The Woman With An Ice Heart

Chapter Sixteen

Valerie's POV (EdItEd)

My face went blank on him, but I was thinking about a lot of things at that moment.

How had he found out? What did he think of me now?

"How did you find out?"

I looked at him and his face showed that he was very saddened by the discovery, that he was not expecting what he found. I couldn't blame him. We covered it up at court so that my name wouldn't get out, and the names of the other two girls.

"I told my PI to look into him. I wanted to know what kind of man we were dealing with."

I shook my head.

"No, Max. The man that I'm dealing with."

Something flashed across his face.

Hurt? Turmoil?I didn't quite register it.

Just then, I felt something touch my hand. I looked down to see Max taking my hand and intertwining his fingers with mine.

I looked up to see him looking at me with determination in his eyes.

"Valerie, I know that it might seem like it's your own battle, but you don't have to fight it alone. Not anymore. You have me now, and Claire too. Your mother and Mason are also here. We can do this together."

I shook my head. I don't want them to be involved in this. I couldn't bear the notion of someone else getting in trouble because of me.

"Max, I'm fine. It's okay. I can do this on my own."

He shook his head this time.

"No, Vee. It's not okay, you're not fine. I know for a fact that whatever is happening and whatever happened to you still affects you up till this day."

I took in a deep breath and took it out. They didn't understand. He didn't understand. I shook my hand out of his intertwining grasp.

"Max, it's not you who was rapped, beaten and hurt. It's not you who had to go to different therapists without getting the peace they wanted, who has endless nightmares about the nights. It's not you who didn't make friends in high school, who isolated themselves from others thinking and feeling like they didn't belong. It's ME!! So if you're saying that this is your war too, then I'm sorry to say that it is not, and it never will be!!!"

I took a step back about to close the door, when a foot stopped the door from closing.

"Valerie, I know that I might never understand it up to that level, but I want you to know that you can come to me, to any one of us with your problems. This time, whether you want it or not...."

He walked into the room until he was in front of me.

"... I'm gonna be here, by your side, every step of the way. You have friends now that are never going to hurt you, ever again because we care about you and we fight for those we care about, through thick and thin."

He surprised me with a hug. It was firm, yet very comforting at the same time. As I was digesting his words, I felt something wet go down my cheek. I wiped it off to realize that it was coming from my eyes.

More and more tears came and I couldn't hold them in anymore. All the pain I'd felt as I grew up, the loneliness, the anger, the self hate, the loathing. I just couldn't.

I began to let out huge sobs while I clung onto his shirt. His cologne of lemon and honey provided an aura of comfort for me, which only made me shed more tears.

I talked to my mother during those days after seeing the therapist. I didn't feel anything, I didn't say anything to anyone. I just woke up and did everything I did on a usual basis. I didn't feel anything at that time, I felt completely numb. I guess the emotions I felt at that time were too much for my body to bear.