Chapter 22: The Beginning.
“I would think about it” Valerie replies smiling. “I just don’t want her to start feeling uncomfortable around me because I talk about you with her”
“You don’t have to say it like you plan it, just chip it in.”
“You’re right”
“You’ve grown close,” he said, half-curious, half-surprised.
Valerie smirked softly, reaching for the teacup she had set down earlier. “Recently,” she answered. “She has a calmness about her—a quiet strength.”
Darius nodded, a trace of longing seeping into his features. He stepped toward the window, his hands behind his back. The sunlight painted his profile in gold.
“Perhaps I could give her something. Something grand.”
Valerie set the cup down, folding her hands in her lap. “Darius,” she said sternly, but kindly, “life isn’t about
