Anne stared at the poison vial which she held firmly. Taking a deep breath, she let her gaze wander to her reflection in the mirror. Hidden beneath all the make up were the god-awful bruises Barron had left on her skin. Thinking about the beating she'd received from him brought tears to her eyes.
'Stay calm', she told herself.
She had no choice but to do what Emperor X had asked her to do. Now, she was trapped in a web of disorientation. How would she get out of this mess?
The plan was to visit the Monteros in pretence of just coming to see her best friend. She was to slip the poison into Alexandre's drink when no one was looking. Anne's nerves were already acting up because of how scared she was. What if she got caught? What would happen to her? Inhaling shakily, she grabbed her silver purse and stepped out of the bedroom and left the house. She boarded a taxi which took her to the Monteros building. She quickly paid the driver, asking him to keep the change before heading towards the massive gates, her heart pounding.
Shakily, she knocked on the gates, standing back.
The gate opened and a uniformed man stood there, his gaze unwavering. She swallowed hard when she saw the big gun he was holding.
"I am here to see Ellise Sumners. She's my best friend" she said, thickly.
The security agent raised a brow before communicating with Ellise herself, with his walkie talkie.
When he was done, he gave Anne a welcoming smile and led her into the huge mansion. Anne was totally stunned. The place was a beauty to behold. Everything looked perfect. It looked like a royal palace and she couldn't take her eyes off the artistic structures.
Ellise welcomed her with an embrace. "You didn't tell me you were coming" Ellise said, giving her a smile. Anne flicked her a nervous smile.
"That's because I wanted it to be a surprise visit"
Ellie laughed and led her in.
"This place is breathtaking" Anne breathed. In the sitting room sat three drop dead gorgeous creatures. Her breath hitched. She could tell by his outstanding beauty and powerful alpha male aura. Alexandre Montero.
She was stunned.
She'd heard of him and she'd seen him in papers and magazines. Seeing him in flesh was totally different, he looked like an Adonis. Really, the magazines didn't do him justice. He was beautiful and Anne could testify that she'd momentarily forgotten how to breathe when his green gaze rested on her. She suddenly felt jealous of her best friend.
"Anne meet my fiance, Alexandre. Alexandre meet my best friend, Anne" Ellise said. Anne almost melted when Xandre's larger hand held hers in a handshake.
"Nice to meet you, Anne" he said, his husky voice melting her to the core.
"Nice to meet you too" she grinned.
"These are Dre's friends, Dominic and Dmitri"
Anne smiled shaking hands with the other two gorgeous creatures. She found herself wishing that they were all single. Then, she recalled why she'd come to the mansion in the first place.
"You will have dinner with us, won't you?" Ellie asked.
"Of course, El" she replied with a false smile on her face.
...
Alexandre quietly watched his wife's bestfriend. He had always been good at reading people and at this point, he could tell that there was something up with her. She was a little fidgety on her seat and she kept glancing at him when she thought he wasn't looking. Anne didn't realize that Dre was observing her. All she wanted to do was complete her mission and leave as quickly as she could. She was seated on Dre's left, thinking it would give her an advantage. Oblivious to Dre's discreet observation, Anne found the right opportunity to slip the poison into his drink as the others chattered loudly. But, just before she could actually do it, Dre rose to his feet.
"Andre, what's wrong?" His mum asked. "I don't feel right. I'm not having dinner now" he said. Ellie gazed at him, concern in her eyes.
"Excuse me" she said and followed him to the passage way. "What's wrong?" She asked."I just feel really uncomfortable and I feel a little dizzy My headache isn't helping either" he lied.
"Dre, you should go ahead and rest. I'll stay with you" she said.
"No, Ellie. Your friend's here. You should go to her. I'll be fine, I promise" he said, kissing her forehead.
"Okay, Dre. If you insist" he smiled and squeezed her hand reassuringly before heading towards his room. Judging from how fidgety Anne had been, he suspected that she'd been blackmailed by someone. And that someone, had made her try to kill him. He couldn't blame her. Besides, this wasn't the first time someone had tried to poison him.
