Although the wedding was three months ago, to Ellise, it felt like yesterday. Her heart still fluttered with happiness each time she remembered that she was finally married to the love her life. Everything was finally normal. Life was good. Alexandre had given up his title as a mafia boss. He didn't want anything to endanger his family, so he quit and handed it over to Dominic. Dre was at the moment, taking full control of three major Montero firms. Xanthis and Valentino were also taking control over the remaining five Montero firms. The company was growing progressively and Ellise had become a nurse. Everything was going fine until challenges started to appear all of a sudden.
Dre and his wife had just had dinner and they were both reclining on the love seat when the door bell rang. They both exchanged confused glances since it was already quite late and they weren't expecting visitors.
Dre stood up to open the door. Ellise stood there watching him, tensely. She let out a breath of relief when Dmitri and Dominic walked in. Her relief soon became pensiveness when she saw the look on their faces. Dre was just as clueless as she was. They all settled down on the settee when Dominic brought out a brown file.
"I've tried to take control of this. I tried not to burden you with this. But, as it is, the situation is becoming much more complicated, Dre" he said, handing it over to Dre.
Narrowing his eyes, Dre opened the file and took out a couple of papers, his eyes suddenly widening as his gaze rested on the papers. "Those papers were sent as threat letters right from the day of your wedding. We think it's from a desperate woman. She's very skilled in covering her tracks. It's hard to track her down, let alone figure out who she is"
Dre curled his fists into balls, his knuckles turning white.
"The woman at the gate? The woman who tried to interrupt the wedding?" He said, through gritted teeth.
"I'm afraid she might not be the culprit. We suspect that she works for the culprit here" Dmitri said.
"Which woman are you talking about?" Ellise asked, still confused.
"I didn't want to tell you about her" Dre sighed.
"She was creating a nuisance just outside the wedding venue. The security guards got rid of her. I didn't know things would turn out like this" he added.
"So, what's in the paper?" Ellise asked. "See for yourself" Dmitri said, tossing the papers onto her thighs. There were several photos of Dre being taken. He looked no older than nineteen. The photos were so many, it made her feel uneasy. How long had the woman been doing stalking him?
"Those photos were discreetly taken. Whoever this stalker is, I think she's planning to take it to the next level" Dominic said, rubbing his forehead tiredly.
Dre was silent. Ellise could feel the tension radiating from him in waves. She feared he would explode soon. He was bottling whatever anguish and pain he was feeling and she really didn't like the idea of it.
One of the photos which Ellise saw made her go pale, her eyes widening with unbelief. It was a picture of a pregnant woman. Only this time, it was mostly her stomach that was on the photo.
"W-What is this?" She croaked, hoping that what she was thinking wasn't the actual thing.
"She claims that she's pregnant and she won't stop until Dre accepts her and gets married to her" Dom sighed.
Ellise felt nauseous at the thought of it. "She has to be lying right? A DNA can prove it" she croaked.
"How do we get her to stop? How do we get her to agree to do a DNA test when the baby is born?" Dmitri said.
Dre had gone pale, so pale that she feared he was going to have a heart attack especially since it had been ages since he had suffered one. Ellise reached out and squeezed his hand reassuringly.
"I can't believe this" he whispered, his voice raw with emotion.
"This is another challenge, Dre. You have to be strong. We're all here for you" Dmitri said and Ellise's husband nodded stiffly, his green eyes loosing the sparkle in them.
...
Noelle walked into the sitting room of her new home, stretching her stiff muscles. She'd just returned from work and the house was quite silent. There was no sign of Valentino. She huffed and strolled into his bedroom. The door was half closed. There he was, lying on his back. His eyes were closed, bare chest moving up and down. She sighed with relief, leaning against the door jamb as she watched him sleep.
She walked into the room and quietly closed the curtains. Val stirred, his eyelashes fluttering with his eyelids still closed. He began to tremble. So she moved to his side hurriedly.
