Frankie was a very capable person, working as an assistant and also a maid. But other than that, she had a black belt in Judo, so she was more than capable of taking care of reporters who didn't know their places.
Valerie could simply press charges against those weirdos and reporters for trespassing of personal space, but then, she'd be giving out her location for more bugs to fly around her.
She sighed but then her eyes glowed as she remembered her goal and gritted her teeth. The reason she was living like this... The reason she was living like she was the worst human on the planet... It was because of her uncle's family.
She interlocked her fingers and her face contorted in fury. She suddenly grew so angry thinking of her uncle. She would be living a normal life if not for him. If not for their greediness... If not for their plots, she wouldn't have to be a child who grew up without love or warmth and she deeply resented them for it.
She would get back at them.
All those who were supposed to support her and instead supported her evil and despicable uncle... she gritted her teeth more. They were all evil.
She would get back at them for the betrayal, and once she finds out they all had a hand in the accident... Her eyes glowed even more.
One by one, she would have her revenge but she just let them use whatever means they had to try and get rid of her... For now. Well, that is, if they could succeed.
The fact that she killed her cousin was honestly far fetched because she didn't even need to lift a finger. She wasn't that cruel. But she did let him take her car while knowing the brakes had been tampered with.
But you couldn't really blame her.
The young man wanted to use her car by all means and even when she told him he would regret it, he refused to listen to her and so she decided to be generous and let him use it. It's not her fault his father tampered her brakes, so why should she feel bothered by his death?
At least with this, her uncle would have a little more self awareness when planning something like that next time. Who knows? Next time, it could be his precious little princess, Lucy.
"Uncle, I can't give up now. You haven't given up, so why should I? You can relax while I'm away because once I'm ack, I'll take everything from you. First, I'll get back what is mine."
.....
"Miss, this is the man who bought the 'item'." Frankie whispered to Valerie, who had her arms folded, as she stared at the masked man sitting opposite her.
This man had such a cold and authoritative air that it almost felt impossible to negotiate with him but there was no way she would give up on the bracelet, so she dropped all her cards.
"State your price. I'll pay no matter what your price is." Valerie boldly stated and the man sitting opposite her, slowly uncrossed his legs and sat forward.
"Miss," he said and Valerie flinched. That voice... "What makes you so confident that you can pay the price I want?"
Valerie was silent, her fingers slowly digging into her arm, but she did not let her mood show on her face and repeated, with that same confidence she had earlier.
"Just name it. I don't believe there's anything I can't give up for that bracelet." She said,
"Hm?" The man glanced at the box sitting on the table in-between them and his lips slightly curled up. "This item seems to be something important to you. What's the story?"
"That's none of your business." Valerie harshly snapped but it was surprising how her voice still sounded calm through such harshness.
As mad and anxious as she was inside, she looked a hundred percent composed on the outside. Yet, she was boiling at the fact that she lost the bracelet to someone else and she was anxious because it felt like she knew who he was.
She hoped it was just her imagination.
The man rested his back on his chair and smirked.
"I don't want to sell it." He said and Valerie's eyes twitched.
"Why?" She demanded.
"It's because I don't like those eyes of yours." He said and this confused Valerie. What did her eyes have to do with this?
The man glanced at his assistant standing behind him and he stepped forward to take the box off the table.
"I'm afraid I'll have to retract my offer to sell 'my' item since this beautiful lady doesn't want to cooperate with me."
Valerie dug her fingers deeper into her skin but refused to lose her composure.
"What do you want? What do my eyes have to do with our transaction?" She asked but his gaze grew cold.
"I just don't like it. Do I need to come up with a reason to refuse this transaction?"
He sounded unreasonable but with that tone of his, she was able to confirm his identity and she felt even more uneasy inside.
Slowly, she parted her lips and said, "Frankie, wait outside for a moment."
"But, Miss..."
"That's an order." Valerie stated, staring at her with those eyes that said, 'I know what I'm doing'.
Frankie eyed the man with a cold and pressuring presence before going out.
"He goes out too." Valerie said, pointing at the man's assistant.
"And if I disagree?"
Valerie remained silent and the man ended up signaling his assistant to leave as well.
"It seems I caught this beautiful lady's attention." He said, got up from his seat and approached her, placed his hands on the top rail of her chair, towering over her and said, "What about me caught your fancy?"
Valerie gazed at him. His mask was beautifully crafted and sculpted to hide his face completely from view. But she was too familiar with his voice to not know who he was.
He was the only person who ever cared for her... But that was a long time ago.
"What do you want, Maximus?" She asked and he paused before grinning.
"Nothing ever gets past you." He said in annoyance as he took off his mask. "So, is this it? That's what you are attracted to? My identity? My face has always been your type, isn't it?"
His eyes grew cold again, glaring at her with such deep hatred it made her uneasy. She hated it. She hated when he looked at her with those eyes. The same eyes that used to glow in excitement when he was talking to her were now filled with so much hatred.
Why did she have to meet him here? Why did it have to be him?
She only wanted to take back what was hers. Was that too much to ask?
...