her. Aiden had tried to do the same, but she was his mother, and it was hard for him. I didn’t want him to cut her off for my sake anyway. He had a mother, and although she was mean and self-centered, no son should be separated from his mother. I wouldn;t want my child to be serpated from me like that. "Then she said that if we weren’t getting married, I should marry Laura." I was stunned. I looked
ValerieAs the doorbell rang happiness surged inside of me. At last, my angel came.Opening the door wide my whole concentration was on the packets in his hand rather than on him. Taking the packets for him I just went inside straight to the kitchen without a hello or anything.I just wanted to devour what was inside that packet before Carmen or Shay caught me. Carmen would literally fry me if she knew that I was busy eating fried mozzarella sticks that too with a vanilla chocolate smoothie. I heard the door close and him coming to the kitchen.This had become our norm, I would rush to the kitchen with the food and set each of us with a plate, mine always had a little a more than his. Whatever I ate, he had to eat that too, it was a part in a way for him to become the part of my pregnancy. I hadn;t lied to him when I had said that he would be a part of this preganncy in every step. As I looked up to see where he was I found his near the kitchen door. He stood there smiling at me wi
Valerie Two months later..................."Why," I questioned. "Why now," I was almost near to pnaick. "Why?" My father asked. "What do you mean by why. We are just going to meet each other and Bryan called me here to meet with him, Valerie. I think we should have talked to each other months back." Dad said while standing at the entrance of the house and by dad I meant Travis. I called them both dad but this was going to be first freaking time they were going be together face to face. I won't lie this whole dad one and dad two concept was so confusing for me. I have already told them if they ever were in the same room I will call them by their name rather than Dad. I haven't let them meet each other until now. If you remember when Bryan met Laura's father he beat the shit out of him. I don't want a recap of that with Travis. Gosh I still cringed thinking how beat up Laura's father was after Bryan's beating. "I'm having a bad feeling about this." I really was not going to tend t
Valerie "I.. never knew." a tremble in his voice made me believe that he really had no idea that what had happened."When my father came to know that I wasn't his he decided to hurt my mother by having affairs and dangling them in front of her," I paused taking in deep breaths. "My mother loved my father a lot but she understood what she had done," I continued even though all the memories were painful."She knew that she had hurt him too much, betrayed him. So she decided not to fight with Dad, she fought with the pain she suffered but she didn't give up easily. For four years she lived on knowing how her husband was cheating and hurting her. She lived for me until the day it became too much to handle." A tear escaped my eyes as I remembered finding her dead. The memory was ingrained in my brain for the rest of my life. Looking up to Travis I saw his eyes turned away from mine. He couldn't even look at me anymore.If only he had been brave enough to do the test last time this wouldn'
ValerieI waited for him in the cafe near my office, and let me tell you it was torture. The smell of coffee was in the air and it was hard to not have it. So I did the right thing and ordered one latte for me. I googled and even my doctor said a cup a day won't do any harm but under the watchful eye of Carmen, Shay, and dad I couldn't even have a whiff of coffee. One little sip of it was heaven for me. It had been six days since the thought of meeting him has been taking over my mind. The last I had seen him was a week before.Last night I had asked Aiden for his number when he came home with me. Aiden did really give me space and time. He called before even thinking of coming and he apologized times and again because of his mother showing up here. I really didn't say much about what happened between me and his mother. The only words that slipped my lips was that I didn't like her and he had promised that she won't disturb me anymore. I had called Travis and asked him to meet me at t