51

DAISY

It felt weird hearing those words come from Valeria. I've known her for years and she's never been one to talk about a guy like this. In a way that wasn't lewd and didn't involve his dick.

If I'd heard her correctly right now, she didn't mention his dick. She said his face and his voice, which was super weird. What has gotten over her?

How did she change her perception of him so quickly? Why was she describing him as some angel right now when the last time we spoke about him, she'd painted him the devil?!

“You sure you okay, V?” I asked with creased brows, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the moment.

“Why? Am I acting weird?”

“Yes, a whole not. I'm beginning to get scared. Did you get bitten?”

”By a lovebug? I guess so,” She mused with a smile that seemed rather out of place, ”And now, I can't seem to get him out of my head,”

”Wait, you lost me there. How did you go from 'you gonna punch his face' to 'you can't get him out of your head' so quickly? What happened when you met him again in your school?”

”Well, we bickered. He called me a coy stalker, and you know what? I think he was right,“

“About you being a coy stalker?” I asked. I was trying to make a joke out of it. But Valeria didn't even crack a smile. She seemed rather serious. And I couldn't believe it was finally happening. Valeria was talking about a man in an appropriate way. Not her usual erotic, kinky talks.

“Yes. Although, I wasn't stalking him. But I was coy. From the day we first met, I've always wanted him. From the minute I saw him when I stepped out of the elevator, my heart yearned for him. But I acted the exact opposite because I wanted him to make the first approach. I don't know, it feels crazy. But is there a thing like that? Like love at first sight?“ She turned her gaze to me, waiting for my reply.

”Of course, there is,“ I replied firmly with a nostalgic smile. It was love at first sight for Logan and I. From the minute I laid eyes on him in our childhood days, I knew he was the only guy who's gonna be able to make my heart flutter. And the years that went by didn't alter that fact. Logan owns my heart, he always will. I could hate him forever, but the bitter truth was that I still loved him equally too.

“Then, is it what I'm feeling for him? This unsteady beat of my heart, is it love?“

“I think you are in the best position to answer that, V. What you feel for him, is it love or your usual hunger for dicks?“

“Not gonna lie, I did fantasize having his dick inside my pussy. But what I feel right now goes beyond that physical attraction. I've never felt this way for anyone,”

“Are you trying to say that you're in love?“ I asked skeptically.

“I don't know, D,” She scoffed, ruffling her hair, ”You the romantic here, not me. It's my first time feeling this way and I think it's gonna drive me insane if you don't help me sort out my feelings,“

At this point, we lost interest in munching on the popcorn and drinking the juice she'd brought to the table. We were into discussing feelings now, and nothing else mattered now.

“Tell me everything that happened between you both. How you felt, what he said, I need to know everything,”

She nodded and began narrating everything, starting from when they met in the office. Listening to their story reminded me of my sad story with Logan.

He'd been my predator and was always taking pleasure in torturing me. And then one day, he wanted more than just physical torture. He changed for the worse, but in a way that made my heart flutter like never before. He wanted my body and he got it. We had so many sizzling moments together, and it all started in a flash. Just because he saw me in my undies through the window.

Valeria's story sounded a bit similar to mine. They were always at each other's neck and then all of a sudden, he was being nice to her. Just like Logan did to me.

I just hope this guy she's talking about really did change for the better. So he doesn't leave her heartbroken like Logan did to me.

”...When he caught me from falling, I felt a sensation like I've never felt before,“ Valeria continued her narration, “And when he hugged me in the hallway, I felt how heavy with pain his shoulders were. His jerk side was a facade, and the real broken side of him called out to me. At the moment, I wanted nothing more than to help him carry the pain that was weighing him down. I wanna break down the walls he's built around himself. I wanna be able to penetrate him, and help him heal. I really wanna help him heal from the pain. It's the first time, D. The very first time,”

I smiled, but it was a mixture of tears, “I know,”

My tears were those of joy. Finally, I got to see Valeria speak from her heart. She'd always made everyone believe she'd never fall in love. She called us weak for showing emotions and tried so hard to remain cold and indifferent, no matter the situation. I tried so hard to make her understand that being in love with someone doesn't make you weak. It takes a lot to fall in love. But she never bought it, but now, here she was, being damn emotional that it got me crying. And it all just happened in hours, while I spent years trying to get it to happen. Well, no regrets. Better late than never, right?

