Chasing The Vengeful Villainous Heiress-Chapter 139: You’re a joke, honestly

Chris Romaine stared at Valerie and then shifted his gaze to Max with a scrutinizing gaze. His eyebrows twitched and his lips shifted, like he was finding the man in front of him quite displeasing.

"Stop looking at him like that." Valerie demanded, frowning in anger. "I don’t know what you want but I already said that I belong to Max now."

"Oh, I heard you the first time, my dear niece. But..." he returned his scrutinizing gaze to Max. "This man... Do you really think he can protect you?"

Valerie frowned even more.

"You..."

"Whatever your plan is," Max stepped up, standing in between his wife and Chris. "...it won’t work since I’m here." Max said, staring right into Chris’ eyes.

"Ah, boy, you’ve got guts. It reminds me of an elderly man I once met a few years back." He said. "And you’ve got potential too. I’ll give you that but..." he squinted his eyes. "It’s all blind confidence. What can a cub do in the face of a lion?"

"I don’t like your attitude but I’ll give you a chance." He stretched out his hand. "Give up on my niece, get a divorce and you can continue living your life in grand style. Romaine will even support you."

"Don’t spout bullshit." Max was quick to decline. "That certainly is absurd, even for you."

"Ah, I see where my niece learned those foul words." Chris said and his eyes darkened. "So, it was you."

"You’re a joke, honestly. You’re asking me to get a divorce in exchange for Romaine’s support? Do I look like I need it? Do you take Stewart so cheaply?" He asked but Chris did not respond. Max’s eyebrows twitched and he stared in suspicion. "Or could it be that you know?"

A certain silence fell on them. The atmosphere got intense and they engaged in hardcore glares till one of them broke the stiffening silence. And

"Boy, if you don’t take the easy way now, you and your family will only come to regret it." Chris threatened and this got Valerie mad.

"Ha!" She laughed. "Let me tell you something, ’uncle’. Even if Max resolves to leave me, hates me, and wishes to keep a distance from me, I will never give him up. I will stay by his side, bear his name, and carry my head up high. I will stand before him and not falter, declare my love to him till I can rekindle his feelings. That is how deep my resolve is."

Max felt touched by the words Valerie said and wrapped his hand around her waist, drawing her to himself.

"Ah, be careful what you wish for, my dear niece. The tongue is a very powerful weapon."

"Stop with your nonsense and leave already. You’re not welcome." Valerie said, pointing at the door. "I will not change my mind."

"If you say so." Chris said and started heading for the door with his numerous guards. But then, he paused at the door, glanced over his shoulder at them, and said, "If you ever get tired and want to give up on your so-called love, you are always free to come back. I’ll make a fine spot for you in the family."

"No thanks. Please, leave."

Chris raised his hand and snapped his fingers. His guards started heading out while he took a deep long glance at Valerie.

"I wonder,"

"What is it this time?"

"How long will it take till we meet again?" He grinned and started heading out.

"What did that mean?" Valerie asked in a near mutter. She didn’t ask directly because she didn’t want him to stay for one more second.

Only the sight of him infuriated her.

"Good riddance to bad energy." Tiana exclaimed, relaxing her back on the couch. "He has some serious aura around him. It felt so suffocating."

"Tell me about it." Mariam added. "It was like sitting in the middle of a snake’s rounded tail. You’d never know when it’d strike because of its frequent hissing."

"Has it been long since he got here?" Max asked, going to sit down with Valerie.

"No, sir." Jeremy answered. "He showed up just before you walked in. It was as if he was waiting for the moment you would arrive before stepping in."

"Ugh!" Valerie exclaimed, dropping her body on the couch.

After a fun eventful day, she just had to return home to find a crazy guy in the living room. Her mood had gone sour.

"Valerie, dear, how was your outing?" Tiana asked as Valerie rubbed her neck.

"It was fine, mother." Valerie answered. "Great in fact, until just now."

"Ooh, I can see that." Tiana chuckled, spotting the ring on her finger. "You two sure enjoyed your time."

