Chapter 58 Chapter 58
Valerie trudged to her wardrobe and changed into more comfortable clothes. She opened her ponytail and let her hair fall over her shoulders. Then she walked to her bed and lay down, pulling the blanket over herself. She stared at the dark ceiling with sad eyes, trying to push the memories of today far away, to the furthest end of her mind, but they always managed to find a way to come back. She continuously saw Uriel in front of her, whether she closed her eyes or not.
He was a curse; possibly much worse than some demons despite being human. If she remembered how nice Hunter and Gareth had been to her, it seemed like a joke that they were demons when Uriel wasn’t. The longer she thought about him, the angrier she became.
It had been the worst mistake of her life to visit that party years ago, the one where she had met Uriel. He had been nice at first, charming and helpful, wrapping her around his finger with ease. She had fallen head over heels for him, and through her eyes, he had been perfect. Valerie had not seen the signs until it was too late.
After she had moved in with him, he had gradually changed and shown his true face. She hadn’t been able to fathom how he could be so different all of a sudden, and it had taken her too long to break up with him. If she could turn back time, she would just skip that damn party and never come in contact with the bastard, but life didn’t work like that.
Valerie ended up tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep even though she was tired. She was tense and not calm enough to sleep. After hours of trying, she was ready to give up.
At some point during the night, Maxwell opened the door to her bedroom, letting faint light fall in. She turned her head to see two gleaming red eyes watching her. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
He walked in and closed the door behind him. “It can’t go on like this, Valerie,” he replied and sat down next to her. “You have to sleep.”
“Maybe I don’t need sleep,” she mumbled and looked down at the blanket on her lap.
“The shadows beneath your eyes tell a different story,” he said. “I’ve been living with you for long enough to know that this isn’t normal, so don’t try to lie. What’s the matter with you?”
“I’m just restless.”
“I know there’s more to it,” he said persistently.
“Can’t you just let me be?” she pleaded, feeling her eyes start to burn.
“You know that I don’t give up easily,” he replied and inched closer to her, capturing her gaze with his mesmerizing scarlet eyes. “If you don’t want to talk about it now, then you should at least sleep. Staying awake all night isn’t an option here.”
“Fine, I’ll go to sleep,” she said stubbornly, still not wanting to spill her heart to him. She lay back down and turned on her side to watch him. “Are you happy now?”
“No. You’re still awake.” He moved closer and unexpectedly lay down next to her, studying her and moving some strands of her hair away from her face. “Close your eyes,” he whispered huskily.
She let out a breath and sighed. “I’m scared,” Valerie admitted with reluctance.
“Why?” he asked, his fingers ghosting over her hair, hand coming to rest on her back as he put his arm around her waist. “There’s no reason.”
The smug smirk on his lips was the only warning she received before he did something she hadn’t seen coming. He tightened his embrace around her body and pulled her into him, so close that she ended up lying on his chest. Surprised, she glanced up at his face, but it was shrouded in darkness, so she had no way to tell what he was thinking right now.
“Sleep,” he whispered, his rough voice sending a shiver down her back. His hand moved over her head, caressing her hair. His touch was light as a feather—she hardly felt it, and yet it somehow helped in calming her down.
She took a deep breath and relaxed her body, resting her head on his chest. As she snuggled up against him, she heard him chuckle amusedly, but he didn’t say anything about it. His warmth felt comforting, and the steady beats of his heart were like a lullaby to her.
She already started to feel groggy, and her eyes closed on their own. He shifted a little, embracing her with one arm and pulling the blanket over her with the other. Seconds before she fell asleep, she felt his lips on her temple, planting a soft kiss on her skin.
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Valerie somehow managed to sleep through the entire night until the next morning. When she woke up, she felt rested and not as exhausted as yesterday. She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes, opening them to look at Maxwell, who seemingly hadn’t budged an inch from his spot on the bed.
Sometime during the night, she must have moved closer, and now her legs were tangled with his, and her hand clutched his black shirt tightly. Blushing, she glanced up at his face to find him observing her.
“You’re up,” he commented. “Feeling better?”
She swallowed, being at a loss for words and hypnotized by the gorgeous blue of his eyes. His snow-white hair was a bit messy, fluffy strands hanging in his face. He looked handsome even after lazing around in bed all night. She only realized that she had been staring at him shamelessly when she saw his lips forming a smug smirk. The blush on her cheeks darkened, and she cleared her throat, needing another moment to find her voice.
“Yeah, thanks for staying with me.”
“It was entertaining to watch you sleep,” he smirked cheekily and earned himself a nudge from her.
“Oh shut up, you’re sounding like a pervert,” she retorted, before she added, “Wait, that’s because you are.”