19 A Ring?

She shut the door behind her and pressed her back on it, her breath a bit heavy.

What happened to her back there?

Why...why was she crying?

She questioned herself and rubbed her forehead in confusion.

She can't explain it, but seeing him hurt himself like that made her feel pain.

She doesn't understand why, but she could feel the distress he was going through at the moment.

"Arghhhhh." She groaned, not able to comprehend what had just happened to her.

"It's okay. You were probably just worried, that's all." She convinced herself and sat down on the bed to patiently wait for him.

A few more minutes enacted, and Valerio stepped out of the bathroom.

He strolled towards the table and sat down on the chair.

Everly walked up to him and looked around for the hair dryer.

"Uh, there is no hair dryer in here."

"Just go and get the one in my room." He waved his hand at her,

Everly slightly nodded her head and left the room.

She proceeded towards his room and grabbed a hold of the dryer that was tossed on the floor.

She turned around to leave, but having spotted something on the ground, she stopped and turned around.

She walked up to the object that looked like a ring and picked it up from the floor.

"A ring? Hmmm?" A curious expression emerged on her face, and she tilted the ring to take a glance at its pure diamond.

Knowing that it belonged to Valerio, she hurried back to the other room and shut the door behind her.

She dropped the hair dryer on the table and turned to face Valerio.

"Sir Avalanzo." She called him.

"Hmm?" Valerio raised his head to face her.

"I found something in your room, and I think it might be valuable to you." She said.

"Hmm? What?" Quite perplexed, Valerio arched his brow at her.

Everly abruptly grabbed his hand gently and placed the ring in his palm.

"This. I found it on the floor." She clarified.

Valerio's eyes instantly squinted the moment the ring was placed in his palm.

He quickly stood up from the chair and stepped away from Everly, the ring in his tight grasp.

"Um... Sir. Avalanzo, is everything all right?" Everly asked in a bit of concern, not sure why he was behaving in such a weird way.

Was there something about the ring that he was protective of?

She wondered, considering the way he was tightly holding onto the ring.

"Sir Avalanzo, are you married?" She inquired.

Valerio lifted his head to look at her, and his eyes twitched furiously in what seemed like bitterness.

Offense? Why… Is he offended? Is asking if he is married offensive?

She pondered.

"Do your job, Everly, and stop being so nosy about things that don't concern you." He scowled at her.

Quite shocked and confused at the same time, Everly gazed at him, unable to comprehend why he just said that to her.

What did she do wrong? 

She only asked if he was married because of the ring. Was there something wrong with such a simple question? Does it make her a nosy person?

She wondered, and sort of hurt by it, a half-smile appeared on her face.

Maybe she doesn't want to believe it, but this man actually hates her.

He has never appreciated anything she did for him since she became his caregiver; rather, all he does is condemn them, scold her, yell at her, and tell her how clumsy and terrible she is at things!

Is he actually expecting her to be perfect?

To do things so correctly every single time?

Even if she did, would that make him hate her less or happier?

She questioned herself and let out a soft breath.

"Yes, sir, Avalanzo." She replied to him with a slight smile on her face.

Valerio ambled back to the chair and sat down.

She grabbed onto the dryer and proceeded to take care of him.

Throughout the entire process, she uttered not a single word.

Valerio, who obviously preferred her quiet self compared to her chatty self, let out a soft breath.

"Done." She said to him, and before Valerio could speak a word, she turned around and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Valerio flickered his eyes in a bit of puzzlement, wondering if maybe she was mad or something.

But why would she be? He said nothing wrong to her.

He shook his head and got up from the chair.

He threw the ring into the pocket of his robe and plopped into the bed, ready to get some sleep.

….

Everly slammed the door of her room shut and folded her arms in annoyance.

"He didn't even apologize!" She scowled and strolled towards her bed to sit down.

She crossed her legs and stared at the door with a grimace on her face.

'Do your job, Everly, and stop being nosy.' She mimicked in her head with a galled expression on her face.

'Sometimes I just wish I could break his neck! Or better yet, rip out those scary eyes of his.'

She thought in her mind with a devilish look on her face and nearly jolted in the next moment when the door of her room suddenly pushed open.

She lifted her head, and her eyes fell on none other than Valerio, who stood with a vexed expression on his face.

"Sir…Avalan-"

"Shut up!" He glared at her, and Everly instantly went quiet.

"Do you ever just stay quiet? Like, allow your brain and your mouth to rest?" He questioned. "If you're not talking, you're either thinking and if you are not thinking, you are either talking. Dear heavens! don't you get tired?!" He gazed at her with disbelief on his face.

"What…do you mean?" Everly inquired in a soft voice. "I am not restricted from thinking whatever I want, am I?"

"Just please go to sleep! I told you that I can hear your thoughts, so whenever you are thinking, it rings so badly in my ears! Your room is close to mine, so what do you expect?" He arched his brow at her.

"Sir Avalanzo, it is not my fault that you can hear thoughts. And if you feel that it disturbs you too much, then you might as well give me another room, very far from yours!" She glared at him.