Chapter 96 Chapter 96
It was like he broke up with her even though they had never been a couple in the first place, but now that she thought about it, they had acted just like boyfriend and girlfriend around each other.
They had kissed often, lived in the same flat, cooked together, and spent time together. She knew him better than some of her own relatives, could effortlessly list his favorite dishes and the movies he loved to watch in the evenings.
She had gotten too attached to something that was never meant to be, and now that it was gone, she struggled to accept it. She caught herself staring at her wrist again and again, seeing something that wasn’t there anymore.
The star-shaped crest had been burned into her mind, so it wasn’t hard for her to envision it. She had already considered taking a Sharpie to draw it on her skin just to see it again, but she knew that it would not change a thing. The bond would never come back; it would never be the same.
Even if she went to a tattoo artist and had the star permanently inked on her skin, it would hold no meaning. The only thing it would do was make her feel pathetic for being unable to let him go.
Valerie didn’t know how long she had been awake, lying on her bed without moving, when Mochi joined her and snuggled up to her. She was grateful that at least this demon wanted to stay with her—it eased the pain in her heart a bit and made her feel a tad less lonely. She moved her fingers through Mochi’s glowing fur, hearing the cat purr happily. The warmth of its body offered comfort to Valerie, and she hugged the small being close to her body. “Thank you for staying,” she whispered, the cat’s ears perking up at the sound of her voice.
Her eyes were fixed on her small friend, but she was lost in thoughts and her absentminded gaze didn’t focus on anything. She didn’t know how to deal with the pain in her heart, didn’t know how to cure the wound his departure had ripped into her being.
Yosef had been right when he had told her that she would feel like something important was missing after the bond was broken. There was a void within her, making her feel as if someone had torn a chunk from her heart and thrown it far away. She had the constant urge to fill the void, to go back to him, but she couldn’t even if she wanted to. He was in a place that was unreachable for her… and he did not want her anymore. Again, her tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks like rivers. She sobbed pitifully and drowned in her own bitterness and anguish.
“I love you,” she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. “I love you. Come back.”
No matter how often she repeated it, the silence in her flat was encompassing, and she never received an answer. Of course not. Who would have answered her when she was all alone?
At first, she didn’t hear Mochi’s meows, but when it touched her with its paws, she finally reacted and wiped her eyes with her sleeves, glancing at the demon. Maybe she was only imagining it, but its glowing eyes looked duller than before. She smiled sadly and petted its back. They only had each other now, but it would have to be enough.
A glance at the clock on the nightstand reminded Valerie that she had an appointment later today, at three pm precisely, and since it was already one pm, she should make something to eat before it was too late.
She got up from her bed with a sigh and trudged into the kitchen, Mochi trailing after her. Standing in front of the fridge, she looked around for a moment, but since she didn’t have an appetite, she really didn’t know what to cook. Biting her lip, she closed the fridge.
Her stomach churned. There was nobody who would eat lunch with her or dinner. She was all alone, and she knew she had to get used to it, but it was hard. He had always been with her, hardly ever letting her out of his sight. At first, because he thought he needed to keep an eye on her for his own sake, but later, he had begun to care for her. Or at least, that was what she had thought, but apparently, she had judged him wrongly. He was a demon. They were unfeeling creatures who didn’t care for fickle things such as love.
Why did she expect him to love her back? He had never, not once, stated anything of the sort. She had just assumed that he was attracted to her because of the way he acted towards her. She had thought that his actions spoke louder than words and saw them as some sort of declaration of love when it hadn’t been like that at all. All the kisses they shared must have been nothing more than a game to him.
Why expect a demon to feel anything that wasn’t hate or anger? Wasn’t she naïve?
She was. More than anyone in the world, probably. He’d wrapped her around his finger, just for fun, to have some entertainment while he was stuck with her, and she had read his behavior as attraction towards her. How easy it had been for him to leave her… as soon as the bond had been destroyed, he hadn’t hesitated to go back to hell where he belonged.
Instead of eating lunch as she should have, Valerie ended up moping around in the kitchen, scrolling through Instagram. Her eyes burned with tears when she made the mistake to linger on one photo for too long. It showed Esther and Vaughn, holding hands and smiling at the camera as they took a selfie. They had posted it yesterday… yesterday when Valerie’s world had still been in one piece.