|| VALENTINA's POV ||
" SIT DOWN, VALENTINA!", Mr.King voiced, pointing at the couch behind me. I had no idea why I was being called here. Just in the morning, I was heading for my store. His black armed bodyguards appeared out of nowhere and told me that Mr.King was expecting my arrival. Everything happened so quickly that I had no time to call Lorenzo to inform. I hoped that he had found out about it already.
I wasn't hoping to meet Mr.King today. Although I saw how kind father he was that night in the hospital, his gaze on me didn't give me any good vibe. Oddly, my heart was thumping wild against my ribcage. Smiling, I took the seat opposite him, trying to act cool,
" You called me, Mr. King."
Silence was the only answer that I got from him. My eyes pushed up to glance around the office. I must say that his office was far bigger than Lorenzo's office. No wonder, he was called the king of the town. His company was one of the biggest in the country.
Mr.King didn't give any answer from my curiosity. Pulling out something from his pocket, he signed it immediately before pushing it towards me. Only then, I saw that it was a bank check, worth a million dollars. I lost the minimum calmness that I had. Stumbling on my words, I asked him with a frown,
" I...I don't understand.."
Mr.King opened his mouth finally, his overbearing tone echoing inside the empty office,
" You don't understand? You dare to ask me. What have you done at our business place last night? Our clients have watched you with their own eyes. What a shame to the family! After everything, do you think that you deserve to be with Lorenzo? Take this money and go away from Lorenzo."
Tears welled up my eyes to hear his bickering voice. I never felt so ashamed of myself but at the same time, I wasn't at fault. I was pretty sure that someone else was playing behind the scandal. I was only sipping juice. I had no idea how the hell I became drunk after a few shots.
I clutched my clothes tightly underneath my fists. After taking a few breaths, I attempted to tell him the truth,
" I had been set up by someone, Mr.King. I had no hands on it. I am very sure that I was drinking juice only."
" SHUT UP!", his voice yelled back at me, stopping me from talking further. He continued bickering in a disgusted voice,
" Do you think that I don't know about it? You have done it in the past as well. Lorenzo is losing his face everyday because of you. Take this money and get out of my son's life. You heard me?"
I started to get raged by his words. He didn't give me a chance to explain and already placed the blames on me. After a while, I blurted strongly, unaffected by his words of threat,
" Mr.King! Whether I am leaving Lorenzo or not, the matter is completely private between us. I don't want anyone else to tell me why should I leave Lorenzo. I have done the same mistake in the past and hurt Lorenzo deeply. I can't do it again without Lorenzo's acknowledgement. Thank you!"
I attempted to walk away but Mr.king's voice just erupted like a volcano. He shouted at me furiously,
" How dare you disobey me? Do you have any idea what can I do to you, Woman? Don't be so delusional to think that I won't do anything to you just because you are Lorenzo's girlfriend. I will make sure that you disappear from this city today."
Right after, he said those words, someone barged through the doorway. It was none other than, Lorenzo, my knight armor. He was wearing the same white suit that he wore today. I assumed that he had rushed from the office straight here. Ignoring his father's death glare,he came up to check on me first. Seriously! Did he think that his father could hurt me?
Mr.King shouted at Lorenzo, trembling in rage,
" You...how can you walk into my office without knocking? Is this how you respect your father?"
Lorenzo sneered back, helping me to stand on my feet,
" Just like the way, you invited my girlfriend here without my permission. I knew that you are upto something."
Mr.King didn't try to defy his action. He said in a loud voice,
" Did I kill her? You sound like I was going to kill her if you didn't come here. I am helping you to get rid of your biggest obstacle, Lorenzo. Listen to me, leave her right away. Do you know what those businessmen are talking about you? They are saying that you have been bewitched. She doesn't deserve you. If she cared about your image, she would have never gotten drunk at your own bar to ruin your reputation."
I held back the cries in my heart. Each words were hitting deep in my heart but I stood there stubbornly for the sake of Lorenzo. Lorenzo didn't refute anything. The following moment, he threw off some pictures in front of Mr.King aggressively. His voice was high-pitched, bouncing against the high walls,
" Watch your tongue, Father! You are blaming my woman blindly without judging the truth. Are you that blind to think that Valentina has done everything to ruin my fame? Look at those fucking pictures! It was your dearest daughter-in-law who spiked her drink. Valentina was having fruit juice. She thought that she was smart for deleting the video footages. But the fool didn't know that there was also hidden camera in the bar."
I gasped hard in shock and disbelief!
Jenny???
Yes, I remembered how terrible she looked in the bar. But never in my imagination, I thought that she would target me as well. After all, she didn't seem so evil-minded to me.
Who would have thought that she was faking everything behind her pretty face?
My eyes dropped down to see the clear pictures. At one picture, Jenny looked like friendly, chatting with the staff. In reality, she was actually distracting them from the glass. While chatting, she dropped a tablet in the juice. The image was vivid and clear, enough to turn me numb at the spot.
My baby could have died because of it. Thankfully, my baby was a lucky star.
Mr.King seemed to fall speechless, his mouth turning open wide in shock. Lorenzo continued with a sneer, flashing glares to his father,
" You better pray that she is still taking her breath. If she wasn't pregnant, I would have dragged her here to tell the truth from her own mouth. Thankfully, I am not that heartless. Also, stop bullying my girlfriend from now on or else I don't know what I will do."
Mr.King retorted with a tight frown, not liking the way his son was supporting me obviously,
" But she had done it before. What if she keeps doing it every single day? Lorenzo, you don't want to loose your hard earned reputation because of her. Do you? I will take care of Jenny but you can't deny the fact that living with her is a huge risk for your career. She is wild, untamed which doesn't go with your character."
Lorenzo rebuked, tightening his arms around me,
" She won't do it ever unless she is tricked by someone again."
Mr.King replied with a snort, not believing,
" How are you so damn sure? She is still young and can't understand many things."
Lorenzo cut him off with a few words coldly,
" Because Valentina is pregnant too. She wouldn't do anything to harm the baby."