Falling for the Chase

Episode 51: Night of Forgiveness

Episode 51: Night of Forgiveness

"You know."

Valentina could tell from the look on his face as she opened the door.

Chase knew the truth about what his aun—his mother had done.

Because of that, she didn't bother to protest as he shoved past her and made his way into the apartment.

His apartment.

He threw off his jacket then shoes and plopped himself down into the huge sofa in the middle of the living room. The way he did told her all she could know about the exhaustion his body was dealing with, whether physically or emotionally.

When his vacant eyes looked up to her, she felt herself stiffen.

"You knew."

She could hardly breathe when he pinned her down with his gaze like that.

It had her feeling sickeningly guilty even though she had done nothing to be feeling that way.

It was just the kind of weight those eyes carried.

All she did was nod.

He drew for a sharp breath as he looked ahead of him, deep in thought.

"That's what you meant that morning when we fought. The thing that you were keeping from me for my own benefit. It wasn't that you had betrayed me and was afraid of hurting me, it was that."

Valentina saw the way he struggled with saying the words.

If he could only label it with one word, she knew it affected him greatly. As it should.

No one in their right mind would be unperturbed by learning that the person you grew up to love as your mother actually wasn't.

She could only imagine the level of pain he was feeling.

Her hands twitched by her side with the need to comfort him, to hold him and tell him all the encouraging words he longed to hear to dispel his hurt.

But she couldn't.

Not when he looked as closed off as he did.

Chase looked like a stranger seated in front of her.

Not because of the way his formal clothes was crushed from god knows whatever external forces, but the way he carried himself was unlike anything she had ever seen.

He looked devoid of any type of feeling.

Initially, she knew after he found out about the news he would be devastated.

He always spoke so fondly of his mother, the one he thought was, that she knew her indirect deception would cause him a deep wound.

But she hadn't expected this.

No, she hadn't expected him to look like...

Like a zombie.

"Chase," she called out to him softly, forgetting about all the rifts between them.

His eyes looked up at her.

"Are you okay?"

She knew it was a dumb question but one that needed to be asked anyway.

"I'm fine," he uttered but it sounded more like a question than an answer.

She frowned.

"No, you're not."

Her legs made her way over to him as she took a seat across from him.

He didn't tear his gaze away from her and because of that, she started to grow a bit nervous.