Chapter 13
After her shower, Irene stepped out of the bathroom and saw Valerie sitting on the rug in front of the couch, hugging a frozen mac and cheese. Irene walked over and snatched the food from her hands. “What’s this? You broke enough playing music that you can’t even afford dinner now?”
Grinning, Valerie reached out to grab it back. “Exactly. Be a saint and let me have a few hot bites to keep me going.”
Irene turned and headed to the kitchen. She said, “Tll cook something for you. Don’t eat this garbage.”
“You’re the best, Rini!” Valerie followed her into the kitchen, giving Irene’s waist a playful scratch.
When Irene finally cracked a smile, Valerie breathed a sigh of relief.
Leaning against the counter, Valerie watched as Irene started boiling the pasta.
But when Irene stayed quiet for too long, Valerie couldn’t hold back. Her tone turned serious. “That message you sent me this morning. what did it mean?”
The picture message showed a passage Irene had written with women’s script.
In ancient times women wanted express their emotions and hardships to one another, sharing joy and pain through a language only they understood.
Back in high school, while boarding together, Irene and Valerie spent their free time studying women’s script out of curiosity,
What Irene sent this morning, when translated, meant. [My boyfriend wants to kill me.]
The second she got the message, Valerie rushed back to Eldraeth City from the next town over.
Irene hadn’t said much since, her eyes constantly scanning the apartment, wary.
Sensing her concern, Valerie reassured her. “I already checked the place. There’s no surveillance in your apartment. We’re good to talk.”
Only then did Irene relax. She said, “I asked you to come because I needed you to help check if the place was still safe.”
A home should be a safe haven. Irene had to make sure this one really was
“What’s going on? Is Dorian really dangerous?” Valerie asked. She had already been suspicious of Dorian.
Dorian had appeared like a beam of sunlight, brightening Irene’s world.
And Irene had been completely drawn to the warmth that beam brought. But Valerie, who came from a family of police officers, had always found his sudden appearance suspicious.
Nothing ever falls from the sky. Valerie never believed the sunlight would just happen to shine on Irene.
It wasn’t that Irene didn’t deserve warmth. It was that this kind of warmth felt too strange, too perfectly timed.
Valerie believed all coincidences were calculated moves. She’d been suspicious of Dorian from the beginning, but had never found any solid evidence.
So when she got that message from Irene, Valerie dropped everything and came running.
Irene stared at the bubbling water in the pot, the hate in her eyes spreading like wildfire.
She said slowly, “Valerie, what if I told you Dorian only got close to me to earn my trust, so I’d cut ties with the Jacksons and be completely isolated, just so he could harvest my heart for the woman he actually loves?”
Irene let the words fall one after another. Then she looked up and asked, “Would you believe me?”
Valerie’s jaw dropped. “What the actual fuck?”
As crazy as it sounded, Valerie knew Irene wasn’t the type to joke about something like this.
Chapter 13
After a deep breath, Valerie asked, “If that’s really true… then Dorian’s been hiding it way too well. How did you
A bitter smile touched Irene’s lips. She replied, “Because I’ve already died once.”
Valerie frowned. ‘Died? What is that supposed to mean?”
find out?”
Irene said suddenly, “Valerie, remember when you dropped out of school to become an underground singer? You ignored my warnings and started dating Ron.
“I was so angry at you. I called you disappointment. Said you were hopeless. But now, I owe you an apology.
“You’re following in your uncle’s footsteps. Valerie, you’re not just his pride. You’re mine too.”
Hearing this, Valerie froze. Her face went pale. “Rini… how do you know about that?”
Valerie’s undercover work was top secret. There was no way Irene should’ve known.
AD
