“It wasn't from you?” Valerie gulped hard.
President Ethan tried hard to get a hold of himself, but he couldn't help it. The thought alone that it was from someone else made him very furious. Then, he thought.
“Who dares give a gift to my daughter's mother? She's my baby mama, and I'm the only person who is allowed to do that.”
On noticing how furious he was, Valerie stepped backwards. “I'm sorry, Sir. I mistook you for the one who sent me this gift.”
“Are you accepting this gift?” Ethan raised his brows at her.
Valerie nodded her head in agreement. She was confused why President Ethan would want her to reject the gift. “ Of course, I mean, this is my favorite color. And the shoe is very nice, it would be so ungrateful of me to reject this gift.”
“For goodness's sake, Valerie, you don't know who the sender is, do you?” Ethan couldn't hide the jealousy written all over his face. Valerie was marveled. Why would the President keep interfering in her affairs?
“I… I don't know but…” Valerie was still talking when her phone rang aloud, interrupting her.
“Excuse me, sir. I'll take this call.” She said and accepted the call.
A manly but calm, sweet voice called out from the other end. “Hey, Val. How do you like my gift?”
“You… Are you the one who sent the gift?” Valerie stuttered, and Ethan shot her a deadly glare.
“Yes, I am.”
Valerie gulped nervously and continued after a few minutes of silence. “If I'm not mistaken, this is Justin, right?”
“Oh, I'm so glad that you were able to tell who it is without me telling you who I am. That means, you never forgot my voice.” Justin chuckled excitedly.
Upon hearing that, Valerie turned her gaze to Ethan. He felt like snatching the phone from her, but he kept his calm. “Justin? God! Are you trying to get me into trouble? You are married, for goodness’s sake, and you still have the guts to send me a gift?”
“I know, Valerie. I know that I'm not supposed to send you a gift, but I've never, for once, forgotten your shoe size or anything about you. I just went over to the mall to get something, and then I came across that shoe and I remembered you. Likewise, I know that silver is your favorite color and that you liked stilettos.” Justin continued.
Valerie was short of words. He's her ex-boyfriend and her past, he should remain. “Do you realize that you are married to my sister, Justin? Are you trying to cause issues between my sister and me?”
“Valerie, I don't love Patricia. You know that too, right?” The voice from the other end sounded pathetic.
“Dang!” Ethan cursed, hitting his foot against the table, and that got Valerie frightened.
Valerie managed to speak up. “You… Justin, I'm grateful for the gift that you gave me, but I can't accept that. I would rather not have anything to do with you anymore, and I appreciate the fact that you have good thoughts for me. Don't send any more stuff to me, I really do not need them, especially when it's from you.”
“I love you, Valerie. I'll do anything to have you back in my life. Valerie, I'm willing to annul my marriage with Patricia.” He sobbed.
“You…” Valerie was speaking when the phone got snatched by Ethan.
“Are you deaf, young man? She just said she would rather not have anything to do with you, who the hell do you think you are to force yourself on a young lady?” Ethan yelled at him.
There was silence for a few minutes before Justin spoke up. “Who are you? Why are you taking her call?”
“You want to know, huh? I'm her fiancé. Stay the f*** away from her.” Ethan hung the phone up immediately.
On the other hand, Valerie stared at him with her jaw dropped, and her eyes widened in shock. She was too shocked to even say a word, all she did was mumble. “Fiancé?”
Fuming, Ethan dropped the phone on the table and rushed upstairs. He wasn't going to explain himself to her. Likewise, he was going to tell her what he had found out, but decided to keep it to himself for the moment.
Meanwhile, Clara, who had been peeping from the staircase under, quickly covered her mouth with her palms.
“She's his fiancée? How the hell is that possible?” She thought.
Clara walked into the room, still confused. Anastasia, who was arranging her clothes into the bag, saw how absentminded Clara was. “Hey, Clara. Are you okay?”
“Is it really that obvious?” Clara sighed, sitting on the bed.
“Tell me, what is it? It's written all over you that you're not okay.” Anastasia snapped.
Clara exhaled deeply. “Do you know that Valerie is actually the President's fiancée?”
Anastasia scoffed. She was still trying to wrap her head around what Clara had just told her. “You're joking, right?”
“Joking? How the heck will I joke about such a sensitive issue? I heard it straight from President Ethan's mouth.” Clara snapped.
“What the….” Anastasia gasped in shock.
…
“Miss old-fashioned, are you ready yet?” Audrey sneaked into the kitchen.
Staring at Valerie, Audrey couldn't help but wonder why she was absentminded. Valerie had turned on the sink, and was staring outside the window while the water filled the cup and was still running.
Audrey wondered. “What's wrong with Miss old-fashioned? She looks troubled.”
After a few minutes of staring at her, Audrey shook her vigorously, and she flinched. “Yes… Yes, dear.” She forced a smile at her, and quickly turned off the sink.
Shaking her head in disapproval, Audrey tuts loudly. “No, Miss old-fashioned. You should tell me what is wrong with you, and don't say it's nothing because there's something.”
Valerie bit her lips and smiled dryly. “Audrey, you don't have to worry about me.”
“Miss old-fashioned, do you really love me?” Audrey asked all of a sudden.
“Of course, I do. A lot, actually.” Valerie snapped.
Audrey sniffed. “Then, why don't you tell me what's wrong with you? You think I'm a child, right? I'm a big girl.”
“Audrey, what if I break rule no.2?” Valerie bowed her head.
Audrey gasped. “Flirting with my daddy?”