chapter 24

Valen stares around my office. It used to be Valarie's apartment, but we converted it into office space. I found it challenging to come in here before—memories always brought back heartache—so we revamped it, and now the place doesn't haunt me. Yet, seeing Valen standing here in what used to be her home fills me with sadness. He was her son, and she loved him. Yet here he stands, unaware that this place, the hotel, used to belong to the woman who had given birth to him. What kind of man would he be if she was given a chance to raise him, I wonder? I watch him for a few seconds, and he stops at the shelving before rearranging it. My brows furrow as I watch him straighten the ornaments, making them line up; it's one thing seeing my son do odd things like that, but a grown man? His movement is robotic and strange as he rearranges the books in alphabetical order on the shelf below. However, OCD isn't a genetic probability, so it has to be a coincidence. “Why are you here? I wasn't expectin