|| VALENTINA's POV ||
" Please be seated, Madam! Sir will be here soon!", his assistant showed me the space, giving me a warm, polite smile. I looked around to inspect his newly renovated office. Unlike his grey walls, it was painted with black tiles now, giving off a dark vibe. My man had a weird taste when it came to choosing his office room.
Lorenzo had gone back to meet a client. His assistant personally led me upstairs. I noticed that he was very careful in each step which almost made me laugh out loud. Everyone was paranoid around me.
Lorenzo was taking longer with his client. So, I put the envelope over his desk and sat on his chair to look through his personal drawers casually. It wasn't my habit to look through anyone's personal belongings. I was only killing my leisure time and was bored. After going through the files, a picture caught my attention. It was peeping halfway through the yellow file, consistently playing with my curiosity.
Without thinking too much, I pulled out the file including the picture. When I brought it under my eyes, I almost fell from the chair. In that picture, Lily & Leonardo were hugging each other. Their big smile showed how lovely the couple were. With my shaky hands, I dropped the picture and went through the file anxiously. It was there... Everything was there including Lily's post mortem report.
Although, I had only a little time, I understood that Lorenzo knew everything about them from day one. When I flipped the next page, my stomach clenched into a tight knot. It was me in that next picture including my bio data. Not to mention, he tracked that information when I was working in my first bar. It meant that Lorenzo knew me before the bar that we met.
Why did he hide everything from me? Why didn't he tell me that he knew about my best friend's death as well?
I was blank and clueless at this moment. My believe for him suddenly dropped so much that I didn't have the courage to wait and confront him face to face. I could think of only one person at that moment___ Luka. Placing back the papers on its place, I supported my bump to sit up and headed outside of his office.
I had to know everything..I needed to know what kind of man that I was living w
________
" Tell me the fucking truth!! I want to know the truth, Luka!!", I shouted at Luka, tears fell from my eyes relentlessly. Lorenzo's assistant tried to stop me several times but he failed because at the very last moment, I threatened him with my health.
Luka became speechless by my questions as if he didn't expect me to learn the truth so fast. He tried to change the topic again softly,
" Valentina, calm down! It's not good for you.."
Best friend!! Huh!!
He was still not telling me because of his loyalty to Lorenzo but I knew how to change his mind. Taking a step forward, I threatened him with my choking voice,
" If you don't tell me the truth, I will take this baby away right now."
Luka's gaze became helpless as he looked in great trouble. Exhaling through his mouth heavily, he muttered, looking down at his feet in guilt,
" Yes.. Lorenzo knew you from the beginning..He wanted you to use you as a witness to Leonardo's relationship with Lily. As Lily was separated from her family, there was no one except you. But Lorenzo did fall for you for real, Valentina. You must believe that he..."
" STOP!!!", I cut him off with a shout, another round of tears slipped past my eyes. Shoulders shaking, I felt weak on my knees. The world was spinning around me. The man whom I trusted the most, the man who took my virginity was with me all because of his revenge on his step-brother. No wonder, he chose me randomly. No wonder, he was persistent to turn me into his surrogate.
Stumbling on my feet, I began to walk backwards. Luka kept explaining but I could hear nothing except the laughter of mockery from my self-conscious esteem,
" Valentina..Trust me...It was all in the past..Lo loves you now.. Don't misunderstand him.. Valentina..."
I turned around to leave hastily. My footsteps were in a hurry but I had no idea what I was doing. The shock and pain became so severe that my heart felt blank at that moment. I could no longer feel the pain or other emotions inside me.
Getting on the elevator, I heard someone chasing me behind but I acted too fast to close the door. When I reached the down floor, it was evening in the town. The sky was cloudy and dark, occasionally had thunderstrokes. In a few seconds, it was raining slowly on the street.
I walked aimlessly into the rain, feeling the hammer in my heart that kept breaking with each drop of rain. How can I be so foolish to believe that Lorenzo King had fallen in love with me?
I kept crying in the rain, walking through the street and wishing that no one would be able to find me ever. I had never felt so heartbroken before. Even my parents'death never hurt me that much. I was blind in love. I deserved this painful consequence.
As I kept crying silently, hasty footsteps came from my back. I didn't care to turn around but his voice soon froze me on my track,
" VALENTINA..."
It was Lorenzo again. The man who took away every meaning of my life had finally showed up. His voice sounded shaky as he begged,
" Please... don't..go.."
I turned around like a controlled robot. He was standing in the wet. Waters slid down from his forehead to his lips. His eyes had the guilt that I had never seen before. He was well aware of his own wrongdoings.
I asked him like a whisper, choked in the middle,
" Is..is.. that the truth? You..you hired me so that..you can use me..as the witness?"
Lorenzo didn't say anything, only looked down on his shoes before squeezing his eyes shut painfully. I felt like I had died for the second time there. What worse could it be to know that the man who you loved was actually pretending to love you all the time?
A strangled sob left my lips but I concealed it with the words that kept playing in my heart,
" All this time..you.. you were faking everything with me, Lorenzo? Why?? Is..is revenge more important than breaking someone's heart?"
Lorenzo looked up at me, kept shaking his head repeatedly,
" No..you don't understand, Valentina..It was my intention but I really love you.. now..I want to be with you.. Please trust me... Don't look at me like you don't know me.."
I blurted, ignoring his obvious words,
" What if you didn't fall in love with me, Lorenzo? You were going to throw me out right after you used me. Isn't it?"
Lorenzo pleaded with me with his eyes, tears brimming from his eyes too. I continued wiping like a lost child,
" I would have forgiven you if you told me the truth by yourself, Lorenzo. I would have done anything for you without even asking. But you..you chose to lie to me when I put my trust in you blindly.. Your presence is making me sick, Lorenzo..I..You don't deserve to be my boyfriend..I no longer know Lorenzo King..You are a liar, a betrayer..You don't deserve my forgiveness... About Lily..I will personally drag her murderer to hell..I don't need a man like you..I.. just.. don't..."
Lorenzo didn't say anything, endured everything like a man in the prison. I turned to leave again, this time ending everything for good because I no longer knew how to trust someone again.