"Valeria? Are you alright?" Markos inquired with confusion seeing her terrified state. "Why is your body cold?" Tracing his hand over hers, Markos knew something was wrong the way she was shivering. Was she still crying because of Markos to gain sympathy? There was silence from the other side. His assumption shattered when Markos heard Valeria speaking.
"Please light up the room. Please, I….I am scared." In normal circumstances Markos would totally regard such a thing as an act. But the fear in her voice sounded genuine. Why was Valeria afraid of the dark? "No, no. Don't hit me, please." This time her voice was barely a whisper. Markos couldn't comprehend it at first but it appeared to be a trauma.
Something in him shattered as he heard those words. Staggering slightly with his heart stopping, Markos could feel his blood boiling. Numerous thoughts filled his head regarding her words. To whom was she referring? Who had hit her? Did Valeria have a bad experience? Was it related to her married life with Castello Karman?
However, the major question for Markos himself. Why was he feeling unsettled upon knowing that she had a tough life? It was not a justification for whatever she had done in her past. Absolutely not. How could he forgive, forget that and have sympathy for her? "Shh, it is okay. I am here for you, Valeria. Don't be afraid." His voice was shallow and soothing.
Markos hugged her tightly while Valeria's irregular breathing made him distressed. "Please….don't leave me. Please…" Valeria clutched his shirt from the chest portion tightly. Her vulnerable antics made Markos curious as to why she was behaving that way. Somewhere deep down his gut told him to focus on whatever she had been blabbering.
"Don't hit me, please. Don't…." Valeria's grip around his shirt grew into pulling. Markos began patting over her back gently while reassuring. "It's okay, Valeria. I am here, don't be scared. Nothing can harm you here." Constantly speaking to her, he back rubbed the woman until the electricity came back. Markos knew something was wrong with the electric board.
Just then the room lit up and Markos glanced at her. Valeria seemed to be in an utter shock with her eyes closed. "Valeria?" Jerking her silhouette he tried to call her name. Whereas, the woman was still holding the collar of his shirt. "Valeria!" Raising his voice, Markos yelled to make her snap out of the condition. "Come back to your senses, girl!"
Valeria looked at him, totally stunned. There was a pause as silence hovered between them. "I…I don't…" Markos held her face in both hands while trying to calm her down. "Calm down. I'm here with you, always. You can talk to me, Valeria." Nodding at her, Markos wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Making her sit on the bed to comfort Valeria.
It was the moment when Valeria leaped towards him and hugged Markos. "What happened, Valeria? Talk to me, please." His worry grew upon seeing her strong grip with shaking hands. Markos wrapped his arms while patting her back. His treatment towards her shifted into a child one. "Hey, hey. Talk to me. Who hurt you?" He threw a fluke in the air.
Valeria's sniffling resonated in the quiet room. She didn't speak anything as the silence hovered, making it awkward. Markos caressed her back, sliding his hand up at her neck. "You can trust me, Valeria. I know we haven't been on good terms since the beginning." His pitch turned into a mere whisper and then into a stern tone.
"But believe me, Valeria. I will break the hand which shall approach you with malice." Grabbing her shoulders, Markos gently pushed her to see Valeria's face. It was the moment when Markos observed a few scars reaching the base of her neck. He didn't notice them at first when she was naked. Stressing his memory Markos couldn't remember seeing them when they had sex in university.
Tracing his fingers over the scar which was faintly visible. Markos felt his stomach churning up with a restless feeling. Looking at Valeria, her tears smeared cheeks, her vulnerable state. He wanted to burn the whole darn Milan at that moment. "Tell me, please. Will you?" He insisted while wiping her tears gently.
Markos settled himself in the bed and then pulled Valeria. In a half laying position he brought her over himself. Side hugging her with a soft tone, Markos encouraged her. "I'm listening." Valeria was now laying over his chest, something in her gut told her to trust Markos. In the brief silence she reminisced about everything only to learn that Markos hadn't hurt her. Ever.
Even though he had tortured her mentally and emotionally with his presence. He didn't actually hurt her or let anything come near her ever since he came back. The torture he had given her also revolved around making Valeria remember what she had done to him. "Before you left Italy, that day I came to your place and overheard things."
"Your conversation with my dad and the way you both talked about me. I left earlier in anger when I heard you trash talking about me. When he was coming back home, dad got into an accident and died upon reaching the hospital. After that uncle took over things and business. He was in the financial crises and suddenly everything came into his hands."
Markos observed her sudden pause which was Valeria's hesitation. He could potentially comprehend what might have happened. Markos couldn't believe that his blood boiled while thinking about it. After whatever Valeria had done to him, he couldn't shake off his love for her. His grip around her shoulder subconsciously tightened.
"Being the sole heiress to the Hayden empire, he didn't want me to inherit anything. To keep me shut he used to…." Her voice became shallow, struggling to breathe and speak while stammering. "When I didn't budge he started beating me with the lights off. After that, I ran away and began to live in hiding. Luckily dad's lawyer approached me claiming that I hold a few shares in the company."