Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Camelia was so outraged at being hindered that she didn't notice the way Poppy's eyes and everyone else's widened in recognition
Whoever this jerk was, he would pay for not minding his own business.
She turned around and whipped her hand out of the bastard's hold. "You—-"
The rest of Camelia's words died in her throat.
Fuck.
The man standing in front of her was one of the heirs of Russian billionaire Fyodor Grachyov, and it went without saying that Camelia's wealth, even when combined with that of her lover Ignacio, would only amount to a fraction of the Grachyovs' wealth.
"M-Misha, isn't it?"
She was prepared to brazen it out in whatever way she could, but the younger man didn't even look at her. His gaze instead was solely focused on...Valerian's slut.
"Are you alright, Poppy?"
VALERIAN WAS ON HIS way to the airport when his phone buzzed.
Heather: I had our I.T. team keep an eye on the Internet for anything related to Poppy. This just popped up.
The link Heather sent took him straight to a short-length video, and Valerian cursed under his breath when he saw Poppy talking to his ex.
What the hell?
His mood turned from furious brooding as the shakily recorded clip showed Camelia attempting to slap Poppy and a man intervening in time. Whoever was taking the video had quickly lowered his or her camera, as if fearing the consequences of revealing the man's identity.
But when Valerian heard his name stammer out a name, it was easy to put one and one together and figure out who it was that had come to Poppy's rescue.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
It felt like the past all over again, but he strove to remind himself that Poppy and Camelia were polar opposites, and so were Misha Grachyov and Camelia's aging lover, whose source of wealth was dubious at best.
So keep your damn cool, Rossfield.
Poppy was all alone as his car cruised up the driveway. No Camelia or Grachyov on sight, but this didn't make him feel any less on edge. A part of him was determined to get Poppy talking right this moment, but when Valerian stepped out of his car, and he saw the way her eyes shone like stars upon seeing him—-
I just want you to know...I believe in you. I know you can do this. I have complete faith in you.
Valerian remembered her words, and he realized two things.
Poppy's smile faded. "Is something wrong?"
How was this girl so fucking attuned to his feelings when they had barely exchanged any words in the eight months they had been in each other's lives?
"Not something," he said tautly. "Rather, there are two things that bother me.”
Concern filled her gaze. “What is it?”
“I'm jealous."
She stared at him blankly. "Over what?"
His gaze bored through hers, and Poppy actually gasped. "M-Me?"
"A clip of Misha Grachyov coming to your rescue has been circulating on the Internet."
"W-What? H-How?"
“That’s what I’d like to know as well,” he said grimly.” How do you know Grachyov?”
“I went to the same high school he did.”
“That’s not enough for someone like Grachyov to remember you.”
“I was also in the same year as his sister’s. I was one of the few girls she was friends with.”
Valerian was not close friends with Grachyov, but even he was aware of how Misha and all the men in his family doted on Seri. Poppy’s explanation made perfect sense in light of that, but even so.
"Do you want to know the second thing that bothers the fuck out of me?"
He didn't wait for her to answer, with a part of him already bracing for the worst since even he knew his next words weren't warranted.
"I don't know how to trust you the way you trust me."
And now there was nothing to do but wait.
"Oh."
What the hell did that mean?
"Okay."
That was it? Okay?
"You're...jealous."
The way she was suddenly biting her lip hard completely gave her away, and Valerian didn't know whether to feel amused, exasperated, or amused by her one-track mind.
"Did you even hear the last thing I said?"
"You're jealous?"
“I said I have a hard time trusting you.”
“Because you’re jealous.” And this time, Poppy was clearly losing the battle against stifling her smile.
I give up, he thought.
He knew she had been joking earlier when she said she could be mysterious.
But he had meant it when he told her she wouldn't get any arguments from him.
Because it was this side of her that was a mystery to him.
His whole life was a sinking ship, and yet here she was, struggling not to show how amazed she was that he was jealous.
She even had someone like Misha fucking Grachyov charging to her side like some knight in fucking Valentino. But here she was, and the stars in her eyes had actually multiplied in the last thirty seconds.
"Poppy?"
"Yes?"
"Can I kiss you?"
He should've probably expected how she would respond to this. But he didn't, mostly because a part of him hadn't stopped reeling since standing at the top of the world in one moment and then finding himself hitting rock bottom the next.