“Tell me something, D. Is it worth falling in love? If you were given a chance to fall in love again, would you take it?“

“In a heartbeat, I will. That I got hurt doesn't mean I gave up on love. And if tomorrow comes, and I get the chance to open up my heart again, I would,“

”Even when you know that you might get hurt again?“

”We love because our hearts want us to, not because we yearn to be loved back. Don't get me wrong though. If I get loved back by the one I love, it'll be the happiest thing that ever happened to me,”

“I don't wanna get hurt, not again,“ She soliloquized, subtly sniffing back her tears, ”My poor heart won't be able to take it,”

Valeria has always seemed like one who got a lot of painful lessons from her past. I've always known there was a backstory for her rigidity and indifference to love. The first time we met was at my therapy session. And ever since then, I've been curious to know what a rich, beautiful, and elegant girl like her was doing in therapy. She seemed to have everything, so it left me bothered about what could have broken her to the point that she had to seek help from a shrink.

But Valeria's not good at opening up. And I didn't wanna force the conversation. I'm always gonna be here whenever she's ready to talk.

“I lied to him about my last name. I told him it was Garcia,” She said, looking up at me with eyes that glistened with tears, ”I know I'm supposed to keep my real last name a secret. But what if we get serious, like we become a couple, and then he finds out that I lied to him? There's no doubt he's gonna hate me,“

“V…C'mon,” I mused, standing from where I sat and joining her on her couch. I pulled her into a tight hug and she returned it.

”I can't help it, D. You know how much I overthink things. I don't want to dive into this and then it ends up crashing. I might not survive it,“

”It won't. Listen, Val, if he truly loves you, then he's gonna understand why you had to lie about your last name,”

Valeria and I returned to California as normal people. We didn't want to be noticed by fans, so Valeria was asked to change her last name and looks. Her real last name was José, but now she goes by the last name, Garcia. It was all a charade to keep her on the low.

I, on the other hand, didn't need to change my name. My fans didn't know me as Daisy Vince. They all knew me by my pen name, Tulip. It was my second favorite flower after Daisy and the best pen name I could come up with.

So any realistic person would understand why Valeria had to change her name. It was understandable. She just has this issue of overthinking things.

A thought came to me, and I hesitated a while before saying, “Liam wants to date me,“

She slowly slipped out of my hold and turned to look at me. “Are you serious?“

“Yeah. He came into my room, and professed his feelings,”

”Wait. Liam just wanna date you or he wants something more?” Valeria asked with slight amusement.

”He wants me to marry him,” I admitted, feeling slightly uneasy about it. I could never picture myself as Liam's wife, no matter how hard I tried.

”I knew it. Liam would never settle for the bare minimum. He always wants it all,” Valeria scoffed, not in a spiteful way but in a way that showed she knew Liam well enough. And she did, they both go way back to their childhood days.

“Yeah, he never will,” I added silently.

”So what did you tell him?” She asked curiously, fixing her keen eyes on me, ”Are you gonna take him up on his offer, become Mrs. Liam Lawrence?“

”The truth is, I don't know, Val. I do not know what to do. I'm so confused right now,”

Ever since he came into my room, I've struggled with creating a chance for us in my heart. Liam was a great guy, and the only guy I should get involved with whenever I was ready to open up my heart to love. He knows me well enough, he adores me, and he'll never hurt me, at least not as much as Logan did. He'll treat me like I deserved to be treated. Liam was the ideal man for me. But how do I get my heart to understand that and open up to him? How do I get my heart to beat for him, even in the slightest way?

“What are you so confused about? Liam has always loved you. Anyone who knows you two can easily tell. The guy never tried to hide it. And he's rich, handsome, and most importantly, D, he loves you so much. What's there to hesitate about?”

”Uh, I don't know. I just think it's too soon. We are still in college, and he's got a lot on his plate right now. Marriage doesn't seem like the ideal thing to do now,“

I knew my excuses were flimsy, but they were the only thing I could come up with.

“I'm certain Liam didn't ask you to marry him right away. Be honest, D, do you still love your ex? Is he the reason why you can't bring yourself to love Liam?“

"I don't. I healed from that already,” I blew out my lies and stood to leave. If I stayed any longer, she might still bug me about it.

”Alright. If you say so,” She said, as she stood too, “Let's go grocery shopping,“

“Sure,” I nodded with a smile.

”Help me grab my bag. Let me get rid of this,” She said, grabbing the bowl of popcorn and the glass of juice and heading into the kitchen.

I headed to her bedroom and it was a complete mess. Valeria was a female pig, who sucks at cleaning. I tiptoed past her mess and grabbed her bag, heading out.

She was talking to someone at the door and the voice sounded rather familiar to me. But before I could get to the door, the person was gone.

“Who was that?“ I asked, handing her the bag.

“No one. Let's go,” She beamed at me and I nodded. We headed out of her apartment and walked the small distance to the mall.

We shopped for an hour and said our goodbyes as both headed home, our homes were in the opposite direction.

I barely walked four blocks before a luster Lamborghini pulled up beside me.

”Hey, D,“ It was Liam, he opened the passenger seat from the inside, ”Get in.”

I did. And he drove us home but we remained silent throughout the ride.