"We still had unfinished business, though." Max said, suddenly drawing Valerie closer to him with a smirk plastered on his lips. "And we were going to finish up once we got him but," his eye glazed in disinterest as he remembered Chris. "...I guess that’s ruined."

"I believe it was for the best." Mariam muttered to herself. She had a feeling what that ’unfinished’ business was all about. ’Seriously, my brother just can’t give sister Valerie a break. I guess this is what newlyweds are like.’

"Come to think of it, don’t you find this suspicious?" Tiana suddenly said and they all stared at her. "You know, that girl, what’s her name again?"

"Steph?" Mariam asked and she nodded.

"Yes. She’s a Romaine and that guy just now, he should be her uncle." Tiana mentioned.

"So, you’re saying Steph reported us to her uncle and that was why he was here?" Mariam asked.

"It’s just a speculation." Tiana shrugged.

"Well, that’s plausible." Max said. "But Chris wouldn’t have taken the trouble of coming here just to avenge his niece and do nothing in the end." He explained. "That girl probably didn’t anticipate that Valerie was also related to Romaine. So after finding out Valerie was in our party, Chris likely discarded his plans of avenging his niece and decided to meet his other niece instead."

"Oh sure, what a doting uncle he is." Valerie exclaimed as she rolled her eyes. "He gets on my nerves. How could he even make a proposition like that? I should get a divorce?" She was angry again. "It’s stupid. He’s stupid."

"Calm down, Valerie. Let’s stop thinking about it."

"Is there a way to beat Romaine?" Valerie suddenly asked. "If there is a way, let’s get to it. And if there isn’t, let’s come up with something. Anything."

They all stared at her a little surprised. Valerie wasn’t the hot-blooded type. But from her attitude since earlier, it would seem she was really pissed. She was angry and that was why she was impatient.

The thought of her parent’s killer coming up to her so shamelessly was one thing to get mad about, but then he had to come up with a stupid proposal. That crossed the line and she was past calming down.

"Perhaps taking a hot bath would ease you up." Tiana suggested, signaling Max to take her up. "The day’s taken a lot out of you. Even fun can be exhausting. So rest early."

"Mom’s right." Max said, swiping Valerie’s hair behind her ear. "Let’s go up. I’ll even massage your shoulders."

"You don’t need to try and appease me with that." Valerie said. "I’ll still go up to rest."

She got up and Max got up after her.

"I assume you two had dinner?" Tiana asked and Max nodded. "Alright then. I guess it’s goodnight."

Valerie glanced over her shoulder and nodded.

"Goodnight."

Tiana watched as they left and as soon as they were out of sight, she gave out a sigh of relief.

She felt it before but this time was even more intense. When Valerie was mad, she tended to give out a very pressuring aura. It made it hard for the people around her to communicate with her and it was also uncomfortable.

It wasn’t like she was doing it on purpose, she just didn’t contain her anger properly. Well, why should she? The age of pretending was over. Be it the pretense of a Villainess or the pretense of a calm and collected princess... She would do neither of those going forward.

If she was mad, she would let it out and if she was scared, she’d tell it to her husband. And if she was worried... she just needed to look into a brighter picture and see a way out.

And standing before Chris Romaine, Valerie let out her anger like it was a dozen bottled-up emotions. She was sure she let it all out during her wedding when she exposed Lucy and her father for the numerous crimes that she had committed, but it was still there, and this time, it was entirely different.

Standing before the man who could have potentially caused her parents’ death, whether directly or indirectly, she just couldn’t stand it.

"Are you okay?" Max asked as he brushed her back gently. He had been staring at her slumped back and did not like it. He hated it, in fact.

Valerie glanced over her shoulder to face him and gently blinked.

"Max, what would you expect me to do in this situation?" She asked and he looked into her eyes. There was a strong resolve buried in the depths of her pupils but her expression looked like she was broken in and out.

Max kissed the top of her head and hugged her.

They were together in the big bathtub, and though the tub was filled with hot water, their body heat seemed to be stronger.

"I expect you to be strong, Valerie. Be strong and don’t look down."

"Thank you." She squeezed his arms that were around her and pushed her head back to rest on him. "For being my support."