8- You like drawing?

Ethan's POINT OF VIEW

I have never trusted any of my employees and I know that the museum needs to be supervised, especially when there are major exhibits and billionaire guests, but I can't help but stay home today as well, leafing through Valerie's diary, even if I reached the fortieth page without understanding anything of what she has written : it seems that at a certain point even she no longer knew what she meant to write.

Some pages are filled with little drawings that do not help me at all.

'You have to hear them at midnight, when he comes home from work, it looks like she waited for him on purpose.'

The sentences are disconnected and there is no subject. A fucking name!

I sigh in frustration and decide to get out of bed at the exact moment when the phone signals the arrival of a message, then I roll my eyes, hurrying to answer to inform the museum secretary that I will be absent today as well.

I can imagine her expression surprised and worried at the same time, but I try not to think about it and walk to the door to leave my room.

If I search again, maybe this time I'll find something more interesting in her room, again taking advantage of being alone at home.

It's almost eleven and I try to calm down my stomach, which is rumbling for the hunger, as I push down the handle of Valerie's bedroom door, but my eyes widen when I notice it won't open.

Did he lock it?

Maybe she noticed that I broke into her room, but she would have castrated me in that case.

The idea that I've been hiding something since last night makes space in my head and intrigues me to the point that I can't help myself and take a step back.

I turn to the side to use my shoulder and forcibly open the door, so I don't think twice about pushing against the dark wood, opening it on the first try and making a jolting thud, but at the same time taking on a satisfied smile when I realize that I have managed to open the door without causing damage.

The smile dies on my lips when I raise my head and my eyes meet Valerie's, wide open for my gesture, as she sits on her bed, with her legs crossed and curls gathered in a messy bun.

Fuck!

I suddenly close my eyes, realizing that I am screwed now, even though mentally I think about a possible solution and how to justify myself.

"What are you doing?" - her tone is apparently calm, as the giant white sheet falls from her hand for the surprise and fright at the same time.

I frown when I peek at the paper in front of her, realizing that she was drawing, locked up in her room not to be noticed by anyone:

"Today it's your turn to cook." - I shoot the first bullshit that comes to mind, even though I'm really hungry and it's almost time for lunch, but my attempt fails when she hardens her gaze and grits her teeth, returning the bitch she is :

«And for this reason you had to break down my door!» - she screams with a voice so shrill that I am forced to take an annoyed grimace on my face.

"I'm hungry!" - I reply, even though I know she's right, but I try to appear more confident:

"Get your ass off the bed and go cook." -I conclude and soon after she snorts theatrically:

«Order something! I'll pay. »- she picks up the blank sheet again and holds the pencil between the fingers of the other hand, throwing me one last glare and then lowering her eyes to her drawing.

I take advantage of her distraction to slowly approach her bed, trying to get a better peek, and when I'm close enough to her I hasten to snatch the sheet out of her hand suddenly, then turn my back and walk away from her bed before she jumps on me to kill me.

"You like drawing?" - I grab my lower lip between my teeth as soon as I hear her quick footsteps behind me, then I hurry to raise my arm in the air with Valerie's drawing as she positions herself in front of me.

I only have time to notice the profile of a woman drawing in black and white, while my attention is captured by Valerie who looks at me from below with a murderous grimace, crossing her arms without even trying to grasp the drawing, already knowing that it is impossible since she is too small.

With my free arm I raise a hand to her face, unable to resist to one of the many curly tufts that escapes from her bun, but as soon as she notices my gesture, she slaps my hand before I can even start fiddling with her hair.

"Okay." - she nods annoyed and raises her chin to look at me from below: "I'll cook for you." - she forcibly gives up, visibly refraining from slapping me, while I raise an eyebrow as a sign of pride:

"Now give it back to me." - she says with an authoritative tone, underlining every syllable without taking her eyes off mine, but when I notice her serious and tired expression, I decide to give up and avoid provoking her. At the moment.

As soon as I lower my hand, she takes the blank sheet away, pressing her lips so hard that they turn pinker than usual, as she hurries to turn her back on me and open the closet.

When she opens the door and places her work of art inside, I realize that it is not her first drawing, since she rests it on a stack of sheets, arranged one on top of the other.

I pretend I'm not interested in her hobby and look away when she closes the closet.

«Hurry up.» - I say between my teeth, deciding to leave her room before she notices that I'm staring at her lower back, covered in a pair of short and soft pajama shorts.

I leave her room, but not before hearing her swear in a low voice, and then I head to the television in an attempt to pass the time.

If I had known that Valerie was home, I would have gone to work for sure, but I don't want to arouse suspicion, so I decide to take a seat on the sofa and wait for lunch to be ready.

