Valerie

by Richa Resa

  "It hurts, dad. It hurts so damn much, that it is even hard for me to..... breathe. He never loved..... me. No... one ever loved... me." I said in ragged breaths. I wanted to cry out so fucking loud, but I just couldn't. It was hard to even bring tears to my eyes. I had cried for that man so much already. I had cried for love and heartbreak. What was I to cry for now?

  "Val, who is it? Who are you talking about?" He asked, shaking me. I could see anger overpowering his worry.

  "Aid...en" I whispered. My eyes welled with a few tears. His body stiffened, and before I know it, my father was crushing me into a hug.

  "I’m going to kill him!" He roared while holding me tight.

  "He is never going to see you again." He seethed in anger. "I will make sure of it. No one is going to hurt you anymore, baby girl." Those were the last words I heard, before losing myself under the pain and stress. Everything turned grey, and then darkness came over me. I lost myself in the nothingness. There was nothing left of me.

  ****************************************************

  "Tell me where he is, Shay?" I could hear my dad yelling.

  "I think you should cool down, Mr. Caulfield. I know she is hurt, but-" Shay spoke.

  "I can't fucking calm down, Shay. Do you even have any idea of her condition when she came home? She looked like she was dead inside. She didn't react to me yelling and shouting her name. I had to fucking slap her to get her attention. She looked so freaking brittle and broken. Her eyes were red and puffy. She looked nothing better than a corpse. Do you have any idea how pathetic I felt? I couldn't help my daughter. She is in so much pain and I am here unable to do anything!" He shouted.

  "I may not have been in her life earlier, but I am here now. She is not fucking alone in this world. I’m only going to do what any other father would have done in this case. So, are you going to give me his address, or not, Shay?" There was silence, I liked it. I wanted peace. I felt so tired.

  "Okay," Shay's voice seemed so far away.

  "Carmen is coming in with her doctor. You stay here with Val. I’m going--" That was the last I could hear, before dissolving into darkness. I felt nothing. I was numb. I knew of nothing around me, but darkness. Silence and darkness. I never wanted out from it. I loved it here, a place where nothing exists, but silence.

  ************************************************

  I could feel someone breathing on my face. From the cherry smell coming off that someone, I could take a wild guess that it was Shay. It was surely not dad, he couldn't smell like cherries.

  "What are you doing, Shay?" It was Carmen's voice.

  "Doctor said that she is supposed to wake up soon, so, I am looking for any signs of her being alive or awake." Her voice boomed in my ears, making my eyes flinch.

  "Ha, she is awake" She yelled with happiness.

  "Yeah, and you are making my ears bleed. Stop hovering over me and get off." My voice came out weak, and tiresome.

  "At last, the sleeping beauty is alive!" She shrieked.

  "Shay, give her a little space," Carmen spoke. I opened up my eyes, lifting myself up on the pillows. Shay sat at the end of the bed, while Carmen was on the chair beside my bed.

  "How are you feeling, dear?" Carmen asked.

  "Fine enough," I answered.

  "That is good to know. Would you like some lemon tea?" She asked, to which I nodded.

  "Shay, would you like some?" She asked on her way out to the kitchen.

  "Yeah, it would be great." Hearing that Carmen was out of the room, Shay shifted closer to me.

  "What happened, Val?" Her face filled with concern, and worry. I looked away, rather than answering. Remembering all the things that happened in Aiden's office in a flash.

  "Don't you dare look away, Val. I know that something happened, and it wasn't good enough. I left you after lunch, alright, and something very bad happened to make you faint. So, please tell me." She pleaded. I remained silent.

  "What happened to me?" I asked.

  "Too much heartbreak took its toll on you. We told her that you had a messy breakup, and she told us, that due to a lot of emotional stress, you broke down and fainted." She replied.

  "Enough with that. Tell me what happened, Val?" She asked, once again. "I swear, I would kill someone if I have to get the answers I want." She whispered-yelled. Answers, that was what I wanted, and this is what they had done to me. Broken me beyond repair. Made me numb. I was not cold, just plain numb.

  "Val," She called out.

