Chapter 57 Chapter 57
“I thought that doctor would never shut up,” Maxwell grumbled as he followed Valerie to the kitchen. They had finally reached their home after a doctor had stopped them just moments before they could leave the hospital. She had been worried about Valerie’s state and given her the advice to rest for at least another day and to avoid stress.
Lastly, she had thrown Maxwell a suspicious glance when he hadn’t stopped glaring at her. His impatience had even irked Valerie at one point.
“You shouldn’t be so rude all the time,” she said and sat down at the table, leaning her chin on her hand. She was exhausted and wanted to lay down and sleep. There was just one problem; she doubted she would be able to sleep well, considering everything that had happened today. Her thoughts kept circling her encounter with Uriel until she almost lost her mind. She kept seeing his face, his sneer, and felt his hand on her shoulder even though he was nowhere near her.
“You’re spacing out again,” she heard Maxwell say and moved her attention to him, raising her eyebrows.
“Did you say something?”
He sighed deeply and leaned against the kitchen counter. “I asked what you wanted to eat.”
“Oh, um… I don’t have an appetite,” she mumbled before she went back to staring at the table, her fingers drumming on its surface nervously.
“Valerie, you aren’t getting away that easily. I may not be human myself, but I know that you need food to survive,” he grumbled. “You know what? I’m going to make something, and you’re going to eat it.” He didn’t wait for an answer and got to work on whatever it was that he planned to make. She barely paid attention, just heard the clinking of dishes.
“Maxwell?” she finally asked when a sudden thought struck her.
“Hm?” he said without looking up from what he was doing.
“How did you know that I was in that hospital?” she asked curiously.
“Nicholas Clarke told me. A secretary who works for Regal Enterprises called him after you were sent to the hospital. She left a voicemail for him, and that’s how I found out,” he answered.
“I see. So Thorne knows what happened…” she mumbled and frowned. Now she could only hope that he would not give the task of interviewing Jackson to someone else. She desperately wanted to finish the interview at the next meeting, even if it meant going back to Uriel’s workplace.
Valerie was torn. A part of her wanted to run away and hide, never setting foot in there again, but the ambitious part of her refused to let this opportunity go. Who knew when she would get a chance like this again? Besides, Jackson himself had been very friendly, and they had gotten along well with each other. Uriel was the only problem. Just like always. He kept ruining everything all the time.
Fifteen minutes later, after she had spaced out again, she was startled when, suddenly, a plate was placed in front of her. Looking up, she met Maxwell’s gaze. The red spots in his eyes unsettled her since they usually meant something bad, but she didn’t know what was going on with him.
“Eat,” he ordered with a hard voice when she kept staring at the plate. “You’re not getting around this. That doctor said you need food to keep up your strength.”
She widened her eyes, sitting up straight. “You actually listened to her? I thought you ignored her,” she whispered in disbelief and picked up her chopsticks to start eating. He had made a simple rice dish, nothing special, but it tasted good.
Maxwell didn’t answer and sat down opposite her, watching her eat in silence. She felt his eyes on her, scrutinizing her and making her nervous. It seemed like he could see right through her – like he actually knew why she had fainted. Deep down, she was aware that he didn’t know a thing, though, and that reassured her a bit.
The last thing she wanted was to admit her weakness to him, especially since he always ranted about the fragility of humans. He most likely wouldn’t understand the problem anyway.
Even in front of her best friends Hope and Naomi, Valerie hadn’t been able to admit it. She hadn’t known how to deal with Uriel’s constant abuse, and since he always threatened her, she hadn’t found the courage to involve someone either. Only when her friends had found her on the kitchen floor, beaten and bloody, did she break down and finally let it all out.
It was hard to talk about it, and therefore, she never mentioned her ex-boyfriend to anyone. Thorne had been the only exception so far.
When Valerie finally emptied the plate, it had gotten late, and her exhaustion caught up with her, making her yawn.
“Valerie,” Maxwell suddenly said, prompting her to look up in his brooding face. “Tell me what happened today.”
She winced and immediately avoided his piercing reddish eyes. “You already know.”
“No,” he said lowly and crossed his arms. “You still owe me something, remember?”
She remembered well and looked startled when he mentioned it. She felt like a deer caught in headlights, knowing that she couldn’t refuse to tell him. He saved her friend’s life, so she had to uphold her part of the deal.
“But I want to use that favor some other time,” he continued, and saw her relax. His eyes darkened. “What could be bad enough that you wouldn’t tell me, hm? I’m a demon, I’ve seen many things, and I doubt you could shock me.”
“Maybe,” she whispered so quietly he barely heard her before she suddenly got up. “I’ll go to sleep. See you tomorrow.”
She fled the kitchen and ran into her bedroom, heaving a sigh after she had closed the door behind her. Finally, she was alone. Finally, she didn’t have to pretend anymore.
Sighing deeply, she let the neutral expression on her face slip away. She creased her forehead as she walked closer to the window and glanced outside, staring at the dark street below. Spotting an eerie apparition in the parking lot, she abruptly closed the curtains. That wasn’t something she could take right now.