Love is as strong as Death

Chapter 6

Valeria's POV

I could feel someone next to me when I woke up. I turned around quickly and saw Tyson. He didn't leave?? I lightly traced my fingers down his face to wake him up.

"You're still here?" I asked softly, hoping he might have changed his mind.

"I overslept," he replied before standing up.
I nodded and watched him go into the bathroom. He got ready in no time.

I still had about 30 minutes to prepare for work.

"I asked for permission on your behalf; you should stay home," he said when he noticed me picking out clothes.

"Who gave you the permission to do that? Who do you think you are?", I asked, bewildered.

He ignored me as he went about with his business.
He opened the door with his back to me.

"Take care of yourself, Valerie ," he said. It had been a long time since I heard him call me that.

"I suppose you still don't have an explanation for me. Go on,leave!!," I gestured toward the door, trying not to let the tears fall.

I won't cry for him. No way!

He was everything to me.All I had.

As soon as he shut the door, the tears began to flow.

I glanced around the apartment we'd shared for over a year. It was spacious enough for four people. We'd been together for three years, and he had asked me to move in about a year and a half ago.

I couldn't afford that kind of luxury. I smiled sadly. It was time to look for a smaller apartment.
I picked up my laptop and started searching online.
I found a woman around my age who was looking for a roommate, so I quickly reached out and set up a meeting. When I visited the apartment, it was exactly what I wanted.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into a month. I handed the keys to the receptionist and moved into my new apartment.

My roommate, Remie, was really nice. We clicked right from the beginning, and it felt great to have a friend.

She was aware of my past relationship with Tyson, but it didn't seem to bother her. She told me I was too special to waste my time on him and even introduced me to a couple of friends.

One of them was Peter, a lawyer, who took me out on a date. Honestly, the guy was like a talking parrot! He ordered my meal for me, and guess what it was? Salad. He had the audacity to tell me I needed to lose weight. I couldn't believe it! I slapped him, grabbed my bag, and left him completely stunned.

Then there was Rodney, a gym instructor. He seemed nice and polite at first, but I quickly realized he was really self-absorbed. He spent most of the time talking about his exes and kept insisting that I should come to the gym with him.

You know what? I wasn't fat at all! I just didn't fit the typical look most girls had. I was thick with curves in all the right places.

What was up with those guys? But honestly, I was glad I didn't find any of them appealing.

My heart was still with Tyson.

Work had gone back to normal. Surprisingly, no one was talking about me, and Dylan had been out of the country for a while.

Where was he again? Oh right, South Africa; that's what he told me.

Right now, I'm on my way to the grocery store since it's Saturday.

I almost fell over when I bumped into a hard chest, but a strong hand caught my waist.

"Sorry," a deep voice said.

I looked up and saw a handsome man.

Do I know him? He seemed familiar.

"It's fine," I replied, trying to move past him.

He asked, "Do you want to grab a coffee with me? The weather is lovely today." I gave him a tight-lipped smile and nodded. We had a little chat during our coffee outing. Was it even a date? Probably not. He introduced himself as Declan, and we exchanged numbers. It's always nice to make a new friend, so why not?

That name, Declan, sounded familiar. I couldn't quite place where I'd heard it before. Anyway, he was quite the gentleman, and some of his gestures reminded me of Tyson.

Could I really go a day without thinking about him? It seems unlikely. I've been steering clear of the media lately, and it's actually been beneficial for me.

I really didn't want to come across anything related to him.