She followed them closely, determined to find out whatever it was they were hiding.
She walked towards the corner they turned, and lo and behold, there was a hidden emergency staircase right there. She climbed down the stairs, her feets aching in the tight constraints of the heels, and moved towards the door.
Just as she was reaching for the door to open, she heard their voices and in her quest to duck behind the dark shadows, she hit her legs on the door causing them to go silent.
She swallowed nervously and didn't dare make a sound where she was.
"Fuck, did you hear that? Are we being followed? Who is there?
"No, I didn't. Stop being paranoid, I paid the reporters to leave me alone and not publish any negative news unless it is about your wife really". Julliette retorted and they both chuckled, causing Val to gasp almost loudly, using her hand to cover her mouth. She could not believe Seb stood there and allowed her to do all that without saying otherwise.
For some minutes, she didn't hear any other thing so she peeked out from behind the dark shadows and just in time, caught a car driving off into the darkness of the night.
Just then, Seb's name flashed across her phone, he had dropped a message for her, "The chauffeur will drop you off whenever you are ready", a short and cold message.
Hurriedly, she walked out towards the door, called a cab and asked him to follow theirs. The roads were silent and almost empty, so it was not hard to trail behind them.
Once the car moved, she sent a text to Lila to tell her she left already, "Babes,I suddenly felt sick, so I had to leave. Have fun for two and yes, I will be fine. Don't worry your pretty head about me, it's probably just a stomach bug".
When she had done that, she curled into the seat of the couch and sighed heavily, her mind wandering.
For any woman, she knew it was either one or two things she was about to see. Who was she kidding? Just one, and she dreaded that fact. She tried to shove that feeling down her mind, and was hoping they had an excuse for leaving like that, an excuse that shouldn't be what she thought it was…
"Ma'am, we are here", the voice of the man driving brought her out of her daydreaming state.
"Oh, thank you, I didn't notice that", she smiled at him and left after paying.
She checked the building in her front and immediately concluded that it was a luxurious hotel. "UN LUGAR DE GOZO" was boldly unscripted at the top of the building.
She mentally patted herself in the back for paying attention in Spanish class. The words translated to 'a place of pleasure', and that told her all she needed to know. Still, she walked into the building to see things for herself. If she wanted to break free from Seb, she needed concrete evidence. And as painful as it was, she had to see things for herself.
'Wow'. The exterior didn't prepare her for the interior she walked into. The beauty of the design and the arts that decorated the walls of the hotel almost had her loosing focus for a slight minute. When she had composed herself, she hid herself behind one of the tall vases, silently praying no one would see her or question her as that would alert Sebastian.
She had seen them entering earlier at the lobby, but they had maintained a reasonable distance among themselves. Julliette had walked in earlier with Seb trailing behind a few minutes later, his eyes roaming everywhere. Soon enough, he entered the elevator and also headed for the same floor as Julliette.
'Humph, you couldn't pay the reporters here too? She thought bitterly in her head.
Once the elevator moved, she repeatedly said the number she had saw them input in her head and waited for the elevatorto arrive.
The elevator arrived in no time, and she go into it, pressing the button for the 6th floor. In no time, the elevator pinged letting her know she had arrived her floor.
Her heels in hand -which she had removed earlier-, she walked towards the end of the floor hoping to catch a glimpse of them. Sure enough, the gigling sounds, rushed breathing and clanking of belt from behind one of the doors caught her attention.
"Shhh, we do not want to be thrown out now, do we? That was Seb's voice, and it gave her all the confirmation she needed. She rushed back to the elevator, he hands placed tightly over her mouth to muffle her sobs.
Outside the hotel, she got into a taxi and sobbed silently throughout the drive back to the house. Once she had paid, she walked into the house and sat on the couch dejected.
Val looked around the house again and for the first time since she married Seb, wailed bitterly and loudly. The warmth that was in the house had faded over time and was now replaced with a vacant space that has been filled with anger and all sorts. She knew she shouldn't stay any more, but that was not a thing for this night. All she needed was her best friend, and ice cream.
Sniffing loudly, she called Lila.
"Babes, I was just about calling. How's your stomach? Was it something you ate?
With her hoarse and croaky voice, "the bug was Seb and Julliette. I need you, and please get ice cream in your way", was her response.
Lila nodded in understanding, and with a promise to be there in no time, she ended the call.
Whilst waiting for her friend to arrive, she went up into her room to remover her dress and have a bath. Her mascara had smeared all over her face from crying, and she was sweating.
Just as finished, the doorbell rang.