|| LORENZO KING's POV ||
" Elijah King!! Behave!!", I growled at my five year old little tornado. He was just another name for a troublemaker, so moody and demanding always. He was just too stubborn to listen to anything. He was too spoiled.
I dropped the spoon with a heavy sigh. I had been persuading him to eat the formula for a long time but he refused to listen to me. When I switched my attention from him, he ran back into the room again. I wish that I could know why he always made that puffy look.
My assistant Edmund arrived with a file that I had asked for. It had been five years since she left me. I searched for her everywhere in my country. But she was nowhere to be seen. Luka believed that she left the country otherwise it was impossible to hide for so long under my power.
Life had changed so much for me that I couldn't find my old self any longer. I never knew that she was that important for me until she left me for forever. I wished that I could say her sorry. I wished that she would have waited for my answer at least.
Now, we have come to the neighborhood for our business. Over the past few years, King Enterprise had expanded their business sector a lot. Yes, my father transferred the legacy under my name after Valentina left me. He was too happy to know that a stripper was out of his son's life. But he never cared that a child had lost her mother as well.
I raised Elijah all by myself. It was always Nanny who took care of him. My son knew the word 'Mommy" when he turned three because without mother's presence in his life, he never knew how important a mother was in his life.
My phone started ringing in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw that it was Nana. Tapping on the answer button, I heard her enraged tone,
" Lorenzo!!! You went abroad without telling Kylie again? Do you still consider her your fiance? Why can't you just accept the reality and move on?"
It was all about Kylie again. A few months ago, Nana almost threatened me with her life and got us engaged in a private ceremony. Kylie didn't leave the country after she returned to model in our exhibition. She kept staying as my brand's permanent model. Now, my own clothing brand has multiple outlets in different countries. It wasn't limited to one or two stores anymore.
I pinched the space between my eyebrows. I became tired of hearing her the same accusations over and over again. I replied with a sigh,
" Nana! I have an emergency here. The land that we purchased to build the mall is facing some legal issues. I have to sort it out first. Besides, I didn't think that it was necessary to tell her anyways."
Nana blurted angrily, ready to shout again,
" You.. Lorenzo.."
I hung up the phone before she could shout more at me. Throwing the phone back on the couch, I looked up at Edmund to ask him,
" Tell me! Have you found the lawyer?"
The country was new to me. We had no idea about the protocols or procedures here. After we found out about the legal issues, I sent Edmund immediately to find the best lawyer in the town.
Edmund passed me a card before starting to speak clearly,
" This is the contact number of Underwood law firm. Kanan Underwood has taken a break from his advocate career. He is currently doing his duties as the prince. I heard that his younger sister is taking care of the law firm now. She has potential as well. Though she has a career for roughly 2 years, she has never lost a case so far. What do you think about her, Sir?"
I asked him back, looking down at the card in my hand,
" What's her name and bio?"
Edmund replied firmly, checking the information in his ipad,
" Valentina... Valentina Underwood..graduated from KL University."
My stomach deepened into a deep knot. The uneasy feeling of my heart were awake all of sudden. Five years had passed but the name never failed to give me a heart wrenching feeling. It was like an acid on my skin. It burnt me whenever I heard that name.
Feeling nothing at all, I mumbled to him, all the memories were running back into my brain,
" Make an appoint with her. I want her to fight this case."
__________
|| VALENTINA'S POV ||
" Seriously, Kanan? You are allowing it?", I said in an rumbling, earning a deep chuckle from my brother who couldn't stop laughing. In his eyes, Nathaniel was the dumbest kids ever. He was literally blown away in surprise when all three of us appeared in front of his eyes together. It looked like he couldn't take the blow of meeting the Royals for real.
Nathaniel was my mother's best friend's son. He was studying medicine and was a good doctor as well. Talking about marriage, my mother had been pressuring me to get married for the past two years. She was scared to see that I had no intention of getting married because simply..I couldn't move on from Lorenzo King.
Years passed but the scars didn't leave my heart. I could no longer love someone as I wished to love. Whenever I thought of Elijah, I was mentally tortured. It had been an year since I stopped seeing the psychiatrist. I was mentally devasted after I returned to my home. Over the past years, I kept a close eye to the news related to Lorenzo. He was engaged to Kylie now. It seemed like he had finally moved on with his life.
Kylie was the perfect match for him. But what about my son? Did he able to accept his new mom? Was he hurting silently?
Whenever these thoughts came into my mind, all I wanted to was die there. I was probably the worst mother in his eyes. Holding back the tears, I tried to focus on the road that was too dark.
