Chapter Thirteen

VALERIAN WAS ON EDGE.

A week had passed since news of political upheaval in Risto had broken out. All eyes had been on him since, but while Valerian had succeeded in keeping his activities under wraps, it was not without cost.

For so many years now, the world had been fascinated and mystified by his seeming passion for extreme sports. Many had assumed it was a whim of his, but nothing could be farther from the truth.

Bungee jumping, cliff diving, and the like had been Valerian"s way of keeping his sanity while working under pressure. And even though not everyone in the corporate world had thought his activities appropriate, Valerian could afford to ignore whatever they had to say.

In the past, he still had everyone"s respect and billions of dollars at his disposal.

But now, he had neither.

All the enemies he had made had crawled out of the woodwork and were now gleefully scrutinizing and criticizing his every move. If it was Valerian alone who stood to lose from his company"s bankruptcy, he wouldn"t have given a fuck about what people thought of him.

But that was not the case at all.

Thousands depended on him for their livelihoods. There were also a handful of investors and stockholders who had felt the need to show their support for him, even though Valerian had never asked them to do so.

For these people"s sakes, Valerian had striven hard to do what was proper and expected of a "staid" businessman. But with each passing day, he had also felt his control slipping more and more.

Heather had forced him to see his old therapist, but the latter hadn"t anything new to say.

I warned you about this years ago, Mr. Rossfield. Not all coping mechanisms are sustainable in the long run. Our goal must be to overcome what"s holding us back instead of finding ways to live with it.

Valerian had felt he was near breaking point after that...until he realized there was one last thing he had yet to try.

Poppy.

Within moments of speaking to her, the incessant buzzing in his mind had gone silent, and a sense of almost miraculous peace slowly settled over him. The sound of her voice alone was unexpectedly soothing, and when she unconsciously spoke her erroneous thoughts out loud?

"He likes me."

Valerian stunned himself by actually having to hide his amusement with a cough upon hearing his words. For the entire fucking week, all he had known were anger and bitterness. All he had been able to think of was how to save his company.

But within minutes of talking to Poppy, everything had changed.

"Thank you, Poppy."

"F-For what?"

"For thinking I like you."

A thud immediately followed his words, and Valerian could easily imagine what this meant. "Did you fall off your bed?"

"N-No!"

So damn bad at lying,Valerian thought.

It was another thing he liked about her, but it was also why he heard himself ask, "Why?"

"I"m sorry." Poppy"s tone was full of dismay. "I didn"t mean to put you on the spot. Of course, you don"t—-"

"It"s not that." And he wasn"t lying. Any man would end up liking Poppy. He knew that now. But what he couldn"t get was the other side of the coin. "I"m asking why...me."

"W-What?"

Valerian could feel a flush darkening his cheeks. He knew this almost seemed like he was asking her to pander to his ego, but it wasn"t that at all. He just wanted to know—-

"Why do you like me?"

Because it didn"t make sense at all, why an angel like Poppy would be attracted to a jerk like him.

"W-Why wouldn"t I?"

The tone of her voice had Valerian imagining her squirming as she spoke.

"You know how you look. Any girl would have a crush on you."

Valerian struggled not to feel disappointed by her answer.

"But...that was just the start, you know? You"ll probably think I"m crazy, but...but...I love watching you work."

Her tone was a mixture of shyness and certainty.

"You were passionate about it. Competitive but not in an ugly way. And I...I know this may not be the time to speak about it," she said in a rush, "but I know how hard you"ve been working to turn things around. Heather told me you won"t be exactly penniless even if your company went down, but it"s because of the people who depend on you that you"re not giving up. And that"s what...that"s w-what I really l-like about you."

Memories alone made it easy for Valerian to imagine Poppy blushing as she started to stammer.

"I k-know this may not mean anything, but I just want you to know...I believe in you. I know you can do this. I have complete faith in you."

The quiet conviction in her words was unmistakable, and it was this that had Valerian slowly squeezing his eyes shut.

Why, dammit?

Why was Poppy"s trust in him absolute while his own girlfriend of eight years hadn"t hesitated to throw him away at the first sign of trouble?

Why was Poppy still by his side when the rest of the world had already written him off?

It just didn"t make fucking sense at all.

The cynic in him was convinced it was only a matter of time before Poppy revealed her true colors, and that she, too, would choose to leave him.

"Eight am tomorrow," he heard himself say.

But there was that other part of him...

"I don"t understand..."

It was a part of him that Valerian didn"t know existed until this moment.

"I can book you an 8AM flight tomorrow. Will you come to me?"

"Y-Yes."

"I"ll see you then."

"O-Okay?"

Valerian hung up without saying goodbye.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

He couldn"t believe how hard his heart was pounding, and all for a girl whom he had largely ignored for eight months.

I like her.

The words felt like they were about to burst from that secret part of him.

I like her.

If Camelia were still his girlfriend, Valerian"s honor would have made sure this part of him remained buried deep in his subconscious.

I like her.

If Camelia were still his girlfriend, he would"ve spent the rest of his life never knowing that Poppy had stolen a piece of his heart...from the first time their eyes met.