Valeria saw him, too, as if in slow motion. The way Nick was looking at her, gasping for air and staggering. His eyes were lost and he had turned as pale as a ghost. What she hadn't expected was for him to go face first into the ground. “Call an ambulance,” she said to Alan as she went over to check on him, turning a deaf ear to Miranda's pathetic cries. “Nicky! What's wrong with him? Nicky!” “Shut up already!” Layla ordered her, coming up beside them. “He just fainted, he didn't get hit by a truck.” “It looks like a nervous breakdown. The paramedics will attend to him as soon as they arrive,” said the doctor with professionalism as he took off Nick’s tie and opened his shirt a little to make sure he was breathing. “Why don't you attend to him? Aren’t you a doctor? Or are you just a fake?” Miranda shouted at him. “I'm an off-duty doctor, and I've had several glasses of champagne,” Alan replied, annoyed. “And I'm responsible enough to know when I'm not fit to practice my professio

CHAPTER 52. An unforgiving woman That wasn't an apartment. It had suddenly become a cruel reminder of all the times he had spent there with Valeria and Alice. Alice! He remembered her little face in the hospital. Nothing justified what he had done to Alice, and he deserved every gesture of annoyance and distrust on her part. And the only reason he had returned to his apartment was because he had followed Valeria and had seen her getting off, unaccompanied, at Davies’ mansion. Otherwise, he could not have been at ease. How could he have been so stupid? Why hadn't he let her talk? Why hadn't he believed her? How could he have been so wrong? Morning broke while he was still glued to one of the apartment windows, looking out over a city where everyone went about their lives while he was all alone. How had he come to be so lonely? He showered and groomed himself as best he could and went straight out to Davies Inc., but no one in the Davies family was there, and Nick didn't dare go loo

Nick didn't know exactly how he had gotten from Valeria's office to his apartment, only that he was barely aware he was moving. He could still feel Valeria's fingers stamped against his face, but that wasn't the worst thing that had happened to him. The worst thing was knowing that he had dug his own grave and was now throwing the dirt on himself. Valeria was right about one thing: it had been his decision to believe in Miranda and not her, but he couldn't blame Miranda for trying to help him. They had known each other for many years. If the guy in the lab had given her those results, it wasn't her fault... And now he was in a worse position than between a rock and a hard place, because he had already deliberately hurt Valeria, and there was nothing he could do about that. His conscience could not afford to hurt anyone else. Valeria hated him, and Nick didn't know what to do to change that. She might never harbor good feelings for him again, and he completely deserved it. He tried

Nick couldn't even articulate a word, and he was really grateful that Jack liked his coffee cold because Valeria had left him soaking wet. “You're not going to say anything?” she asked him. “Yes, I'm following you,” he muttered, looking straight ahead and tightening his grip on the steering wheel. Valeria got angry. “And you say it like that? So coolly? Why are you following me like a ghost?” Nick opened the door and got out of the car. He looked around and then cornered her against the car. “Would you prefer that I talked to you?” Valeria pressed her lips together in a thin line. “I'd rather you didn't touch me, please,” she hissed, and Nick realized he had briefly held her by the hips. He broke away as he heard her breathing heavily and looking down at the floor. “I don't know why I'm following you, OK? I don't want to let you out of my sight, I don't want—” he swallowed dryly and covered his face with a hand. “I don't want things to happen that I know I won't be able to sto

“I asked you a question!” Nick roared, furious, as he walked towards them. “You and who else?” Anna turned as pale as a ghost. Valeria knew perfectly well what she was talking about, but she didn't expect Mr. Bennet to be listening in. “It was—It was an expression, Mr. Bennet. You misunderstood—” “I misunderstood?” Nick asked, putting himself between her and Valeria. “So the exact words that came out of your mouth were not ‘We should have gotten rid of you long ago’? Did I get it wrong?” Anna stepped back, nervous. He had listened perfectly well, so she could get a very clear idea of what was going to happen. “You and who else should have gotten rid of Valeria a long time ago? Answer me!” Nick demanded, but he only saw her press her lips together as a clear sign that she wasn't going to say a single word. “I'm warning you, Anna! I will not tolerate a behavior like this against Valeria, so you better answer me,” he threatened her. “She's not going to tell you anything, Mr. Bennet,

