𝑽𝑨𝑳𝑬𝑵𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑨 | 𝐓.𝐒 |

𝒙𝒊𝒙. 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅

╭──────────.★..─╮

𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔. 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝙸'𝚍 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚘𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛'𝚜 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚊𝚍.
𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚑, 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚙𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔. 𝙳𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚎, 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚖𝚎, 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚖𝚎? 𝙱𝚘𝚢, 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍

╰─..★.──────────╯

𝐓𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐛𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. No, it had shaken him to his core. Thomas, who had spent years orchestrating moves in the shadows, a man who always knew what to do, was torn apart. He felt as though his carefully constructed world was falling apart, slipping through his fingers like sand.

It had been three days since the family dinner, since Grace walked back into his life with a child—his child. Three days since the carefully laid plans for his future had been shattered. And, more painfully, it had been three days since Valentina had started acting like nothing had happened. She returned to the office the next day, head held high, but something was different.

Thomas could handle many things, but not this. Not her distance. Not her silence.

No more longing glances. No more touches in the dark that sent fire through his veins. She called him "Mr. Shelby" now, her words as cold as the space she'd placed between them. She never looked at him the way she used to—like he was the center of her universe, the man she had quietly, but fiercely, fallen for. God knows how much he wanted to hear her say his name again, just once. Thomas. It used to slip so effortlessly from her lips, but now, it was like a distant memory, and it was driving him to madness.

He sat at his desk, fingers gripping the edge as he watched her gather her things, her movements mechanical. She was about to leave, the workday over, but Thomas wasn't going to let her walk out. Not this time. She barely looked at him as she gathered her things, but he could feel the tension in the air. It was suffocating.

"Valentina," he called out as he quickly moved towards her, his voice hoarse from days of sleeplessness. She didn't stop moving.

"Good night, Mr. Shelby," she voiced.

"No," he said sharply, just inches away from her. "Stop."

Valentina froze in her tracks, back still turned to him. The room was quiet, the ticking of the clock the only sound between them. She slowly turned to face him, her expression guarded, like she had built a fortress around herself in just three short days.

At that, she paused, her hand on the door handle. She looked up at him, her eyes unreadable. "Is there anything else you need, Mr. Shelby?" she asked, her voice steady, almost cold. Thomas's heart clenched. There it was again—the name, the barrier she had erected

"No," he growled, stepping in front of her, and blocking the door before she could leave. His voice was more desperate than he intended, but he didn't care anymore. "No, we're not doing this."