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He stands up slowly and walks around the desk until he’s standing in front of me. The air between us crackles with tension.
“I can’t keep second-guessing every moment we share,” I say softly. “I need clarity—honesty—from you.”
Valen reaches out and gently cups my face in his hands. His touch is warm and grounding.
“What do you need to know?” he asks, his voice steady.
“Everything,” I reply. “Is there anything else about your past you haven’t been truthful about? Any enemies that might come for you? Any... crosses with the law that might end with you in jail?”
He lets out a slow breath, his gaze unwavering. “I have many enemies, both in business and politics. But they’re weak. Nothing I have any fear for, and neither should you.”
His words are meant to reassure me, but they only scratch the surface of my doubts. “And your past?” I press, needing more. “Have you told me everything?”
Valen swallows hard, his jaw tightening for a moment before he speaks. “No,” he admits quietly. “I haven’t told you everything.”
I feel a pang of apprehension but nod for him to continue.
“When I was very young,” he begins, his voice taking on a distant quality, “my first business venture was selling candy door to door. I was always a little entrepreneur. Innocent enough, right?”
I nod again, feeling the tension coil tighter inside me.
“One day,” he continues, his eyes darkening with the memory, “I stumbled on a crime syndicate. They saw potential in me and got me into running drugs instead.”
My breath catches at the revelation, but I stay silent, urging him to go on with my eyes.
“I was good at it,” he says bitterly. “Too good. A child can't hide that kind of money for long. My mother found out and tried to intervene.”
He pauses, the weight of his next words hanging heavy in the air between us.
“They killed her,” he says finally, his voice barely above a whisper. “The syndicate killed her because she tried to protect me.”
The room seems to shrink around us as the gravity of his confession sinks in. My heart aches for him—for the child he once was and the pain he’s carried all these years.
“My family always blamed me for it,” Valen continues, his voice tight with emotion. “And so did I.”
Tears sting my eyes as I reach up to touch his face gently. “Valen...”
He shakes his head slightly but doesn’t pull away from my touch. “It’s why my father and older brother were terrible to me,” he says, his green eyes filled with anguish. “They saw me as the reason for her death.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, my heart breaking for him.
“I’ve spent my life trying to make amends,” he says quietly. “Trying to be better than what they saw in me. But making change takes money, and in order to get enough of it, your hands get dirty.”
I step closer, feeling the need to offer him comfort despite my own turmoil. "You're not that person anymore," I say softly.
He looks down at me with such intensity that it takes my breath away. "I know," he says quietly. "But it doesn't erase what happened."
We stand there in silence for a moment, the weight of his confession hanging between us like a dark cloud.
"Thank you," I say finally, my voice trembling with emotion.
"For what?" he asks, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"For trusting me enough to tell me," I reply simply.
Valen's expression softens slightly as he reaches up to gently brush a tear from my cheek. "You deserve the truth," he says quietly.
"And now?" I ask tentatively.