  "He never loved me. The first time he saw me, he thought I was Laura. He wanted me to be her, and so he pretended that I was. The first time we slept together, he pretended it was her. I didn't even exist in the relationship. In his eyes, or mind for very long. Now, when I did, he lost me, but you know the worst part is that, even now, he would choose Laura over me. He loves her, and always will. I’m just his second choice." I told her while reliving the painful past. Silence draped over us.

  "I hope your dad beats the shit out of him, or I will." She spoke out in anger. I didn't give any reaction to this. He was dead to me, and I wanted to keep him there, dead for me in memories, and even in reality. What happened to him was of no concern to me. The doorbell rang, letting us know of someone's arrival. I could hear the opening and closing of doors.

  "Here is your tea." Carmen came in with the tea. There were four mugs, meaning dad was home.

  "Your father is back. He will be joining us in a moment," She let me know. Soon, dad came rushing and enclosed me into a bear hug.

  "How are you feeling, dear?" Dad asked.

  "Well enough, Dad," I replied.

  "Good," He said kissing the top of my hair. Giving me one last hug, he took his tea and sat on the edge of the bed. In silence, we drank our tea.

  "Did you beat him good, Mr. Caulfield? Or, do I need to go and use my baseball bat?" Shay really can't stay quiet. They are like polar opposites.

  "Shay, quiet" That wasn't me, but Carmen.

  "I beat him good enough, that he needs to check into a hospital." He said, boastfully. I don't know why, but I smiled. He was my father, and he cared for me. Everyone inside the room loved me, cared for me, and worried about me. It was enough for me. Maybe this was the only love I needed.

  "You are the best, Mr. Caulfield," Shay yelled in happiness, and because she smiled, I smiled too. She was right. My father was the best I had. Small chatter filled the room. The state of me being broken not touched and left alone. I smiled with those who loved me, and for that, I was glad.

  *****************************************************

  Four days later, On Sunday....

  Sitting near the window, it was early, and I sipped my cup of coffee. Looking outside at the city, I saw everyone running and having fun. Dad had gone out for a run. It kept him healthy and gave him some extra days to live on. I was glad about the new lifestyle he had chosen. It was free of alcohol and filled with healthy fruits and vegetables. And, maybe, treats to himself of a donut or two.

  I was enjoying life in the simplest form, and I was content and happy. The constant ringing of the doorbell, however, brought a break to my enjoyment. Dad had his own key, so it wasn't him. Before my mind could think more about it, the ringing increased.

  I felt like killing whoever was at the door. One ring was enough to let anyone inside the house know someone was outside. Ringing the bell for an excessive period of time doesn't just give me the power of super speed. Why didn't people understand that? It was out of my mind. Just before reaching the door, I stopped. What if it was Aiden? My feet and body all came to a halt. My heartbeat spiked, and it wasn't due to love. It was due to hatred, yes, due to hatred. There was nothing called ‘love’ between us.

  "Volley polly, open this fucking door." Hearing that, I rolled my eyes, and all the worry inside me left. It was Shay, and she needed to remove her fucking fingers from the doorbell, or I would be locking her in my closet, with a bunch of spiders. Maybe some cockroaches and snakes too. I
smiled at my own thoughts. Clicking open the door, I looked at the brown-eyed, brunette, who stood there smiling like a cat. A cute one, at that.

  "I want to kill you and where is your key," I said, playfully, with narrowed eyes.

  "No worries, I want to bury you under my bed and I forget it as usual," She said, laughing.

  "I think you should go slow on the bell, please. It might die, from being overused." I drawled out.

  "Hey, I just wanted to make sure that you would open the door. How was I supposed to know that you were awake?" She buzzed.

  "By not coming uninvited and calling me." And to that, she rolled her eyes. She brushed past me and strolled towards my room. Closing the front door shut, I followed her. She was sprawled out on my bed like a queen, and I did the same, making her shift, to have me accommodated. Ha, I had to accommodate myself on my own bed. We laid there in silence, staring at the white ceiling.

  "You were ringing the doorbell like a maniac because you wanted to lay on my bed and stare the ceiling?" I queried. She didn't answer, and for once I was stunned, due to her silence. She is a chatterbox.

