Under the soft light slipping through the window blinds, Raymond tightened his embrace, pulling Valentina even more closer like he was trying to shield her from the past itself. His lips gently pressed against her forehead again, his voice low and filled with guilt.
"I’m sorry, Valentina... I’m really sorry for everything you went through. If I had co earlier... if I had found you sooner... you wouldn’t have gone through even one tenth of that pain. You didn’t deserve any of it. None."
Hearing what Raymond just said, Valentina blinked slowly, holding back the warmth pooling in her eyes. She raised her head slightly, her voice soft but steady.
"Why are you saying sorry for that?" she whispered. "It’s not your fault, Raymond."
She touched his cheek with both hands now, as if she was trying to get him to look deeper into her—really see what she ant.
"Because of everything that happened to , I was able to find sothing even more important. I found you. And I got the chance to start again... with you. If those things didn’t happen, I probably wouldn’t have even known what it ans to be loved this way."
Then her voice trembled a little, not from fear, but from gratitude that ran deep in her soul.
"I’m grateful, Raymond. For everything you’ve done. For everything you’re doing. If not for you... I wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t be this strong. I wouldn’t even have made it this far."
She paused, leaned her forehead against his chest, and said again—quiet but certain.
"If not for you... I wouldn’t have even gotten to where I am now."
So, that was how they hugged each other for so ti, silently holding on to the warmth that made all the chaos outside fade for just a little while. But deep inside Raymond again, thoughts that had haunted him for years slowly returned—mories he rarely allowed himself to visit.
He rembered the mont he felt Valentina had reconnected to this life. He knew. He always knew when she was born again. But this ti, he had sworn to himself he would do it differently.
So he stayed away, he thought maybe if he kept a distance... if he never got close... if he never let her see him, then maybe—just maybe—she wouldn’t die this ti.
For years, he beca her silent shadow. Watching. Guarding. Never too close, never too far. She went through school, went to the university. She was growing beautifully. Strong, smart, radiant. And yet, sothing puzzled him deeply.
She didn’t date anyone, not once.
That fact disturbed him more than he liked to admit. Was she not interested? Was sothing holding her back? Was it him? Was his presence—even in hiding—sohow interfering with her fate again? So he made the hardest decision.
He left completely, he stopped watching her. He stopped showing up at the edge of buildings or rooftops where he used to glance down at her walking through crowds. He stopped sending people to look out for her from afar.
And that was when it happened, That fire.
The one he still couldn’t erase from his mind.
That fire that took her peace, her joy—and almost her life.
At that mont Raymond swallowed hard, tightening his grip around her now. He had thought staying away would protect her. But all it did was delay what was already coming.
He couldn’t forgive himself. He just couldn’t, It felt like he had failed the one person he had sworn to protect for centuries—the one soul whose pain had always been his greatest weakness.
That accident nearly took her life and he also decided to stay away for years, and because of that decision he had never forgiven himself. Not then. Not now. Especially when the news followed that she was about to be married—to soone else. Soone random. Soone who didn’t know what she liked in her tea or how she twisted her hair when she was anxious. Soone who might hurt her. He couldn’t let that happen.
So he ca back, Ca back to claim what was his and his alone.
Now, holding her in his arms, he reached for her hand gently, his voice low but full of intent.
"You’re going to wear sothing ... different to the get together this ti. Sothing elegant. Sothing so stunning that when you walk into that room, no one—absolutely no one—will be able to take their eyes off you."
Valentina raised a brow, folding her arms slowly. "I’m not wearing anything different," she replied, her tone calm but firm. "The clothes I have are just fine."
Raymond blinked, slightly taken aback. "But, Val—"
She stepped back, holding his gaze. "Do you know how expensive those dresses you bought are?" She gave a faint smile. "So of them are too much. I can’t even wear them all. And believe , not many people in that place will wear anything half as good."
She sounded confident—not arrogant, but sure of herself. Grounded. That groundedness was sothing he admired in her more than anything.
At that mont Valentina crossed her arms, her voice firm but quiet as she continued.
"Raymond, I told you... I already have sothing good to wear. Why should I feel ashad of that?"
Raymond didn’t respond imdiately. He stepped closer, reaching out to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. His gaze was intense—not angry, not forceful—just filled with sothing deeper. Conviction.
"I know you’re not ashad," he said softly. "But I don’t like the idea of anyone—anyone—looking down on you. And trust , Avery will try. She’ll be watching, waiting for the smallest thing to pick on."
Then Valentina tilted her head slightly, watching him with cautious eyes.
"She’s not just watching," Raymond continued, his jaw tightening. "She’s planning. She’ll do everything to humiliate you in front of those people, because that’s who she is."
However Valentina said nothing. But her fingers clenched lightly against her arm.
"I want them to feel like fools for ever thinking they could look down on you," he added. "So co with . We’re going shopping."
Valentina’s eyes widened. "Wait—what?"
Raymond turned, already walking toward the door. "Let’s go."
"Raymond!" she called after him, following with hurried steps. "I said no. You don’t even listen to anymore. You keep forcing into things."
He stopped, turning to face her. There was a boyish glint in his eyes, but his tone remained calm. "Because I know what’s best."
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