"Hey, wake up. It's just a dream" she said as she tapped his cheek. He groaned and opened his eyes.
He stared at her for a nanosecond before hurrying out of bed and rushed into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. Noelle's stomach dropped to the bottom of her shoes when she heard him retching and heaving. He had been doing this for some time now. Noelle knew that he was still suffering from the trauma of his horrible past. She wanted to be his therapist, but he just didn't want her to help him, not anymore. She didn't know what went wrong, but he'd changed so suddenly.
Noelle heaved a sigh and went to her room to freshen up. As she prepared dinner, he came downstairs.
He grabbed a glass and filled it with water, bringing it to his lips.
"Are you okay?" She whispered.
He grunted and turned away from her. "Val" she said and he halted, his posture stiff.
"Did I do something wrong?" asked, walking towards him. He didn't say anything.
"I need to know what went wrong. You haven't been feeling well and you've been avoiding me. What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything? I'm here-- I'm want to help you" she said. He refused to look at her still. She grabbed his hand and made him face her. His face was pale, dark bags under his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot, damp strands of hair hanging around his handsome face.
"Why won't you say anything? Do you need to see the doctor? Please give me an answer. Anything, please" she pleaded, tears filling her eyes.
He blinked.
"What's wrong with you?!" She yelled, pushing against his chest, frustrated.
Sparing her one last glance, he left the kitchen and ascended the stairs. Noelle let out a frustrated scream, throwing herself to the floor. "Why do I even care?! Why should I care?!
He's selfish. I'm selfish.
We are just friends, nothing more. Why did I think that I've finally found the right person? I was wrong. So wrong I guess, I'll have to stop caring about anyone.
I don't want to feel this hurt anymore. Maybe, I don't deserve to be happy" she thought aloud, bitter tears filling her eyes.
....
Valentino knew he was selfish. He was having a hard time letting Noelle in.
His mental health was a wreck. He kept having a lot of panic attacks and nightmares. He barely slept at night. He couldn't even remember the last time he ate. He kept hearing Baron's voice. He needed help, but he was too much of a whimp to ask for it. He really didn't want to be a burden, especially to Noelle. Was he really going to remain like that forever? Even in death, had Barron succeeded in ruining him? His breathing had quickened and soon, he was literally struggling to breathe.
"Oh God, I can't breathe" he gasped, sweat dampening his skin.
All he could hear was the rush of blood in his ears, his heart thumping so hard, it sent shock waves travelling through his body. Vaguely, he could hear the door open and the whole world tilted.
When he came back to his senses, he was curled up on the floor, his head on Noelle's thighs as she stroked his hair.
"Why didn't you tell me about your panic attacks? Why didn't you tell me that it was this bad?" She croaked.
"I'm sorry" he croaked, his throat dry and achy.
"I shouldn't care, but I still do. Damnit, stop treating me like a stranger. I just want to help you" she said, tears rolling down her cheeks. Val swallowed hard, avoiding her gaze.
...
Dre rubbed his temples, gazing down the streets. He closed his eyes when he felt Ellise wrap her arms around him.
"Everything will be fine" she whispered. He opened his eyes, peering at her with a smile on his face.
"Always the optimist" he said and she grinned, her fingers gently stroking his hair.
She kissed him and rested her head against his chest.
"Whatever happens, I want you to know that I'll always love you. Don't ever forget that" he told her, pressing kisses to her hair.
She sighed softly.
"I'll always love you, Dre. No matter what happens"
"I guess, it's not over yet. You trust me, don't you?" He asked.
She nodded, her finger tracing irregular shapes against his chest.
"I trust you too" he said.
The door opened and Dmitri walked in with a worried look on his face. Ellise's heart rate sped up instantly.
"What's wrong?" Ellise asked.
"We found her"
"You did?"
"Yes, we didn't have to look for her. She's.... she's here. She wants to see you, Dre"