Chapter 0508
Valerie and Marcus walked to the parking lot. She was still lost in the image she had seen moments earlier. Marcus clearly noticed but chose not to say anything. When they reached the car, he opened the door and helped his wife get in. On one hand, he was worried about the lle lie was caught up in, and on the other, he couldn’t ignore how much it bothered him to see his wife still thinking about the man who had once been her great love.
“Val, how are you feeling? Are you comfortable?” Marcus asked, trying to pull her out of her thoughts.
Valerie turned to him and smiled, but it was a forced smile she still couldn’t shake the image of that man from her mind, the man from her past. She couldn’t stop thinking about how she was suddenly seeing his face in other people.
“I’m fine, really!” Valerie said, unconvincingly.
“You don’t seem fine, Val. I’m worried about you. You seem so distracted. Think about the kids–they don’t deserve to feel your sadness or anxiety. Please, I need you to think about them a little,” Marcus said, his voice filled with concem,
That concern stemmed from the fear that she might have figured out the truth–a painful truth for both of them. The drive home was silent, an uncomfortable silence, like they were forced to stay together after a major argument.
When they got home, Marcus helped Valerie out of the car and guided her toward their room, but John and Serenity were already waiting in the reception area, greeting them with open arms and cheerful smiles. Valerie’s expression changed, though Marcus couldn’t tell if it was genuine or just another act. Either way, it hurt him.
Emma and Camille were waiting for her in the bedroom, ready to help her take a nice bath and lie down. The two women sensed that Marcus was exhausted and needed rest. Now that they were home, they’d take care of Valerie.
“Marcus, you should take a bath and get some rest. These past two days have been long, and you need to recharge,” Camille said, noticing the dark circles under his eyes and how tired he looked.
“Val, my dear, you need a bath and some rest too. We’ve prepared a nice vegetable soup to bring you both something warm and comforting. Take your baths, and we’ll take care of the rest. You both need to sleep,” Emma added brightly.
The two women left the room after checking on Valerie, whom they considered almost like a daughter. She looked exhausted, and they knew both she and Marcus needed to rest. Marcus tried to start a conversation with Valerie, but she only responded with monosyllables: yes, no, okay. This frustrated him, and rather than risk an unnecessary fight, he left the room.
Marcus was exhausted, but he didn’t want to keep making his wife uncomfortable. After his bath, he helped her get dressed and tucked her into bed, pretending he needed to check on something in his study. Then he quietly left
the room.
A little while later, Camille arrived with a tray of food for two, but to her surprise, Marcus wasn’t there. Instead, she found Valerie in a flood of tears.
“Val, what happened? Did you fight with Marcus?” Camille asked, setting the tray down on a small table in the
room.
Valerie turned to Camille and decided to confess what was really troubling her.
Camille, I’m not okay. Nothing is okay with me! I’ve been seeing Peter. It’s happened twice now. My whole state of mind is because, the day I went to pick up John, I ended up in the director’s office. After a few minutes, I bumped into Ethan’s father–or grandfather. It was Peter!
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