Valentina's POV
The clock on my nightstand read 5:00 AM. I had been awake for a while, but I did not get up.
For months I had jumped out of bed at this hour, made his coffee, left notes on his desk, worn the dresses he approved and smiled at him when he ignored me but not again.
I stayed under the covers, staring at the ceiling, white and empty above me, as my hands wanted to move, wanted to get up, wanted to find something to do for him the way they always did.
"No," I whispered as I pressed my hands flat into the mattress.
At six thirty I finally got up and walked to the bathroom, standing in front of the mirror for a long moment.
Dark circles sat beneath my eyes and my cheeks were hollow, but my eyes looked different, as something in them had hardened overnight.
I dressed in th
