Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧—the suffocating terror creeping through her bones, making her relive it over and over. No matter where she was—on her bed, in her office—she always felt like she was trapped in that same place, on that same boat where her father had whisked her away.
She remembered his face so vividly, his final promise that they would see each other again. But no matter how hard she tried, her mind couldn't recall the sound of his voice. She could remember the roaring waves, how they tossed her as if dancing with the endless darkness. She remembered the fear etched on her father's face and how her sister chose to stay behind in the royal family's service, even if it meant giving up her life.
She remembered the first time she set foot in England, knowing only her late father's friend, Mr. Elton. He had helped her for a few months but passed away soon after, leaving her to fend for herself. She had vowed to her family that she would survive. But now, she wasn't sure she could keep that promise.
The bathroom was dimly lit, the only light coming from a flickering candle on the windowsill. Valentina slid deeper into the bathtub, her body yielding to the water's embrace. The warmth enveloped her at first, but as her head sank beneath the surface, the sensation changed. Everything above the waterline became faint, the familiar sounds of the world—her own breath—dissolved into nothing. The muffled hum of her heartbeat was all that remained, pounding against her chest, echoing in her ears.
There was a strange peace in the stillness.
Valentina's eyes fluttered open beneath the surface, but the water distorted everything—the tiles around her became a blur, abstract, unreachable. She blinked, tears mixing with the bathwater, though she wasn't sure if she was crying for herself or the inevitable. There was a seduction in the idea of staying under longer, in surrendering to the water, letting it close in fully, permanently.
Maybe down here, nothing could hurt her. Maybe down here, she could just...fade. Her mind once lulled into a dreamlike numbness, snapped back into sharp awareness. It was a battle between giving in and survival. But she surfaced. She gasped violently as she broke through the water, her lungs expanding painfully as they drank in the air. The world rushed back in—too loud, too bright—filling the silence she'd briefly escaped. She sat there, shivering, her fingers gripping the edges of the tub, the water now cold and uninviting.
Valentina leaned back against the cold porcelain of the tub, her hand trembling as it ran through her soaked hair. That brief moment of peace beneath the water had felt like an escape—so close, yet unreachable.
Valentina had been trying to shake off the strange sense of peace she'd felt the night before. It was unsettling yet alluring, so much so that she found herself tempted to revisit it. But this time, she promised herself she wouldn't waver. Just as she was lost in these thoughts, Thomas passed her table, heading toward his office.