  "Do you remember what we were talking about that day at lunch? The day when Aiden confessed his sins," she asked. I dig into my mind, trying to remember what she was talking about. Then, it came to me, what she was talking about the plan of raiding Drew's house. I hadn't thought about it since that day. I had pushed myself into work. Put my personal and professional life in two different boxes. I didn't think about other things. Until now.

  "Yeah," I muttered.

  "Well, I thought all about it and came up with a plan. I even contacted a person or two, whom I think would help us out in putting our plan into action." I didn't know what to say. Did I really want to do this? What was it worth? Rather than answering her, I stayed quiet.

  "Keeping quiet won't help you." She drawled.

  "I don't know, Shay. I haven't put any thought into it."

  "Well, I think you should, Val," She turned to face me. "When did you became a mouse and go into hiding. Did you really lose yourself, and that fire inside of you?" She demanded.

  "Shay, I just can't-" She interrupted me.

  "You can't what, Val? I know you are hurt and heartbroken. You can’t just sit here, and move on, like nothing ever happened. Do you think that it will be alright? What happens next? Another girl, who looks similar to you will be trapped by Drew? From what you have told me, I don't think that he won't snoop around after marriage. I think Aiden has learned his lesson after the good bash your father gave him. Maybe he won't go looking for another Laura, but what about Drew. What happens when he goes looking for someone like you, rather than Laura. What then, Val? Would you let another woman become a victim of his?" Her questions and thoughts alarmed me. They forced me to think about it. I really didn't wish for any other woman to face what I had to face. The terrible pain I had to suffer, was never to be suffered by someone else. I didn't want anyone to be me.

  "I don't want another me out there, Shay. No one should suffer like this." My voice trembled.

  "Do you want to hear what I have in mind?" She asked, to which I nodded slowly.

  "Well, first we are not raiding his apartment anymore. From a bit of frisking around, I came to know that, that apartment slash mansion in Berkley’s you told me about, is nothing but a pet house for him. He has a mansion in the outskirts of the city. He goes there every Friday and leaves on Monday. He keeps all his prized possessions, watch, cars and everything else there, and that house is meant to be lived in after marriage." That was something new.

  "So, we wait until the marriage happens, and what are we going to do if we aren’t raiding it?" I asked. She gave me a wicked smile.

  "Laura is a frequent visitor there. And, my friend, we are going to burn down his house. Before you worry about any other things, I have it all planned out. From how to get in and get out. You know, he has a very bad attitude with his employees, and it makes things even more interesting. " Hearing her out, I grew silent. Putting his. House. Into, Flames. Somewhere deep inside my mind, I fucking loved that thought. Maybe I would find my lost fire soon enough. I surely get the gist of her idea, but there was one major thought that had me worried like hell.

  "Do we have to go jail afterward?" I asked, in a deadly serious tone.

  "Hey, I didn't get a pyrotechnic degree to get arrested. Now you have asked, I have some doubts and loopholes but to hell with it. If you go to jail, I’m coming with you!!" She yelled, happily, before embracing me into a hug. What am I going to do with her, or I should say with me? This time, I was going to leave it on God.

  God, please help us....

  Chapter 18

  Valerie

  "You know, you really look as if you are Laura right now. If someone took a closer look only then could they point out the difference? It is really hard to differentiate between you two from afar." Shay had to take it upon herself to destroy Drew's mansion. The only thing I had to do, was pose as Laura, while going to his mansion, so the security guy at the gate would let me in. He was the only one, who wasn't ready to take that chance to go against his boss. He was a loyal guy.

  Besides his driver, Jane, the housekeeper, let us in on the reason behind why they were paid handsomely, to keep their mouths shut to everyone about the fact that he cheated on Laura once or twice with some supermodel who looked more like me. When she told us that, Shay and I were pretty shocked. I tried to make an argument with her, that they might’ve looked like Laura, but she was assured that they looked like me, because they had the same eye colour and same hairstyle. When she told me all this, I was so fucking pissed. I had to step out of the restaurant to calm myself. What game was he playing? First, it was me replacing Laura in his life, now he needed someone to replace me. On top of that, he was fucking cheating. If I really would have seen him anywhere at any time, I would have strangled him without a second thought. We had Drew's housekeeper and Johnny, his head of security, on our side.

