Chapter 58 Fundano Valmere
Deborah stood inside her office, her hand hovering over the brass doorknob. Her reflection stared back at her in the glass, eyes swollen despite the careful touch of concealer, cheeks still faintly blotched from the tears she had desperately tried to erase. She inhaled once....slow, unsteady. She didn’t have time to fall apart again. Not here. Not in front of them.
She pressed her fingertips beneath her eyes one more time, ensuring nothing looked too obvious.
She needed to look normal. Composed. Untouchable.
Like a Valmere.
With a final breath, she twisted the knob and pulled the door open.
But the moment the latch clicked, a sudden burst of voices crashed over her.
“Damn! What happened?!” Caelum’s voice boomed across the room, sharper than she had ever heard it.
“Deb, what the hell? Who did this?” Lucio demanded as he shot to his feet.
“You look...shit, were you crying?” Lysander’s usually calm tone splintered into something tight, something panicked.
Deborah froze in the doorway.
Every single one of her brothers was staring at her like she had walked in injured. Caelum, Lysander, Lucio, Aston, even Knight, each expression twisted in alarm.
Her chest tightened. This... this was exactly why she didn’t want to face them.
Aston, just looking at her earlier, immediately walk straighter, eyes narrowing as he scanned her face with surprising gentleness for someone with his cold demeanor. Knight, always quiet, slowly closed the folder he was saw in her desj and watched her with a stare so sharp it felt like he could see right through her attempted calm.
All of them. All the Valmere heirs. Every one of her brothers looked ready to kill whoever had caused that trace of sadness on her face.
Deborah swallowed, her throat dry. She could lie to the world. But not to them.
Caelum strode forward first, his footsteps heavy, his worry blatant. He cupped her face with both hands, lifting it toward the light. “Who hurt you?”
Lucio stepped in beside him, jaw clenched. “Tell us. Now.”
Lysander crossed his arms, but his voice trembled with restraint. “If someone upset you—”
“—we’ll take care of it,” Aston finished, tone dark enough to chill the room.
Knight didn’t move. He simply stared at her, reading every detail, the faint redness of her nose, the way her lips kept trembling, the slight slump in her shoulders she couldn’t hide.
“You’ve been crying,” he said quietly. “Badly.”
Her breath hitched. She hated that he noticed the most.
She forced a small, shaky laugh, trying to lighten the air even though her chest felt like it was cracking. “Guys, relax… I’m fine.”
“You’re not,” Caelum said instantly.
“Your eyes are swollen,” Lucio pressed.
“You’re clearly shaken,” Lysander added.
“You look like someone said something stupid,” Aston muttered.
“You’re.... lying,” Knight finished softly.
Deborah blinked back a fresh sting of tears. Of course. Of course they would see right through her.
“I’m just tired,” she insisted, voice steadier but still thin. “The meetings, the pressure… nothing happened to me. I swear.”
Caelum’s brows furrowed. “Deb, we know what tired looks like. This isn’t that.”
She shook her head hard. “It’s nothing. Please don’t make it bigger than it is.”
The brothers exchanged glances, silent, heavy, communicating without words the way only siblings who grew up in chaos did. None of them believed her.
But they respected her boundary… barely.
Caelum exhaled harshly. “We’re taking you home.”
“What? No, I still have work—”
Before she could finish, her phone vibrated violently.
\[RIONESSI VALMERE CALLING\]
Perfect. Just what she needed. She answered reluctantly. “Dad?”
Her father’s deep voice exploded through the speaker, loud enough that her brothers clearly heard.
“Damn it! Why is no one in this fucking house?” Rionessi roared. “Where are the boys and where are you my little princess?”
Deborah winced and held the phone slightly away from her ear.
Caelum muttered under his breath, “We’re so screwed.”
“Dad, we’re at the offi—”
“I don’t give a damn where all you are,” Rionessi snapped. “Get home, now. Your Uncle Fundano is waiting. Move before I drag all of you myself. The time is tickling.”
And the line cut. Silence blanketed the room.
Lucio groaned first. “Uncle Fundano? Seriously?”
Lysander rubbed his forehead. “He’s going to kill us. Last time we were two minutes late, he lectured us for half a day... or almost a Day.”
“He threatened to rewrite Caelum out of the will,” Aston reminded with a smirk. Knight was already grabbing Deborah’s coat and her bag in one motion. “We need to leave.”
Deborah blinked. “Wait, what about my schedule? I still have—”
“No, leave it to your secretary,” Caelum said firmly, placing a supportive but unyielding hand against the small of her back. “You’re coming home. You look like you’re about to pass out, Dad is pissed, and Uncle Fundano hates waiting. End of story.”
Lucio opened the door for her like a soldier escorting royalty. Lysander picked up the rest of her files without asking, neatly stacking them the way she liked. Aston walked behind her, shoulders stiff, giving off the aura of a bodyguard instead of a brother.
Deborah pressed her lips together, both frustrated and moved. Her brothers could be overwhelming, suffocating even. But they cared. More than anything.
“Okay, fine… I’m coming,” she said quietly.
Knight paused beside her, his voice soft but firm. “Whatever you’re hiding… whatever or whoever hurting you… we’ll help you through it. You’re not alone.”
Her throat tightened painfully.
She forced a smile, gentle, fragile.
“I’m fine. Really.”
But as the siblings led her out of her office, each of her brothers shared a silent, dark, determined look.
Deborah wasn’t fine. Not even close.
And they were all going to find out why, whether she liked it or not.