|| VALENTINA's POV ||
The smell in her room made me nostalgic. I remembered the fresh scent of rose smell which was her favourite. It felt like she was here yesterday. Reality was pretty much different from this. She was gone for three years. After the hostel manager left me alone in Lily's living room, all I felt was a strong wave of sorrow. Looking up at the fan, I imagined her, hanging there.
Letting out a low sob, I sat down on her bed, crying silently, reminiscing about the beautiful memories that we had. All of her things were left untouched. It looked like no one had come to this place after she took her life. The girl whom I used to know as a fighter, what made her so depressed that she took her own life?
Wiping the tears, I moved to the table to pack her things carefully. After opening the second drawer, a personal diary came to my attention. The title said it all that it was Lily's personal note ' Days of Lily's life.' Something inside me told me to open the diary. But it needed time. So, I left it on the way back to our house.
_____
" Thank you for notifying me. These are all precious to me!", I thanked the old lady politely, taking my leave as I was done with the packing staff. Only her personal diary was left in my hands, intending to read it during the ride.
After I climbed into the car, I took the initiative to open the diary of Lily. The day appeared to be the one when she first joined the University. Flipping through a few pages, I found nothing special about her daily life. It started a year ago where she mentioned her boyfriend. She called him rich, handsome and sweet. Apart from this, she didn't write down any names and occasionally how sweet he was to send her flowers. Her words sounded like their relationship had improved a lot. If everything was going well, why did she decide to suicide?
Desperately seeking an answer, I flipped through the pages fast until a line caught my attention. She was talking about sex there how painful was her first encounter with the guy. When I turned the second page, it took my breath away.
LILY WAS PREGNANT!!!
Gasping hard in shock, I read the content fast and she was saying that she was going to tell her boyfriend about the baby tonight. Then nothing was written again. Almost three days later, Lily had written down one single line,
" Sorry baby, your father doesn't want you."
Tears rolled down from my eyes. What kind of bastard was he to not take responsibility for his own child?
Sobbing silently, I found no other words on her pages. Again another date appeared and it was the same day when she died. She had written a short note in messy letters, probably crying back then,
" Leonardo is getting married. He forced this abortion on me. I didn't want to lose this baby. How will I survive after everything? I am coming to you baby. Your mama is coming to you."
Leonardo? Which Leonardo?
That one name kept chanting in my head until I was feeling dizzy with all the puzzles around me. Maybe, I was overthinking everything.
________
|| LORENZO KING's POV||
" So, are these the reasons that you wanted Valentina as your surrogate?" Luka growled, thrashing the papers on my face. My face went numb to see the reports that he had accidentally found it. I wanted it to keep a secret so much.
Sighing heavily, I admitted, not wanting to create anymore misunderstandings,
" Yes! Now that you know, keep your mouth shut."
Luka grimaced bitterly, cursing as he came forward to sit on the chair,
" Do you know what will happen if Valentina finds out about it? She will leave you at that exact moment."
I rebuked truthfully, glaring back at Luka who seemed angry,
" I love her now! That's the truth. The past doesn't count."
Luka shouted back, freezing my thoughts for a while,
" Yes, it does count. She is still with you even after your family tries to break her apart in many ways because she trusts you. She trusts you with all her life. Do you understand how she will react when she finds out the truth?"
My knees felt weak after he slammed the truth on my face. I was too selfish to tell her the truth. Even now if tying her up against the bed could stop her from leaving me, I was going to do it. I wanted her more than anything else that I ever wanted in my life.
Ignoring the topic, I asked something else, watching Luka's frown deepened,
" What happened to Jenny? Did my father take any action against her?"
Luka nodded his head slowly before answering,
" The properties given to her have been taken away. She is basically living an isolated life. The old man seems really angry with her."
I shrugged, standing up from my chair to face the tinted glass walls,
" That doesn't count! She is pregnant. Dad will eventually forgive her but we have to do something about Leonardo. He is crossing the line."
Luka asked back curiously,
" What are you planning to do with him? Show the evidence to the police or anything else?"
I fell silent upon his words. The big weapon that I wanted to use against him had become my big weakness. How was I going to face the consequences if Luka's speculations were right?