  "Yeah, but I hate it." I drawled, rolling my eyes. "Are you sure that this would work out? I mean like what if we get caught, or the bastard blames it on us? I think we are really too young to end up in jail. Can't we think of a better plan?" I really wanted to cut off Drew’s cock and shove it down his throat, but with the hanging threat of ending up in jail, I was having second thoughts.

  "Well, I wanted to talk to you about that. If we end up in jail I will be making a call to my father. Only if something like that happens, or Drew tries to wrap us into police matters." I looked at her, shocked, with eyes wide like saucers. Shay's dad was an influential man. A senator, and a man with a multi-billion-dollar company. However, since her father always wanted a son to stand by him, they grew far apart. She never knew the love of a father. Her mother divorced him, as he started blaming Shay for things that weren't under her control. He had too many affairs, but never got any more children, because he became infertile due to his cancer. He begged her mother to come back, but she didn't. Shay hated him. Ever since he had a change of heart after recovering from cancer eight years ago, he had been trying his best to make it up to her, but Shay really doesn't feel like talking to him. She hated him more than Drew or Aiden. She had told him in front of his face at times to leave her the hell alone, and that she wasn't his daughter, but he would still send her birthday gifts. She just threw them out, or sold them, to give the money to the poor. So, her going to ask her father for something, was big. Like, bigger than the whole fucking universe.

  "Let's go it's time. Now here's a recap of the plan." She hurried along.

  "Johnny has the small devices I gave him. I just have to manually activate them, after you let me in from the back door. Jane has already gone to buy groceries. Johnny is going to make sure that we remain undetected from the cameras. We will have twenty minutes before the circuits will blow up, and they will cause a fire big enough to destroy this whole world of expensive shit!" Only she could make something sound so easy. I was a fucking bundle of nerves. I re
ally hated the way I felt. I looked at her dumbfounded, while she gave me a narrowed look. If it wasn't for fucking Drew trying to find a woman looking like me, then I would have backed out, but now all I wanted to do was ruin him.

  "This is the last thing you have to do, Val. Just don't let that cunt try to ruin Laura's, yours and other innocent lives. His obsession needs to be ceased right now, and only you can do this." Shay tried to give me courage, but the fact that he might develop another Val, was what hit me. Giving her a slight nod, we both walked out of her apartment.

  ***********************************

  "Ms. Laura, what are you doing here?" The loyal asshole guard asked. Part one, that he saw me as Laura was done. Now I had to use my acting skills, and it could go one of two ways. Hell, or inside of the house.

  "My car kind of got wrecked a bit, not too far away. I had to walk in these heels for the past hour, and on top of that, my phone died too. Today has been a complete disaster. Drew really won't be happy about this." I tried to sound like Laura, but it was extremely hard. This could be the thing that would fuck up the whole plan. The guard looked at me carefully. Fuck! He might just recognize me. I started coughing, and hard. Clutching my stomach, I fake coughed badly.

  "Wa..ter ple...see," I acted as if I had a coughing fit. The guard ran towards me with water, and I snatched it from him. Unscrewing the bottle, I rapidly drunk gulps of water. A fake cough or not, I was so fucking thirsty, it felt like I was in the fucking Sahara.

  "I’m going to go inside and rest for a bit. Meanwhile, do me a favour of calling a cab. My driver will pick up my car." I didn't wait for his reply. As I made fast steps for the inside of the house.

  " And. do it as quick as you can!" I yelled, without turning back, as a sashayed down the road, towards the inside of the mansion. And, yes, I added a bit of moment to my hips. I was dancing from the inside, hoping he would rather enjoy this, and not call his boss. Shay asked me to do that, in my defence.

  As I reached the door, I saw our dear friend, Johnny, waiting for us. I smiled at him, in a ‘thank-you’ way, to which he replied with a nod. He was your typical security guy, a hunk of a man. Perfect for a night of bliss, I would say. He was Caucasian too. Shay had made sure to tell me all about him. She quoted that he was the perfect guy to get over my past. If you know what I mean.