To say that Nick had been left thinking was an understatement. He had been haunted by Valeria's every word, for he was sure they were all true. And he had no idea how to fix anything he had done. The rest of his week boiled down to burying his head in paperwork by day and drinking at night, never letting go of the thought that Valeria would soon be making a life for herself with someone else. He had hurt her so much that he really couldn't expect anything else. He went from police station to police station, until in one of them, and after paying a substantial “gift”, someone confirmed to him that Valeria Williams had been charged with assault and sentenced on the same night. The case files were sealed, only the judge's name was on display, and Nick's stomach turned when he heard it had been Judge Vanderville. For as long as he could remember, he had known him to be a regular attendee to the Joneses' parties. But try as he might to meet with him, Vanderville refused to see him. He t

She couldn't say that everyone had heard that conversation that had been played on Valeria's cell phone, but at least two dozen people had heard it, and that was enough to spread the gossip. Miranda looked petrified and about to explode while Valeria put her cell phone away and looked at Nick. “That was a low blow.” But, incredibly, Nick smiled at her. “You can't say I didn't warn you,” Valeria replied, and suddenly she felt Nick's arm reach out in front of her, saw him turn half his body, and tuck his shoulder to take Miranda's blow. “You'd better get out of here now, troublemaker,” he said in her ear. “Things are going to get ugly, and I don't want anything to happen to you.” Her gaze swept around the room looking for the twins, but she realized they were closer than she thought. He gently pushed Valeria towards them. “Please take Valeria home... And thank you for bringing her,” he murmured, turning around to face the seven-headed monster Miranda had become. The twins looked a

They had to wait another hour before the doctor came out again, and this time she wore a smile that reassured everyone. “Mr. Elliot Davis is out of danger,” she announced, and not knowing how, Andrew found himself hugging the Bennets with relief—both Bennets!—while wiping away tears. “Let's get some coffee.” Layla dragged him out of there, and Nick sat down in one of the stiff chairs, his head in his hands. “Would you like to come in and see your wife?” asked the doctor, and Nick automatically raised his head. “Y-yes, please.” The doctor led him to a private room where Valeria was resting, and Nick felt something snap inside him as soon as the woman closed the door. He covered his mouth with one hand, but couldn't hold back the sobbing as he approached Valeria's bed. He sat down next to her, pushing aside a lock of hair that fell over her face, and let out all the despair he had felt in the last few hours. Never in his entire life had he experienced such panic, and while he was a

“‘Situation?’” That single word had made Nick jump up like a spring. “Did something happen to her?” he asked, startled. “Well, I… uh... I think she wants to go to the bathroom,” Layla replied, and Nick almost fainted from relief. “You really need to work on your news-breaking, mother,” he said, annoyed. “That's not a situation. Just call the nurse.” Layla pointed to the two nurses on duty. They probably didn't weigh a hundred pounds between them. “Valeria is groggy from the sedatives. She looks like she just got drunk on straight whiskey,” Layla replied. “Do you think either of them can carry her to the bathroom?” Nick made a sympathetic gesture and followed his mother into Valeria's room. She was laughing. Her IV had already been removed, but the sedatives were still wearing off. “Of coooourse not!” she said as soon as she saw Nick come through the door, put his jacket aside, and rolled up his shirt sleeves before approaching her. “There's no one else, and I'm just going to

No one knew that Valeria and Richard had spent less than forty-eight hours in New York. And they definitely slept a full day after returning home. Just in time to welcome Elliot, who came back from the hospital. Three days later, Valeria went out to pick up her half dozen pink roses, which this time arrived with the words “LOVE YOU” written on the note. “Are you going out?” asked her father, watching her pour coffee into a to-go cup. “Yes, tomorrow is the Bennet Designs’ fashion show, and I'm already tired of being in bed. I feel fine,” Valeria answered, giving him a kiss on the cheek before leaving. She arrived at the office, accompanied by Jack and Yuri, almost before anyone else, so when Nick opened the door to the meeting room, the first thing he saw was Valeria, in the middle of a nest-like setup that she had made with all the documents. “Val? What are you doing here? Why aren't you resting?” Valeria looked up at him, a little surprised by the familiarity. “Good morning, Mr