Alan was amazed at this new family that Valeria had conjured up out of nothing, but he finally acknowledged it and couldn't be happier for her, although apparently her brothers had every intention of bullying anyone into helping Valeria. “Just tell us what we should do, doctor,” Andrew said. “We will spare no expense or effort.” “Well, it may be a bit extreme, but I would feel more at ease if we started Valeria's treatment with a blood transfusion. It won't be much, but it will give us a good push on the way,” the doctor explained. “No problem, we should be compatible, right?” asked Elliot. “Yes, you should. I'll have some quick tests done for all three of you.” “And then?” “Depending on her progress, she'll have to stay in the hospital for at least a week, with an IV for her medication to take her out of the worst of it. After that... the treatment is long. She needs exercise, to eat well, to maintain her regular cycle of injections... but above all, she needs peace and quiet. S

Oli's words sounded to Nick like a verdict, and even though he wanted absolutely nothing to do with Valeria... and even though the mere mention of her name bothered him, he couldn't help but get a knot in his stomach knowing that both Alice and Valeria were in the hospital. Valeria was a lying bitch... but Alice wasn't to blame for anything. He drummed his fingers on the table for a long time, until he finally stood up and went off in search of his car. Although Oli hadn't told him which hospital the girls were at, he could pretty well imagine where they had taken them. He made his way to the same place where Alice had been admitted earlier, and felt overwhelmed as soon as he set foot inside the hospital. The smell of medicine, alcohol, and disinfectant was almost as strong as the scent of desperation from the relatives of those who were admitted there. He stopped at the reception desk and asked about the condition of Valeria and Alice Williams, but the receptionist wouldn't give hi

Fourteen days, not one more, not one less. Fourteen days had passed since Valeria had been admitted to the hospital. The twins hadn't left her side except to get something to eat or to take a bath, and Andrew had kept a safe distance away, but Valeria knew he was outside, waiting in case she changed her mind about having him around. There had been no office, no work, nothing that mattered to them more than Valeria and Alice, and now Alan had finally agreed to discharge her, with ten thousand recommendations, but at least he felt sure enough to let her go. “Richard,” Valeria called when they were alone. She was already able to distinguish one from the other well. Her brother approached her. “Yes, doll, what is it?” “I'd like to ask you something. I'm a little ashamed to do it, but... I guess I have no one else to ask…” Richard sat down next to her. “You don't have to be ashamed about anything with me. Tell me what you need.” Valeria wriggled her fingers in her lap. “Can you... c

Valeria took a deep breath. Returning to Los Angeles brought back too many memories, and the vast majority of them were painful. She climbed down the steps of the plane and watched Alice frown from the top, not wanting to come down. The last six months had been incredible for her, and going back also brought back bad memories, but the wonderful smile of the twins waiting for her dissuaded her. Richard was the first to lift her into his arms, while Elliot hugged Valeria and shot a flirtatious glance at Emma. “How are the princesses?” Elliot asked, and the answer made him smile. “Ready to fight,” Andrew said, getting out of the plane, and the twins gave Valeria a grateful look. At last that family could be complete. “Well. There's something we haven't decided yet,” said Richard. “Val, I know that you and Alice are used to your privacy, and if you want you can go to an apartment by yourselves; you choose the one you want and we'll buy it. I have my apartment and Elliot has his, too.

The phone rang insistently, but Nick didn't bother to pick it up. Miranda had acquired an unpleasant habit of calling him as soon as he got up in the morning, and it was already wearing on his patience. But she was his girlfriend again after all, so there wasn't much he could do about it except not answering her and lying to her about it later. He adjusted the cufflinks on the sleeves of his shirt and his tie. When or how exactly had he resumed his relationship with Miranda? He couldn't remember. He had accompanied her to a lot of events to get Valeria out of his head, at some point the press had started talking about them as a couple, and suddenly Miranda had begun to behave as if they were... He hadn't consciously accepted that, but it seemed that—eventually—that would have been the natural outcome for the two of them anyway, especially after Valeria had disappeared. And she really had disappeared. Nick had been left with so many doubts, so many incomplete thoughts after the alterc

