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Marianne had left after some time when she realized that she had been in the mortal realm in her Fae body for a long time and then she had to return because of the rules which were set by the Fates. 

After her departure, Valerio stayed by her side as they talked to each other about what might be done about the predicament that they were now in. 

That was when Valerie told him that she was aware that Adrian was his mate and for the first time in her life, Valerie saw her best friend blush.

She giggled, "you should have told me yourself, Val!" She said nudging his shoulder and he looked away from her with a sad smile

"I wanted to, Lia." He whispered, "but, I only realized this after you had alread gone to bed and plus, I didn't have the guts to accept it."

She frowned at that, "why?" She asked softly. 

He sighed. "Adrian has gone through so much, Lia." He whispered, "what if I hurt him? What if I do something to break his heart? You know my track record when it comes to love and commitment." He said giving her a pointed stare. 

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Val!" She snapped, "those were your oast flings or a few serious relationships or crushes. This is your fricking mate we're talking about, here. There is no chance in hell that you will do anything to hurt Ian." 

Valerio knew that she was telling the truth. He nodded his head, but even then, he couldn't help but feel afraid. 

"I don't want to be the reason for more pain in his life." He whispered.

"And you won't be." Valerie said in a gentle, yet firm voice, "you have found your mate, Val. Trust me, everything will be alright from now on. Nothing can go wrong about this." 

"How can you be so sure?" He asked her, his eyes shining with uncertainty. 

Valerie smiled, "because I have known you your whole life, Valerio. You are the best mate anyone can hope for. And I know just how happy you and Adrian are going to keep each other. You're perfect together." He blushed at that and looked away to hide his smile. She nudged his shoulder teasingly, "tell me, when do you plan on telling this to him?" She asked.

Valerio's eyes became filled with worry at that question as he shook his head furiously, "not yet." He affirmed, making her furrow her brows before he explained, "he has been through so much. And there are so many things that he needs to adjust to. I cannot dump this information on him. I'll tell him if he asks, or feels something, but not before that." 

Valerie frowned slightly, but nodded her head, understanding the reason behind this decision of his. 

Valerio was glad that she wasn't pressurising him to break the news to Adrian, but then, this was Valerie, she was always supportive of his decisions, no matter what. 

The two continued to talk, sitting beside each other, in her bed and soon, Valerie began to feel a lot better because of his company. 

That was when there was a knock on Valerie's door.

"Come in!" Valerie called out, laughing at something Valerio had said before as both of them turned their gaze to the door and found stepping in with a curious expression on his face. 

He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a loose flannel shirt. 

He smiled awkwardly when he saw both Valerio and Valerie sitting there and Valerie had the largest grin on her face, seeing the way the two were stealing glances from each other. 

"Uhm, hey, guys." Adrian said, giving them a tentative smile. 

"Come on here, Ian! We were just talking." Valerie urged, excitedly ushering Adrian to the bed while Valerio silently gave her glares which she ignored. 

Adrian smiled, not realising what was happening as he began to come and sit in front of both Valerio and Valerie on the bed. 

"Oh, no no, you come here, Valerio, scoot over." Valerie said, shifting to make space beside her against the headboard as Valerio glared at her but still shifted.

Adrian looked betwene them awkwardly before sitting between Valerie and Valerio. 

He couldn't help but feel aware of just how close he was sitting next to Valerio and Valerio knew that Valerie had done that on purpose and she wasn't even trying to hide the goofy grin on her face. 

Valerio glared at her but she only shrugged.

Soon, the three of them got engaged in conversation as Valerie ensured to bring up topics which could make both Valerio and Adrian interact with each other. She told Valerio's heroic and a few embarrassing tales from their time growing up, hoping to impress Adrian and even though Valerio could see right through her plan, he had to admit that it was working. 

Soon, the two boys were talking eagerly with each other, till a point where Valerie wasn't needed as a buffer anymore.