LOGINThe heavy mahogany door clicked shut, leaving Valeria in the absolute, serene silence of the luxury bathroom. For a long moment, she just stood there, leaning her back against the cool wood, listening to the faint, distant sound of Julian’s footsteps fading down the hallway. Slowly, she began to shed the heavy, exhausting layers of the day. She took off her simple black hoodie, her fitted trousers, and the rest of her clothes, leaving them in a small, neat pile on the marble countertop. Stepping onto the heated floors, she approached the massive, freestanding marble bathtub. She turned on the gold fixtures, letting the steaming, crystal clear water fill the tub, the gentle hiss of the water echoing softly off the polished walls. Valeria stepped into the tub, sinking her body completely beneath the surface. She let out a long, shaky sigh that she felt like she had been holding in for five long years. The warm water immediately sunk deep into her skin, relaxing all her tensed nerves
With a cold, decisive swipe, Julian immediately turned the phone completely off, the screen going pitch black. He tossed the device onto the marble counter like a piece of trash, cutting off his mother's access to him completely. Everywhere went silent for a second. The ticking of the grand wall clock seemed to slow down as the heavy realization of the past five years settled between them. Julian took a deep, shaky breath, holding his head in his hands for a brief moment as he processed the crushing weight of the betrayal. The silence stretched between them, thick and heavy with the ghosts of the letters that were never sent, the words that were never spoken, and the years that had been stolen from them by someone he'd trusted most. Slowly, he got up from the velvet sofa. He reached down and pulled off his heavy, customized team jersey, tossing it carelessly to the fluffy sofa without a second thought. This left him wearing only his tight black singlet, which perfectly hugged his ma
"Valeria..." Julian whispered, his voice cracking completely under the weight of the truth. He took a slow, heavy step toward her, his massive frame trembling as the reality of their stolen years fully settled into his bones. Valeria stayed perfectly still, her eyes wide, staring at the polished white marble floor. The cold expression he had worn in the locker room was entirely gone, replaced by a raw, agonizing vulnerability. She stayed quiet, her throat too tight to offer any words. "She told me you trashed my letters," Julian said, his voice dropping into a hollow, breathless register. He reached up, his large hand rubbing his face as if trying to wake up from a terrible nightmare. "The silver bracelet I bought with my very first training stipend in England, the letters I spent hours writing , I had sent them all to you through her. When I didn't hear back, I begged her to check on you. She then told me you tossed the bracelet and the papers right into a trash bin down the stre
Valeria stared up at him, her chest heaving as the weight of five years of secrets pressed heavily against her throat. The silence inside the luxurious penthouse was thick, broken only by the sound of her shaky breathing. "When I went back to your house that last time," Valeria finally began, her voice dropping to a soft, trembling whisper as she finally spilled the tea on everything that had happened, "I just wanted to know if you were okay. But your mum… she sat me down in the living room. She looked at me with this stern expression, and that’s what made it hurt so much. She told me that you were completely done with our relationship. She said you had moved on to a completely different world in England, that the pressure of your new career was immense, and that you explicitly told her you didn't want anything to do with me anymore. She said you didn't know how to tell me yourself, so she was doing it herself." Valeria paused, wiping a fresh tear from her cheek, her tone remarkab
The silence that followed inside the luxurious penthouse was so heavy it felt suffocating. Julian stood completely paralyzed, his heart hammering against his ribs as he stared down at the girl he had spent five years hating. The very next words that came out from Valeria's mouth made Julian's broad shoulders drop in absolute surprise and shock. "I never received anything, Julian," Valeria said, her voice shaking but full of a fierce, desperate certainty. She raised her hand to her chest, her fingers clutching the fabric of her hoodie. "I swear to you, on everything I hold holy, I never received a single letter from you, from your mother, or from any person. Not one." Julian felt the ground beneath his feet tilt. His mind was spinning, trying to process the sheer weight of what she was saying. "That can't be," he whispered, though his voice lacked conviction now. "She never gave them to me!" Valeria cried out, the dam finally breaking as tears began to stream down her pale cheeks.
Julian walked over to her, his footsteps echoing softly on the pristine marble floor. He stopped just a few inches away, his shadow completely enveloping her. The time for hiding was over. The penthouse was dead quiet, the world was locked outside, and the truth was finally ready to be told. He reached out, gently capturing her hands again. "Valeria," Julian urged, his voice heavy with a desperate need for answers. "Continue with what you were saying earlier on in the locker room. My mother... what did she do? What did she say to you?" Valeria looked up at him, her heart twisting painfully. After pondering for a while in silence, staring at his intense grey eyes, she slowly shook her head and disagreed. She pulled her hands back slightly. "No. You go first, Julian. Explain to me why you abandoned me in the first place. Tell me why you left without a word five years ago, before we talk about your mother." Julian was incredibly quick to cut her off, his jaw clenching as a wave of
The roar of the Ducati's engine finally died, replaced by the heavy silence of the city. Julian killed the headlights and kicked down the stand, letting the bike lean against the trunk of an old iroko tree. He was overlooking the old railway tracks. It was a lonely, overgrown place, swallowed by
Julian didn't acknowledge Ariel's presence with a look. He simply straightened his jacket, the fabric pulling over his broad shoulders as he forced the ice King persona back into place. He walked past her without a word, his stride long and purposeful, leaving her standing in the corridor. The res
The silence that followed Valeria's departure was a cold, physical thing. Julian stood paralyzed against the marble wall, his persona finally cracking under the weight of a reality he hadn't prepared for. . As soon as she was out of sight, Julian's jaw tightened with such force that a sharp pain r
The lobby of the Metropolitan Event Center felt like a massive, empty cathedral made of glass. As the heavy doors shut behind Julian, the quiet inside felt heavy. The ceremony was already starting. He could hear the polite, rhythmic clapping of the high society crowd echoing from the main hall, sig







