Chapter 156: A knife in hand

Chapter 156: A knife in hand
Third person

Valerie showed up late to work the next day. 

She had just come out from the restroom after throwing up her entire breakfast. She has been feeling weak recently, but she just attributed it to stress. Nevertheless, she'd made a mental note to get herself checked.

Taking her seat again, she tried to focus on the screen in front of her when a knock sounded on the door.

Tessa stepped into Valerie's office when she answered.

"Hey, what brings you here?" Valerie asked, her voice friendly.

Tessa closed the door behind her, her eyes scanning the room before settling on Valerie. "I just wanted to touch base with you about the Smith account," she said, her voice professional.

Because of the weakness she'd been feeling, Valerie had already decided to go home once she finished with the task at hand. “Just hand them over. I'll check it out and get back to you,” she instructed.

“Okay ma'am,” replied Tessa but she didn't make any attempt to leave.

Valerie looked up at her with curious eyes. “Is there anything else?”

Tessa was playing with her fingers nervously. She hesitated before she responded. “I swear, I'm really sorry for what happened before.”

Val frowned at her response. “What's that?”

“The party at my place,” she clarified. “F-for helping Mrs. Smith…” Her shaky voice broke, and tears pooled down her cheeks.

“Shh…” Valerie cut in. “We've spoken about this, it's okay. Your mother was ill and you've made up for what you did by getting me proof of Adam's money laundering.”

Recently, Tessa had felt even worse about what she did to Valerie. Especially after she found out that Valerie was Ashley who'd been seeking revenge against the Smiths, and not some colleague who was screwing her married boss.

She dropped to knees, her heart heavy as she realized that she almost ruined Valerie's plan… Almost killed her without giving her a chance to get her revenge.

Tessa's tears continued to flow non-stop, her face contorting in anguish. "I'm so sorry, ma'am," she whispered. "For what I did to you.”

Valerie's face twisted in a mixture of sadness and understanding. "We've talked about this," she said. "I've forgiven you already."

But Tessa continued crying. Valerie was forced to lift her tired body, walking around her desk to pull Tessa up and  envelop her in a warm hug.

"It's okay," she whispered, her voice filled with emotion. "It's okay. I'm not angry.” She tapped Tessa's back reassuringly. “I couldn't have done this without you.”

The two women stood there for a moment, holding each other tightly, as the tension and emotion of the moment hung in the air.

Finally, Tessa’s sobbing ended and Val broke the embrace. They both stared at each other; Tessa, with red, swollen eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

“Uhm, I'll come back for that tomorrow,” she said awkwardly, gesturing to the document she'd left on Valerie's desk.

Val nodded with a reassuring smile. “Sure.”

Tessa gave a small smile in return, his hands clasped together behind her. She turned to leave, but Valerie's voice stopped her. "Tess, wait."

She turned back, her eyes meeting Valerie's.

"Would you like to hang out next weekend?" Val asked, the smile on her face widening. "Maybe we could grab brunch or something?"

Tessa's eyes welled up with tears, her face contorting in emotion. She sniffed, trying to hold back her tears, but it was no use. She nodded vigorously, her face streaming with tears.

She knew she'd messed up Valerie's trust, and for Valerie to extend it again… It meant everything to her.

"Y-yes," she stuttered, her voice shaking. "I'd love to."



“I'll be fine. Frances is sleeping over and there's Elliot too,” Valerie reassured Lucas. She was going back to her house, even though he wanted her to stay longer.

Val leaned forward and kissed him. Then she shot Elliot, who was standing by the car, a brief glance, before returning her gaze to Lucas. “He's like a robot who never takes his eyes off me,” she added in a whisper.

Lucas shrugged, though there was a hint of satisfaction glinting in his eyes. “Well I don't pay him all that money to have him take his eyes away from you.” 

Valerie smiled in response, then turned. 

Lucas walked her to the car. He put her inside and closed the door.

He stood, watching the back of the car as it drove off, until they were out of sight. 

He needed to hurry and get married to Val. That way, he gets to keep her in his house forever, he thought to himself. He gets to come home to her beautiful smile. Calvin had advised him to wait until everything was over, until Adam, Karen and the Harrisons were in jail.

As much as he didn't want to wait any longer, he'd seen the sense in it. He would wait. But in the meantime, he'd already gotten the ring. 



Frances arrived a few minutes after Valerie got home. They ordered dinner and then Frances entered the bathroom to take a shower.

Apart from feeling weak, Valerie was having a bad headache right now. It's probably because of the stress, 

Opening her drawer, she picked up the bottle that contained her pain relief pills. She turned it upside down to pop the pills but it was empty.

“Frances,” She called out. She wanted to ask her friend to go on a stroll with her to the drug store down the street. But, Frances as usual always spends so much time in the shower with loud music on. 

She called two more times and sighed when there was no response, she was even too tired for a stroll anyway. She went out to the living room to get Elliot.

“Please I want you to hurry down to the drug store on this street and get me some pain relief pills,” she instructed, her hand resting on her waist tiredly.

“Are you feeling unwell, ma'am?”

She placed a hand on her head. “Just a headache.”

Elliot pressed his lips together, his eyes darting from Valerie to the passage that led to her bedroom door and then the main door.

She noticed his body language. “What's wrong?” she asked.

“Mr. Stone said I wasn't to leave you alone,” he confided in a deep tone.

“I understand,” she sighed, then lifted her palm to cover her mouth as she yawned. “But I don't feel so good and the drug store is just down this street.”

Elliot opened his mouth to protest but Valerie continued. “And I'm not exactly alone, Frances is here too.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “Plus I'm quite sure you'll be back before anything has the chance to happen.”

He stood for a moment, considering the situation carefully before he finally agreed to go. 

Val watched him walk through the door, she shook her head with a small smile, impressed by his loyalty. Then she turned around and went to her room. 

As soon as she opened the door, the sight she met had all the blood in her body, turning cold. 

Karen’s anger-filled eyes immediately snapped to Valerie. She immediately stood up from Valerie’s bed where she'd been waiting patiently and began advancing towards Val, a knife in hand.