  Nick let out something quite similar to a growl under his breath. He was not only furious with Andrew Davies, he was also furious with himself, since he could not believe that he had allowed himself to fall into such a mistake like that. “What could you possibly want but money?” he asked angrily. “Shares. I want that money in company shares. Either you give me some of yours or you find someone else who wants to sell them to me... but I want Bennet Designs shares.” “You want to destroy my company?” Nick spat at him. “Destroy it? No. You've already taken care of that all by yourself. But I'd like to add a design studio to my already diversified capital.” Andrew shrugged. “It's either that or the money deposited in my account by tomorrow morning, with a nice press conference declaring your bankruptcy. It’s up to you!” Nick was thoughtful for a few minutes. He had inherited fifty percent of the company's stock from his father, automatically making him the CEO and senior partner. Hi

If the ghost of his father had risen up at that table in front of everyone, Nicholas Bennet's face would have reflected much less horror. “Wh-what do you mean, majority shareholder?” he roared, unable to contain himself. “What kind of nonsense is that?” Valeria didn't even flinch despite the reproachful looks the shareholders were giving Nick. “It’s not nonsense, Mr. Bennet, just business.” Valeria shrugged. “The debt the studio acquired left me with twenty percent of its shares, I bought eight percent from Mrs. Layla, and some other shareholders, who were better aware of the difficult situation this studio is going through, decided to sell me part of theirs. So now, I manage forty-one percent of the shares.” She pushed the folder toward him again. “It's all here, Mr. Bennet, you can check it with your legal department.” Nick took out the stack of signed and notarized papers, and his face lost all color in a second. “Is this your revenge?” he hissed, unable to contain himself. “De

Nick sat in front of his computer as if it were his worst enemy and typed in Valeria Williams' name as fast as he could. However, nothing appeared. Not a single trace of the girl on the networks, even that picture of her naked in the lobby of Bennet Designs had disappeared. However, Valeria Davies’ name had already been on the Internet for a few months. On her I*******m account she always appeared with her sister or with the twins, and in the last few days she had uploaded many photos with Andrew. So that's was it. She had married Andrew Davies. He had just been a bridge for Valeria to meet the man she really wanted for her life. And in the end she had ended up throwing the noose around Davies' neck. He slammed a fist on the table. How could it be that she had come back to build a studio out of nowhere? And especially a studio that had blown away the first fashion show it had ever participated in. He was wallowing in his frustration and uncertainty when Miranda peeked through his o

Nick waited, waited until he saw them leave smiling and saying goodbye to each other with a kiss on the cheek and a hug. And just as he was, half drunk and angry, he got into his car and chased Valeria's car. He didn't know why he was doing it, only that he had that imminent need to get it out of his system. He saw her take the road towards the most exclusive residential area of the city and he imagined very well where she was going. To Andrew's house. That was where she must live now that she was his wife. He accelerated until he was in front of her and suddenly cut her off. Valeria slammed on the brakes and before she even stopped to think, she pressed that button on the car that assured her she wouldn't be alone for too long. Nick's car braked in front of hers and a half-staggering, furious man got out. Valeria's eyes narrowed when she realized it was him, so she got out of her car with a sigh. “Are you all right, Mr. Bennet?” she asked, although there was not a hint of concer

“Are you nervous?” the twins asked in unison, then looked at each other and laughed. “A little,” Valeria admitted. “I guess I'm used to being anonymous.” “There's no such thing as ‘anonymous’ in the fashion industry, doll,” Elliot assured her. “You have an amazing studio that will soon be the most successful in town, and I hope it doesn't stop there, so get used to the camera flashes, okay?” Valeria smiled and hugged them tightly, not caring that her dress might get wrinkled. She let them go as soon as the doorbell rang and fixed her hair a little. “Don't worry, I think Alan would have a heart attack even if he saw you in your pajamas,” Richard teased. “Especially if he saw you in your pajamas!” added Elliot, and Valeria showed them her fist as a threat to make them behave. One of the service girls went to open the door and sure enough, Alan made an abandoned puppy face as soon as he saw her. “Alan, how are you?” “How are you?” said the twins as well. The doctor shook hands wi