Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
"I'm his half-sister, okay?"
Poppy could only stare at Heather. Had she heard the other woman right?
"It's not public knowledge, though. My grandpa and Valerian had a fight when he chose to drop out of college. They haven't spoken since."
Half-sister, Poppy thought dazedly. Heather was his half-sister, and the other girl knew all about her forbidden feelings for the billionaire!
"It's alright," Heather was quick to assure the other girl when she saw panic over Poppy's features. "I didn't breathe a word to Valerian. Your secret's safe with me, but..." Heather's expression turned sober. "My brother's always been a bit of a lightweight when it comes to drinking. I need to know if what I saw earlier was something he forced on you?"
Poppy could feel her cheeks heating up as she shook her head. She had been crushing on the billionaire for eight months. If anything, she was the one who had to struggle against throwing herself at Valerian every time she came to cut his hair.
Heather insisted on driving her home afterward, and Poppy thanked her for the ride when they reached her place.
"It's the least I can do, after all the trouble my brother's given you. Also..." Heather looked at her in apology. "I'm really sorry about earlier, Poppy. I have no idea why Valerian did he did—-"
"I think they broke up," she blurted out.
Heather's eyes widened, and Poppy haltingly told the other woman what the billionaire had asked her to call him before kissing her.
"I think you're right, but..." Heather struggled to find the right words to convey her worry without causing pain. "He wasn't in his right mind when he kissed you. Just keep that in mind, will you? I don't want him to hurt you again."
Chapter Ten
VALERIAN'S ALARM CLOCK woke him up at four in the morning like usual. It was how his day typically began except for one thing: today was his first time waking with a hangover, and he found the experience immensely detestable.
His body felt heavier than it should be, and his mind seemed to be operating under a fog.
He remembered the exact issues he had to resolve with the Risto deal. He also had an unfortunately vivid recollection of his volatile exchange with Camelia before their breakup.
But anything else after that, Valerian was unable to recall.
He checked his phone, and over a hundred messages had landed in his inbox from the last hour alone. Heather's name popped out as he kept scrolling, and Valerian frowned when he saw the timestamp next to her message.
Why the hell would Heather text him at midnight?
Valerian suddenly had a bad feeling as he tapped his screen.
Heather: I just got back. Poppy's back in her apartment. Please don't be a dick about this. Call her as soon as you're up. I'll handle everything at work.
Heather: I'm sorry about the Risto deal.
Reading her message was like getting sucker-punched in his guts. Floodgates that had held his memories back burst open, and Valerian whitened as forgotten fragments of last night started coming together.
Fuck.
An image seared his mind, of his hands cupping a woman's face.
Fuck.
That woman was Poppy, and he had kissed her.
FUCK, FUCK, FUCK.
Valerian felt sick as he called the salon where Poppy worked. If she refused to talk to him, then that would mean the kiss had been unwelcomed, and he had forced it on her. She had every right to sue her if so, and he would plead guilty. It was the least he could do, for abusing someone who had been nothing but innocent in her every encounter with him.
But if she didn't refuse to talk to him, and the kiss was something she didn't find unwelcome?
"Bonjour, this is Salon Joyieux. How may I help you?"
A mixture of frustration and relief struck him as his call connected. He was not in the habit of leaving any question unanswered in his mind. But after having only Camelia in his life for so long, being involved with another girl, and especially one like Poppy, was just too new and strange to him, and so Valerian decided to take things one step at a time.
First things first, Valerian thought, and that was to see if Poppy wanted to talk to him.
The person who answered the phone was someone named Giovanni, and the latter's shock was evident when he realized who he was speaking to.
"Hang on—-I mean, p-please give me, umm, I'll, umm..."
Giovanni seemed to give up trying to be coherent because the next thing Valerian heard was the other man frantically yelling for Poppy.
It's Mr. Rossfield, Poppy, hurry, Valerian heard the man whisper frantically after a moment.
An unexpected silence followed, and his jaw clenched as another unwanted possibility crossed his mind.
He had thought he knew Camelia in and out. But instead, his ex had him fooled for eight years. Why would he even consider trusting another woman after that?