Kanan spoke in a voice of worry,
" Val! If you don't want to, I can still go back."
I cut him off, sounding adamant,
" No! I want to! Let's give it a try."
I didn't tell them about my past entirely. Only my mother knew that I had a relationship and it didn't work out. I told her that I left the child in his father's care. She didn't ask too much and encouraged me to move on with my life. Ever since I graduated, she was always setting this blind date every now and then. Although all of them were a damn failure, she didn't loose faith on me.
Kanan stopped the car in front of a restaurant. Pointing at a table which was visible through the glass, he said with a chuckle,
" Your prince charming is there."
I rolled my eyes, unbuckling the seatbelt to get off the car. Right before I closed the door, Kanan sent me a reminder, still seeming worried for me,
" By the way, you have an appointment today with Mr.King. He is an important figure. Don't keep him waiting for so long."
My breathing hitched slightly. King? That name still brought the same aching feeling in my heart. There were many people in this world with the same surname. There were nothing to worry about. I told myself repeatedly and dismissed the negative thoughts from my mind. Tugging on the coat, I headed inside the restaurant and found Nathaniel seated at a table.
I approached him reluctantly. He stood up to greet me hastily,
" Princess.."
I gave him a small smile, sat on the opposite chair gracefully before telling,
" Sorry, I am late."
Nathaniel looked hella nervous. He sat down on his own chair, behaved very carefully. That guy was really shy to meet me in person. I became more vocal about my thoughts after becoming the lawyer. I didn't get shy to share my thoughts anymore. Taking a deep breath, I asked him first with a smile,
" Did you come willingly or your mother sent you like mine?"
Nathaniel let out a nervous chuckle. Picking up the juice, he drank it all in a gulp and mumbled in a shaky tone,
" Actually... Princess...I..I had always a crush on you. I can't stop my heart beating out whenever you are close to me. I really..I.."
He began to stutter on his words, making me laughing out loud. Kanan was very right about him. He was really a dumb boy that I ever met in my life. Hiding the laugh forcefully, I told him truthfully,
" Nathaniel, let me be very honest with you. I don't like you nor do I have interest in this marriage. It's better that you stop dreaming about it. I am really sorry."
His face sank in deep sorrow. I really didn't expect that he had a crush on me for real. Rubbing his hands together nervously, he asked with a deep frown,
" Why? Can you tell me the reason? Do you like someone else?"
A blurry image flashed across my eyes. Tears welled up from the corner of my eyes but I didn't let it falling down in front of Nathaniel. I mumbled to him, getting up to leave already,
" That's none of your business. I have a meeting with the client. See you later.."
I suddenly lost appetite of eating any longer. Each blind date opened my scars only. I hated to remember the man who ruined my life. Lorenzo King!! I wish that I would never see you again.
Taking a glimpse of my wrist watch, I found out that it was already 9 P.M at night. Kanan just texted me to tell that Mr.King would meet me in my office sharp at 9 P.M. So, I sped up with the leaving.
The night was little windy outside today. It was rainy season soon. So, the weather was already getting prepared to welcome the new rain. Getting on the car, I sat on my position tightly to go for the law firm.
Minutes afterwards, I arrived at the law firm. I cursed under my breath when I saw an expensive car, parking outside.
Shit! He was here already!
I began to take large strides into the building while wiping the raindrops from my coat. As my gaze was focused on my coat, I didn't notice the environment around. I rushed into my office immediately in where he was waiting from the beginning. Sliding open the door, I began to apologize, still patting on the coat to clean the dirt,
" I am sorry, Mr.King. I was actually somewhere else. It took me minutes to arrive here."
There was an odd silence around the room. Before lifting my head, I could feel a pair of dark eyes, laying on me. Awkwardly, I raised my head to look at the man. In a second, the world stopped around me. I almost stumbled at that spot but I couldn't move an inch. He was there..in front of me. The man who owned my heart, broke my heart was standing in front of me after five years of silent separation. Remembering something, I tried hard to not react anything. Pressing my lips together, I greeted him like a formal client,
" Hello, Mr.King. I am.. Valentina Underwood."
Lorenzo kept staring at my face in shock. It took a while for him to regain his calm composure. The following moment, he blurted, striding forward to pull me into his hug. Then he started mumbling repeatedly, tears came from his eyes which made my heart broken into pieces,
" Valentina... Valentina..You are alive? You are my Valentina. Aren't you? Talk to me.. Valentina.. please..say something.."