The next day, Valerie was finally leaving that hell of a room. She had been traumatized by the bright pink for several days and she was relieved he was letting her wear white, for his own reasons though.
Dressed in all white, she proceeded to the helipad and found Maximus waiting for her there.
"Why do you look like an angel?" He asked, squinting his eyes in contempt and she shook her head.
"Have you ever seen an angel that can't fly?" She responded and he pointed at the helicopter.
"One doesn't necessarily need wings to fly." He said.
She couldn't tell if he was trying to be romantic or get on her nerves. First off, aside from her white attire, what else made her look like an angel?
And since when did angels use helicopters to fly?
She could not ask this and buried it in her thoughts.
She knew he was just teasing her yet she ended up taking it seriously. She sighed.
They decided to register their marriage as soon as they got to the country before parting ways.
Max refused to take the chance of letting her go without the proper preparation. Who knows? She might just bite the hand that tries to feed her.
"I already made my intentions known that I would like to marry Ross's heiress," Max said, lending her a hand to help her up the little stairs and she took it.
"I'm afraid they have concluded as to which 'heiress' you plan to get married to." She said and he lifted her up, pulling her to himself and into his arms.
"Just like you wanted, isn't it?" He smirked and she closed her eyes.
Sure, this was one step to humiliating her bitchy cousin.
They waited for the helicopter to start and once its blades started swirling, Valerie clutched onto her hat. She took it off and held it in her hand, knowing she would lose it with the pressuring wind from the helicopter's rotors.
Once again, Max aided her up and helped her get in the helicopter. As soon as they were ready, they departed.
Nothing much happened after they got to the country. They went to the marriage bureau and had their marriage registered and pictures taken, while keeping everything in a tight lock.
"Now that we're officially married, does this soothe your worried mind?" Valerie asked but Max suddenly snatched her marriage card from her hand and oppressed her with his height.
"I should be the one telling you that." He said. "With this, it is set in stone that I will help you seek whatever revenge you desire. And just as all of me belongs to you," he grabbed her hand and pressed it against his lips, staring with dangerous eyes. "...all of you belong to me."
'I already knew that.' Valerie thought and closed her eyes. 'And I have no objection.'
"Make sure to keep me updated at all times," Max said as they got ready to part ways. "I can't have you dying on me yet."
"I might forget to call." Valerie honestly said, "So instead, you should be the one to call, since you're so worried that your stuff would get broken by someone else."
Max frowned. He stepped towards her and grabbed her chin, not too strong to leave a bruise and not too light either, but firm enough to stop her from turning her head away.
"I don't want to give you much liberty to walk over me, but since it's an 'equal' relationship, I guess I'll have to bear your indifference and arrogance. But boy will it be fun to break you out of it." His lips curled up in a crazy smirk. "I'm make a hell of a mess outta ya, Valerie. You better look forward to it."
'He's being childish again.'
She could see the thrill in his eyes. A little boy who was given an indestructible toy, ready to test its limits till he finally found it. That was how he looked to her.
He was an excited child. But he better be careful... Because once he succeeded in breaking the toy, that would be the end of it. He could never revert it to its former form.
And unlike the toy in this context, which can be replaced at any time, she, the object of his excitement, could not be replaced by another. So he has to be extra careful when dealing with her.
How was she to explain this to him without coming off as a complaining spouse? He had the right to punish her if she complained even a little bit.
Sigh. She looked up at the sky. It was clear blue. A perfect day with perfect weather, perfect to burst so many people's excited bubbles.
And that was how she made her way to the mansion and interrupted the funeral, belittling the people who were present with her mocking gaze and overbearing personality and ended up with a bruised cheek and torn lip.
"Frankie," Valerie called after changing into something comfortable. "...when I arrived, did I look anything like an angel?" She asked and a confused Frankie blinked her eyes, confused.
"Pardon me, what was that?"
Valerie shook her head. Why was she keeping such a thing in her head anyway?
"It's nothing." She said. "Anyway, did you get the cameras?"
"Yes, Miss." Frankie answered. "I already set them up in every corner of your room to capture all angles and the bathroom included, just as you ordered."
"Good. I don't know what they may plan out for me so I best have enough evidence to prove myself when the time comes." She said, and Frankie nodded, understanding her perfectly.
This house was filled with lions who all wanted to tear her to pieces. They were extremely dangerous and though sometimes predictable, their predicted actions could not always be avoided.
So it was best to have evidence in her hand.
She thought of this after the tampered brake incident. If there had been a secret camera to capture the culprit when he was tampering with the brakes, she could've gotten one more piece against her uncle.
"Is there anyone left?" She asked and Frankie nodded.
"There are two."
"I need you to position them in front of my door so that they can capture the left and right side of the hallway. Can you do that?" She asked and Frankie nodded.
"Yes, Miss, leave it to me."
The cameras were all connected to two memory drives. One was Valerie's phone and the other was her laptop which she always kept hidden.
She hardly took out her laptop and only brought it out when she needed to work or add more evidence to it. Aside from that, she made sure to hide it in the secret compartment in her wardrobe at all times. Not even Frankie knew about the secret compartment.
It wasn't that she did not trust Frankie. It would be better if there was no one in the know of this secret, than having one or two people know about it. It was dangerous. And that was because her laptop held too many secret deeds that she had been compiling for years.
Leaving her room in the middle of the night when almost everyone was asleep, Valerie passed through her uncle's room, only to overhear his conversation through his partially closed door.
"How is it that no one was able to detect when she was coming into the country?" He yelled at his phone. "What? You're going to tell me she grew wings and flew in? Is that it? What the hell do I pay you for if you can't monitor a little girl?"
Valerie stifled a laugh and walked past. It was this little girl that would bring about his downfall someday.
She lifted her head and saw Lily coming from the opposite direction. Lily gritted her teeth in contempt, looking like an inferior kitty as she glared at Valerie, while Valerie smirked.
As she walked past, she said,
"You can keep playing the protagonist, I'll be sure to play the antagonist really well."