With the remote, I pretend I'm looking for something decent to see, while my eyes land several times on Valerie a few meters away.

I take advantage of the fact that the kitchen and living room are not separated by any walls to follow her movements with my eyes.

Last night she acted strange, but it took her a few hours to get back to being acid as usual.

Curiosity devours me so much that I start tapping with my foot on the ground, while I extend my other arm on the pillow:

"Last night you came back late." - I observe aloud, pretending to be interested in the television in front of me, but I notice that she slows down her movements, while she brings a pot of water to boil on the fire.

«Last night I came back late.» - she repeats in my same tone, making me understand that she has no intention to talk to me.

"Why were you crying?" - I go straight to the point, slightly annoyed by her attitude, but I straighten my back and turn my head in her direction when I hear her let out a groan of pain.

"You're okay!" - I stand up when I notice that she folds in two, placing one hand on the kitchen counter, while shaking the fingers of the other repeatedly:

"Did you get hurt ?" - I insist, flanking her side when I see her squeeze her eyes, then I caged her chin between my fingers to force her to raise her head:

"I got burned." - she refrains from moaning again, raising her thumb to show me the burned tip.

My breathing returns to be regular and I don't know whether to scream to her or slap myself for getting worried about this spoiled child, but I don't have time to open my mouth that the sound of the doorbell spreads into the living room.

I turn my back to her and let her calmly resume cooking, walking towards the entrance with an annoyed grimace on my face: I don't know who has seen fit to interrupt us at this moment, but I certainly won't receive him with a friendly smile.

I throw open the door annoyed, when the echo of the bell spreads again in the living room.

"Is it so urgent?!" - I exclaim angrily, but my expression changes from annoyed to astonished when Valerie's father appears in front of me.

He...

Him, damn it!

I contract my neck muscles and close my fingers in two fists with so much force that I feel the nails sink into the skin of my palm.

At first his expression also seems shocked, but in both of us the surprise is soon replaced by anger.

I look at him from head to toe with so much contempt that he squints, while I wonder how he sleeps at night.

A man who has always had everything, especially money, and who I would not be surprised if he decided to sell his wife and daughter for the money.

Someone who doesn't deserve to live, but if I did what I'm now thinking to do, she'd hate me. My damn sister would hate me!

"Valerie!" - he yells in an authoritative tone and at the same time pissed off by my presence, but I refrain from closing the door in his face when he puts a hand on my shoulder to move and make room to enter his daughter's house.

I clench my jaw and close my eyes to concentrate, even though it's nearly impossible with a criminal two steps away from me.

I lift my chin and stare out the wide open door as the images of my sister smiling on her deathbed make space in my head.

"Who is he?" - I close the front door when his annoying and heavy voice rings in my ears: "Your new roommate?" - I force myself to turn to their side, but this time I don't look him in the eye to avoid solving this situation instantly, instead of using his daughter.

That's the only way he'll understand what I've been through for him and his dirty money.

I cross my arms over my chest, highlighting my muscles in front of his attentive eyes: he is studying me with his eyes, as if this way he could know me, but he doesn't know a shit about me.

I guess he knows nothing of any of the families he has ruined!

"I told you that ..." - Valerie lets the pasta boil in the pot, slowly addressing her father and pointing her index finger at him, but while she raises her voice and I enjoy the scene of father and daughter arguing, he interrupts her again, at the exact moment when I lean my back against the cold wood of the door.

"Who is he?!" - he yells in the face of his daughter, making me take a grimace of annoyance.

As soon as Valerie takes a step back, he grabs her forearm between his fingers and approaches her with an authoritative tone.

His gesture makes me straighten my back and stiffen my neck muscles, but I try not to intervene and I refrain from approaching them, resuming leaning my back against the door with my chest moving frantically, even as I try to hide it when their eyes end in my direction again.

"It's ..." - Valerie tries to break the silence, moving away from her father to take a few steps back and approach me, making me squint when I understand that she approaches me with her eyes downcast, leaving her father impaled beside her.

What are you planning to do now, little tiger?

I untie my arms, as I carefully study her expression from below, even if she does not allow me to do so, doing everything to avoid my eyes:

"What are you doing?" - her father insists behind her, while I frown when Valerie positions herself in front of me, filling my senses with her perfume, but before I can even ask her what she intends to do, she stands up in tiptoe, placing both hands at the root of my wide neck to support herself, and she doesn't think twice before gluing her red lips to mine, pushing her mouth against mine upwards.

❤️❤️❤️ How is her father going to react? 😂🥰🥰🥰Hope you liked the chapter guys, let me know in the comments🤗🤗