Chapter 121 Lines Crossed and Hearts Pulled
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty One
Stefan’s POV~
I woke up tense. My body felt heavy and my head felt heavier. The first thing that came back to me was Valenticia’s voice telling me to leave her house. Her face. Her eyes. The way she looked at me when she told me to go home.
I pushed myself out of bed and rubbed my face. I felt tired, but not the kind of tired sleep I could fix. I walked to the bathroom, splashed water on my face, and stared at myself in the mirror. My eyes were red. My jaw was tight. I looked like a man who didn’t know where he belonged anymore.
“I should not have gone to her house,” I whispered to myself, but the truth was I didn’t regret going… I only regretted the way it ended.
I dressed and headed to work. The moment I stepped into the building, I felt eyes on me. People whispered. They didn’t try to hide it.
“That’s him… the CEO who left his own wedding.”
“Is he okay?”
“Natasha was crying outside the hotel.”
“Poor woman.”
I ignored them and walked straight to the elevators. I kept telling myself to focus on work, but my mind refused. It kept going back to Val.
Why did she let me in?
Why did she help me?
Why did she tell me to leave?
Why did it hurt so much?
The elevator doors closed, and I let out a slow breath.
By the time I made it to the floor for the board meeting, I thought I was calm. But the moment I walked into the conference room, everything inside me changed.
Val was there.
She looked tired, like she didn’t sleep well. But she still looked steady. She didn’t look at me, but my eyes stayed on her.
Then the door opened again and Dimitri walked in.
He was right behind her, talking softly to her. He held a file for her. He looked comfortable. Close.
Jealousy hit me fast. It hit so hard I felt my teeth press together.
I took a seat across from them and tried to act normal, but I couldn’t stop watching him. He kept leaning closer to show her something on her tablet. She didn’t push him away. He didn’t step back. My chest tightened.
The meeting dragged on as I barely heard anything the board members were saying. All I saw was Dimitri beside her. All I felt was anger I couldn’t control.
When the meeting ended, Val packed her things quickly and headed toward the hall. I followed her. I didn’t care if it was a bad idea. I needed to talk to her.
I stepped in front of her when she reached the hallway.
“Val, we need to talk,” I said before she could walk past me.
She let out a tired breath. “Stefan, not now.”
“Please,” I said. “Just give me a minute.”
Before she could answer, Dimitri appeared beside her like a shadow.
“She said not now,” he said.
I turned sharply toward him. “I’m not talking to you.”
“And I’m not letting you stress her,” he shot back.
Val rubbed her forehead. “Both of you, please—”
But neither of us listened.
“You don’t get to act like her husband again,” I snapped.
Dimitri stepped closer. “Maybe if you treated her right, you wouldn’t be the one begging for her attention.”
I felt heat rise in my chest. “You think you’re any better? You hurt her. Badly.”
“And you didn’t?” he asked. “You think she didn’t cry because of you? You think your wedding mess didn’t break her?”
“That has nothing to do with—”
“It has everything to do with her,” he said. “You pull her into your chaos and expect her to fix you.”
Val raised her voice, “Dimitri, stop—”
But he continued, “You use her emotions. You run to her when your world falls apart.”
I lost control. “And what are you doing? Acting like you still own her?”
His eyes sharpened. “I never stopped caring.”
That sentence hit me so hard I almost stepped back.
But he wasn’t finished.
“You think she needs saving, but she doesn’t. She needs peace. Something you never gave her.”
I felt something break inside me.
Val snapped suddenly. “Enough!”
Her voice echoed through the hallway. People turned to look.
She stared at both of us with tired, angry eyes.
“I am tired!” she shouted. “I am tired of being pulled around. I am tired of being in the middle of whatever this is between you two.”
Dimitri stepped forward. “Val, I didn’t mean—”
“Stop,” she said sharply.
I took a small step toward her. “Val, please just let me explain—”
“No,” she said. “I can’t do this.”
She turned and walked fast down the hall.
Dimitri followed her. I almost ran after them, but something in her voice told me I needed to hold back.
She pushed through the exit doors and walked toward the parking lot. Dimitri caught up with her.
“Val, wait,” he said, his voice softer now.
I stayed hidden behind the corner of the wall. I shouldn’t have listened, but I couldn’t walk away.
Dimitri spoke quietly. “I’m sorry for today. For all of it.”
She didn’t look at him. “I can’t deal with this right now.”
He stepped closer. “I know. I just… I need to say something.”
Val didn’t respond.
“I regret how our marriage ended,” he said, his voice shaking. “I regret everything I did. I regret letting you walk away.”
I felt the air knock out of me.
He swallowed hard. “And I think… we could try again.”
Val froze.
I froze too.
She slowly turned to him. “Try again?” she repeated, shocked.
“Yes,” he said. “I still care about you, Val. I care more than I want to admit. I want to fix what I ruined. I want to be better for you. If you’ll let me.”
She looked completely lost.
She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. “Dimitri… I don’t know what to say.”
He stepped closer. “You don’t have to say anything now. Just think about it.”
I felt something heavy drop inside my stomach.
Val stood there between him and the parking lot. She wasn’t rejecting him. She wasn’t accepting him either. She was just… stuck.
And in that moment, I saw something clear. Both of us were fighting for her.
Both of us were pulling her.
Both of us were hurting her in our own ways.
She stood between the man she once married, the man she once loved… and me, the man who let his life roll out of control.