A year prior, Chris had been diagnosed with diabetes type 2. Upon commencing medication he had endured several side effects for almost over a month. He suffered from headaches, fatigue, diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting. During those days, he was barely at work at all, all alone in his lonely mansion, no one taking care of him. He not only felt wounded physically but emotionally as well. He felt abandoned and uncared for. He had not shared the news with anyone, even his twin brother Chase. Fortunately as his body adjusted he felt better and eventually he was well again.
On the current day, he had collapsed even though he was not quite sure why. On the same day he was discharged, Valerie drove him back home. Brushing off the moments of the day, he felt quite relieved Valerie was there with him. For the first time since his parent's demise, someone was taking care of him. Being drove home by Valerie felt different from being drove by his chauffer. It felt soothing to his senses. Suddenly her talking and arguments slowly sounded like a melody to his ears.
During dinner, Valerie had cracked a joke and they both laughed. She had told him a silly story about a haunted mansion and he had enjoyed it. Once more he noticed how ravishing she was. Her rich dark brown hair complemented her oval face. Her heart shaped lips gave out the most beautiful smile his eyes had ever seen. Her arms and legs were covered in soft fine hairs. Her curves swayed slowly as she walked.
He realized her tough exterior was a mirage too. She wasn't as bad as she seemed. She perhaps for some reason maintained a tough exterior to ward off people. He suddenly felt drawn to her, and in the midst of him being lost in the thoughts of Valerie's beauty, he heard a voice.
" You seem to be having a good time", Tasha declared, her gaze fixed on Valerie. For some reason, he was not pleased to see his fiancée. It almost felt like he had been having a good, sunny day and out of the blue a dark cloud hovered over him.
"You almost gave me a heart attack! What are you doing here? You didn't think you'd have to tell me before coming …?", Chris breathed.
"Oh?", she whispered as she blinked. "How, irresponsible of me to give my husband to be a surprise visit", she asserted, taking her black heels off and throwing her purse on the beige leathered couch Chris was seated upon. Chris sighed and stood up.
"That is not what l meant, sweetheart, you know you can come here any time you want", he assured. He hugged her, nonetheless she didn't hug him back, her eyes still fixed on Valerie.
"Whatever, Chris. I'm exhausted", she complained, releasing herself from his embrace. Chris hid his dismay as his caught sight of the cherry coloured lipstick stain that had landed on his sleeve.
"This is Valerie, my new helper", he said, gnashing his teeth.
"Your new helper?", she asked dubiously, in an irritating kind of way.
"Certainly…Valerie, this is Tasha my fiancée.
"Pleasure to meet you Mrs Malvins to be. You are beautiful", she complemented as she stretched her hand to greet Tasha. Tasha did not show any reaction, apparently she was in no way comfortable with Valerie's presence. Without pardon, Tasha deliberately ignored Valerie's hand, did not greet her back until she took it down. Instead, as if she was looking at a rival, she carefully scanned Valerie head to toe, her heart racing. Tasha grabbed Chris' hand and started walking up the stairs.
"Goodnight, Mr Malvins", Valerie said. An unexpected chill instantly flew down his arms. Goosebumps! He had never gotten that from Valerie. It felt as if for the first time, they were talking like normal people, not arguing. He stopped a moment and turned. "Goodnight, Val!".
Valerie watched as Chris and Tasha walked up the stairs, leaving her troubled by the deafening silence of the mansion. She speculatively stared at Tasha as she moved , each step of hers elegant. Her blonde hair perfectly styled in a neat ponytail. Even in the faint lighting, her curvy silhouette could be seen perfectly as she moved up the staircase. She was grabbing Chris' arm, as if trying to express her possession of him.
As she had just been robbed of her company, she turned off the lights and went up to her room. She tied up her hair into a loose bun and slid into her bed. For almost an hour, she tossed in bed, rewinding the events that had taken place on the same day. Amidst the arguments with Chris and the collapse, the best part of it all was when they had been chatting before Tasha showed up. She remembered his long gaze fixed on her face, him looking at her bottom sneakingly as she moved and his smile when they briefly locked eyes. And 'Val?'. Had he just called her Val? She kept reminiscing about the day, she had felt responsible for Chris' fainting as she had troubled him and she felt an urge to take good care of him instead, and that day was the onset of her intention.
Vividly admitting to herself how much she had enjoyed their chit chatting, she knew he wasn't as tough as he tried to be. For the first time that same even, he had laughed. She had never seen him like that. She felt certain about one thing…she wanted to know him more, she wanted to know who Chris Malvins was really, but a sudden yet piercing realization brought her back to her senses. He was engaged!
" Maybe just friends!", she whispered as she turned off the bedside lamp and dozed off. The next morning after Tasha had left, Valerie was in the kitchen, working on breakfast.
Chris entered the kitchen , a grey robe on him. His feet were in a grey, fluffy pair of morning slippers. Despite the fact that he had just gotten out of bed, his hair waved down perfectly neat just above his eyebrows. Valerie didn't notice his presence, as she had her back to him. Chris took advantage of her mind's absence to take a sneak peak at her.
Her watched her body shake lightly as she sliced tomato on the cutting board. Her dark hair shone. Her tall, hairy legs hidden in a green uniform skirt. Condemning himself of what he felt a desire to do, he faked a cough. Startled, she turned and her eyes met his as a smile escaped her lips.