Anne was frustrated. She'd come so close to poisoning him. She felt very upset.
"Um... I think it's time for me to head home" Anne said.
"My dear..." Dre's mum tried to pacify her to stay a little while, but she quickly came up with an excuse. Ellise embraced her and led her to the gates before going back to check on Dre who was lying on his bed. He seemed to be asleep, even though he was very much awake.
...
Noelle slowly opened the door to her room and walked in, gently waking Valentino from his slumber.
He groaned and opened his eyes sleepily.
"Morning, sleeping beauty" she said and he snorted.
"Sleeping beauty, huh? More like Scarface" he mumbled, as she sat down on the bed beside him.
"Not a morning person, I see. You're not Scarface. You're sleeping beauty. Don't argue with me".
Val sighed, stretching across the bed like a Cheshire cat.
"I'm tired" he groaned, his eyes drooping.
"You have your first therapy today, remember?"
"No, Shit Sherlock" Val cursed under his breath, fully awoken.
He stumbled out of bed and dragged his limbs into the bathroom to take his bath. By the time he was out, he had a towel wrapped around his waist. Noelle couldn't help but stare. Val sighed, drying his long hair with another towel.
"My eyes are up here, lady" he droned. She blushed furiously, turning away from him.
"Put on some clothes, young man" she mumbled, leaving the room. They had burritos for breakfast. In the car, tension rolled off Val in waves. His hands were trembling slightly. He kept clenching and unclenching his fist until his knuckles turned white.
Noelle gently placed a hand over his hand. "Calm down. It's just therapy" she said. He blinked, staring at her with a blank look on his face.
"I'm terrified, Noelle"
"You don't have to be. I'm right here with you"
....
"My name is Dr. Kevin Gale. I'm your therapist as you can see" Dr Kevin said to Val who kept staring at him, blankly.
"Your medical report here says you attempted suicide thrice. Is that true?" He asked. Val remained silent.
"Please, Val. It's for your own good" Noelle whispered.
He sighed heavily.
"Yes" he replied.
"Okay, can you tell me about your childhood?" Dr Kevin said.
Val stiffened, his hands trembling again. Noelle held his hand, rubbing his back soothingly.
He slowly made eye contact with Dr Kevin who shivered visibly as a result of how intimidating Valentino looked.
"I..... didn't have a great childhood. My childhood was incredibly shitty. I didn't live with my biological parents" he said.
"You were adopted?"
"Yes" he sighed.
"What did your childhood mainly entail?"
Val swallowed hard, shifting uneasily on his seat.
"I was bullied at school and after my foster mom died, my foster dad began to abuse me. He scarred me in every way possible"
Dr Kevin sat up, scribbling on his notepad.
"What exactly did he do to you?"
"He used whips, knives, belts, bottles, anything he could lay his hand upon"
"What was his major motive?"
"He said he wanted to train me. To make me strong because I was weak"
Dr Kevin sighed.
"What did you do that made him see you as weak?"
"I fell sick most of the time and I was constantly pushed around. I couldn't do anything about it because I couldn't even defend myself"
Noelle felt a deep ache in her chest as she watched Val narrate his story.
"How was your teens like?"
"I was a rebel. I did drugs and committed different crimes. I ended up in juvie a couple of times. I slept on the streets and I had to struggle to fill my stomach"
Dr Kevin gulped.
"So, you were a bad boy"
Val smirked.
"Actually, I was worse than that"
"It makes sense now, I mean with your records. I think you were affected mentally. There is a probability that you are bi-polar"
Valentino was suddenly overwhelmed with anger. Noelle was shocked by Dr Kevin's crude statement. Her shock was short-lived when Val suddenly reared back and punched him right in the face.
Burning with anger, Val stormed out of the office and Noelle ran after him, trying to catch up with him.
He was very upset, that much she could tell. She was worried that he wouldn't want to see any therapist again.