ONE NIGHT STAND WITH HOT DUKE-Chapter 220: I don’t know what to do

Valerie did not realize that someone was watching her from afar.

The night on the northern island was quiet, filled only with the sound of the wind sweeping across the snow and the occasional soft creak of pine branches.

Valerie stood for a moment in the backyard of the wooden house after throwing away the kitchen scraps. She rubbed her cold hands together gently, then pulled her wool coat tighter around herself.

Her breath appeared faintly in the air.

She tilted her head slightly toward the sky.

The snow was still falling.

It never truly stopped in this northern land.

For a few moments, she simply stood there, enjoying the quiet she rarely had the chance to feel. From inside the house, the faint sound of Ethan and Lena talking could be heard, perhaps preparing something in the kitchen.

Valerie gave a small smile.

A simple life like this... once felt impossible to her.

But now, it was precisely in a remote place like this that she could breathe without fear.

She did not know that only a few dozen steps away from where she stood, hidden behind the shadow of a tall pine tree someone was watching her without blinking.

Demian stood there silently.

Snow slowly gathered on his shoulders, yet he did not even notice it.

His eyes never left Valerie’s figure.

As if blinking even once might make her disappear again like she had before.

Beside him, Vedseel was still holding his arm.

"Don’t move yet," he whispered.

But Demian barely heard him.

All other sounds felt distant.

The only thing he saw was Valerie.

The woman looked different from the last time he had seen her.

Thinner.

Calmer.

And somehow... farther away.

Demian felt something pressing heavily against his chest.

So close.

After all this journey he had finally found Valerie.

Yet he could not step forward.

Not now.

Vedseel was right.

If he appeared suddenly, everything might fall into chaos.

Valerie finally turned toward the house.

Before entering, she paused for a moment in front of the door, as if sensing something strange.

Her brows furrowed slightly. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

She glanced briefly toward the dark trees behind the yard.

But all she saw were the shadows of pine trees and the slow-falling snow.

There was no one there.

Valerie let out a small breath.

Then she opened the door and stepped inside the house.

The wooden door closed softly.

Behind the pine tree Demian was still standing there.

His eyes remained fixed on that small house.

The wooden door closed softly as Valerie stepped back inside the house.

The warmth from the fireplace greeted her immediately, yet strangely her body felt even colder.

Inside the room, Lena and Ethan both turned to look at her.

They stopped talking at the same time.

Valerie stood for a moment near the door, removing her gloves with slightly stiff movements.

Lena watched her with a slight frown.

"What happened?"

Valerie looked at her.

Lena’s gaze was as sharp as ever, as if she could read something even Valerie herself didn’t understand.

"You look like someone who just got frightened."

Ethan, who was standing near the table, also studied Valerie’s face.

"That’s true," he said quietly.

"Did something happen outside?"

Valerie was silent for a moment.

She didn’t even know how to explain the strange feeling that had suddenly appeared while she was in the yard earlier.

As if...

as if someone had been watching her.

But when she turned around, no one had been there.

Valerie finally shook her head slightly.

"I don’t know."

she said softly.

"I just... felt cold."

Lena and Ethan exchanged a brief glance.

Not because the answer was convincing.

But because they both knew Valerie wasn’t saying everything.

And they also knew if Valerie didn’t want to talk, no one could force her.

On a chair near the fireplace, a small baby rested in Lena’s arms.

The baby moved his tiny hands gently.

Deon.

Valerie walked closer.

She carefully took Deon from Lena’s arms.

The baby immediately calmed down once he was in his mother’s embrace.

Valerie held him tightly, as if searching for warmth.

But after that—

she didn’t sit down with them again.

Without saying anything, Valerie turned and walked toward the wooden staircase in the corner of the house.

Her steps were quiet.

Lena watched her climb to the upper floor.

Ethan saw it too.

When Valerie’s footsteps finally disappeared upstairs, Lena murmured quietly,

"She sensed something."

Ethan sighed softly.

"This island is strange."

But Lena only kept staring at the staircase for a long moment.

Meanwhile upstairs.

Valerie stood near the small window in her room.

She held Deon with one arm, while the other hand slightly pulled back the window curtain.

This was something she often did every night.

Standing there.

Quiet.

Looking at the northern sky.

Tonight, the sky was incredibly clear.

Above the vast stretch of snow, green and blue lights slowly danced across the heavens.

The aurora.

The northern lights that always made her fall silent whenever she saw them.

Valerie gazed at the sky for a long time.

Her eyes softened slightly.

"So beautiful..." she whispered quietly.

Behind the row of tall pine trees covered in snow, two figures stood in the shadows of the night.

The northern wind blew softly but sharply, carrying tiny fragments of snow that drifted through the air before settling slowly onto the frozen ground. Yet the cold seemed to mean nothing to Demian.

He stood without moving.

His gaze was fixed on a simple wooden house not far from where he stood.

The house was small. Much smaller than any place Valerie had ever lived before. There were no high walls, no iron gates, no armed guards.

Just a warm wooden house with light glowing from its windows.

And yet it was that very house that Demian could not look away from.

On the upper floor, a window cast a soft glow onto the snow-covered yard.

And behind that window a silhouette could be seen.

Someone was standing there.

The shadow of a slender figure, long hair faintly illuminated by the light inside the room.

Demian didn’t need to look closer.

He didn’t need to confirm it again.

Even from this distance even from that faint silhouette he knew.

He knew exactly who was standing behind that window.

Valerie.

His chest felt heavy.

He had traveled so far to reach this place. The frozen sea that had nearly swallowed their ship, the snowstorms that made the journey across this island feel like a nightmare, the search that had seemed endless.

And yet now Valerie was there.

Only a few dozen steps away from him.

So close that it felt like he only needed to walk across the yard and knock on the door.

But his feet did not move.

Beside him, Vedseel stood with his arms crossed over his chest. The witch was also watching the small house, though his gaze was not as intense as Demian’s.

For a while, they simply stood there in silence.

The aurora began to appear in the northern sky, green and blue lights moving slowly like a vast curtain drifting across the night.

Demian continued staring at that window.

Then at last he murmured softly.

His voice was so low it almost sounded like he was speaking to himself.

"What should I do...?"

Vedseel heard him.

He glanced briefly at Demian before looking back at the house.

"Be patient."

His answer was short.

But Demian immediately turned toward him. His gaze was sharp, filled with emotions he had long kept restrained.

"She gave birth to my child."