Chapter 3 A Perfect Gentleman

Valentina's POV

I woke up feeling very tired.

"Ouch my head hurts"

I realized I wore his clothes and lay on his bed.

What happened to mine? Did he have his way with me?

He wouldn't do such, Jason didn't seem like that type of guy who would take advantage of a woman.

"Good morning beautiful" He said, as he walked into the room, holding a tray in his hands.

"Why am I in your clothes?" My eyes screamed fire.

" Okay Valentina,Y...." Jason replied calmly

" Don't call my name, Answer me" I cut in

"You vomited on your clothes, so I had to remove them, and you changed in this"

"Okay" I muttered, feeling embarrassed.

The sweet aroma of the food

got to my nostrils.

" What's that?" I curiously asked, pointing at the tray.

" Toasted bread, Scrambled eggs and veggies" Jason replied, with a bright smile while opening the plate.

The meal was pleasing to my eyes, I couldn't wait to have a taste of it.

"Do you feel any headache?" He cared for me, rubbing his palm on mine.

"Yes my head hurts so bad" I replied, having a fill of the delicious meal.

"You are so cute, these pills would make you feel better, you can have them after you finish eating" he giggled.

" Thank you, the food tastes great. You made this?" I asked.

Just as I expected, his mom taught him how to cook. Jason watched me as I ate, which made me a little bit shy. I really felt better after breakfast, somehow I managed to take those bitter pills.

" I'm feeling better now and want to take a shower". I giggled.

" Alright the bathroom is over there, I'll take these away, take your time" Jason held the tray and walked away smiling.

"Why does he always smile at me?" I thought.

The kiss we shared yesterday was heavenly, I yearned for his lips in mine again, perhaps he wanted the same.

I had a warm bath, feeling the gentle touch of the water flowing on my body as I sang along happily to the music playing in the background.

The lovely gown which lay on the bed caught my attention with a note which read

" For you Valentina from Jason"

I couldn't help but smile while I read the note and looked at the gown, Jason was so thoughtful and caring.

"Wow you look beautiful" Jason said, as I walked to the sitting room, he was dressed in a suit already and prepared for work.

I thanked him for the dress, showing appreciation for his kind gestures towards me.

Jason asked if he could take me home, but I declined, I didn't want to go to Allen's house. Rather I asked him to drop me off at my family's mansion.

It was a very quiet drive, we said nothing but stole glances at each other.

"Alright we are here, thanks to your direction and google map" Jason uttered, as he brought the car to a halt.

"Thank you, see you later" I replied and opened the door of the car.

Jason pulled me close, leaned in and gave me a deep kiss. I was lost in his blue eyes.

" Call me later beautiful" Jason gave me his card.

I was speechless, I got out of the car chuckling, feeling butterflies in my stomach.

Hello, who's here? Mom," I called out as I sat down in the living room, my eyes landing on the picture of my father hanging on the wall, a reminder of how much I missed him.

"Good morning miss Valentina"

That was Rosa, the family's housekeeper for years. She informed me that my Mom was out for a morning run.

I took a stroll around the house, waiting for my mom to get back. The door to my father's study was unlocked, so I walked in.

While I was there, I could still feel his presence and smell. It had been a month since his passing, and while I was flipping through his journal, a piece of paper fell out.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I read the letter's contents. My dear father, Walter Larimer, had taken his own life because of the huge debt he owed the bank.

I held his suicide letter in my shaky hands.

How could this be possible? Was my mom aware of this?

Just then, as my eyes blurred with tears, my mother walked in,

"Here you are Tina" she beamed with a smile, which instantly wore off her face.

"Did you know about this mom?" I asked, showing her the letter.

My mom froze at the sight of the letter, she broke into tears while reading the letter.

"I didn't know Tina, I wasn't aware. oh my dear Walter, why did you have to do this?" She sobbed.

I blamed my mom for Dad's death, if she was a good wife to him, she should have known about it, he wouldn't have committed suicide.

"Mom you weren't there for Dad, he felt lonely, I hate you Mom!!" I spat out and walked away angrily to my room, where I locked myself up.

"Tina, sweetie please open the door" my mom pleaded while knocking, but I didn't care.

" Go away Mom, I don't want to see your face, I hate you" I yelled, tears streamed down my cheeks, I was devastated.

My phone beeped, it was a text from Chloe which read

"Hey bestie, how are you? I haven't heard from you since yesterday. Hope you're good?"

" I'm not fine, I'm so sad bestie" I texted her.

" Tina, where are you?" She replied.

I didn't text her back. I wanted to be alone. My phone kept buzzing, Chloe called severally, but I didn't pick up.

Looking into the mirror, I saw someone who looked like me, but didn't feel like me. We shared the same features: soft brown eyes, auburn hair and tiny freckles.

But this wasn't Valentina, I was broken in tears and pain, a shadow of my old self.

I threw myself on the bed and cried my eyes out. The rum in the left chest of my dresser was a way to ease the pain, I thought.

Luckily for me, I hadn't finished drinking it on the night of my Dad's funeral. I drank about half of what was left in the bottle, feeling a tingling sensation as I drifted off to sleep.

" Thuddd" the loud bang on the door caused me to jerk awake, I opened my eyes but my vision was blurry.

However I heard three voices, one of them sounded like my mom, I did not recognize the other two deep male voices.

" The Boss wants her back to where she belongs" One of the men spoke in a rough voice.

" Did he really send you here?" My mom asked in a frightened voice.

" Speak to him over the phone" The man with the husky voice replied.

"Okay I haven't forgotten" My mom uttered after a few seconds, obviously talking to the Man at the other end of the line.

One of the men lifted me up and carried me in his arms,

" Where are you taking me to?" I asked slowly.

" Be quiet" He warned me harshly.

My vision was still blurry, but I blinked, trying to make out the faces of the men in my room and the broken door.

" Don't be afraid Tina, you'll be fine, Just go with them" My mom pleaded.

We were both helpless as the men shoved me into the backseat of the black SUV, speeding away into the night. I wondered what fate awaited me.