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It was hard to tear myself away from the bliss of her touch, her kiss, her goddamn perfect lips, but I forced myself to pull away. Her nails dug into my skin in response. “Why did you pull away? Kiss me again,” Valerie demanded, her chest rising and falling with each breath.
“I am going to be difficult to live with, Valerie. I can be overbearing. I’m probably going to fuck up. Majorly. I can be an asshole sometimes—”
“I think I can handle you quite well,” she said, her lips quirking up a little. I chuckled at the sight of her smirking. She probably mastered that look from me.
“I wish I could introduce you to my parents,” she suddenly whispered.
The beat of my heart stuttered, and my fingers tightened on her hips. My body went cold at the mention of her parents, and all the air left my lungs in a shuddering breath.
“Valerie…about your parents…”
She brought a hand up and her fingers pressed against my lips, shushing me. “I know what you are going to say, but I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to see them again, Viktor. I am free, I know that. I can reunite with them now. But I can’t…”
Her words came out choked, and she refused to meet my gaze, her eyes falling to where my neck met my shoulders. “It’s been so many years and I don’t know how to feel about everything…about them. They were supposed to protect me. They were supposed to save me, but now it just feels like they somehow abandoned me. Sometimes, I feel like maybe…maybe they forgot about me, they forgot I ever existed. It’s been seven years, Viktor. If I go back now, won’t I be disrupting their lives? Maybe they have moved on, maybe they’re no longer in pain…maybe it’s better this way. I’d rather let them live their lives and I’ll live mine. Here. With you. With your family—”
“Our family,” I interrupted, my tone harsher than I intended. “They are yours as much as they are mine.”
Valerie nodded with a sad smile. Her hand landed on my chest and her fingers caressed the tattoo there. “I’m scared,” she admitted softly.
“Of what?”
“Of their rejection. I’d rather not face them because their reaction would gut me. Maybe they would be happy to see me, maybe not. Who really knows? But as hard as it is, I would like to leave my family in the past. It is the best thing to do. For them. For me. For us.”
Valerie dragged her nails over my skin and her brows furrowed. Our eyes met and the sorrowful look in hers was still present. “I only have one wish, though. I just want to know if they are happy and safe. If they are, then I can finally move on and leave them in the past, where they belong. If they’re happy, then my sacrifice was not for nothing. That’s all that matters now.”
The blood rushed through my ears, and the drumming beat of my heart grew louder. I wondered if Valerie could hear them.
“You went to find them, didn’t you?” she questioned quietly, as if she knew the answer already. I nodded in silence. “How are they? Are they happy? Safe? What about my sister, Malory?”
The blood rushed through my ears, and the drumming beat of my heart grew louder. I wondered if Valerie could hear them.
I looked into her pretty eyes and lied.
“Yes, they are happy.”
Valerie let out a deep breath, a long sigh, and the light returned in her eyes. “They moved away a few years ago. It was a little hard to track them down. Your sister is all grown up. She is dating a football player. Your father has retired from his job and they opened a local grocery store. Your mother now helps run the store since she retired as a nurse. They are very happy, my sweet myshka.”
She let out a smothered sob. “Good. I am…glad.”
I wrapped my arms around her, anchoring her body into mine. Our warm skin pressed against each other, and I could feel the beat of her heart, matching the same rhythm as mine. “Thank you, Viktor.” She said my name like one would whisper a prayer. As if she were kneeling at the altar, praying for absolution and I was her savior, her guardian fucking Angel.
But I was only a liar.
I stepped out of the black, sleek convertible and faced the two-story house. The neighbourhood looked wealthy and posh enough. So this was where Valerie came from? Her roots…her past.
I walked up to the porch and knocked on the door twice. It was silent on the other side until a few seconds later, I heard a voice calling out.
Finally, the door opened. There stood a woman who appeared to be in her late fifties. Her dark brown hair was pinned up in a messy bun, and she wore black pants and a pink fuzzy sweater. Her gaze swept over me quickly, she blinked a few times and then gave me a tentative smile.
