The Heiress’s Secret Twin

Chapter 2: In His Arms

Natalia's POV

The sun was almost setting by the time I finished cleaning up the mess Arthur had made in the sun room, with the help of one of our servants, Janice.

Janice was my nanny as a kid and had literally raised me. I never had a mother-daughter relationship with my mother, Selene.

She was either always at work, or tired from work, or never even paid any attention to me. And when Arthur was born, she was so engrossed in him that I eventually got used to being by myself .

But Janice was always there for me, she was the only one I could talk to about my hopes and dreams, and how I would someday become a famous artist.

We both knew it was all a facade.

But at least it made me happy.

I slipped into a simple red dress she had handpicked from me, I did my makeup, applied perfumes and left to meet Camille,

She was already outside my house in her car with Kendal.

“Took you long enough”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry”

“You’re always late”

“It’s almost 7, and we’ve been here forever.”

“Such a drama Queen”

I smiled.

“Well, at least her majesty is here now.”

Said Kendal.

I got into the car and Camille drove us to the city. On our way to the party, Camille turned on my favorite song, and we all started singing along.

She always knew when I was sad, and always had a way of lightening up my mood.

And for a moment, I felt free.

Free from the expectations that came with my surname.

We finally arrived at the party and the place was packed with people.

Way more than I had expected

The music was so loud I could feel it in my chest.

Camille came down from the car.

“I thought you said it was just going to be a private party.”

“Change of plans”

She grabbed my arms and led me into the building.

We got inside, and the music got louder than it already was. The room was foggy and filled with people dancing and drinking.

It wasn’t my type of gathering.

But still, I was going to have fun.

I wanted to quiet my brain and forget about my family, even if it was just for a second.

We all got drinks and headed to the dance floor.

Camille started dancing with a random stranger and Kendal was conversing with some people I presumed were from school.

I noticed someone from the other side of the room at a less crowded table staring directly at me.

I shrugged it off at first until Camille whispered to me

“That’s Adrian Valerius”

I froze.

And turned back to his table.

There he was

Standing right across from me.

Adrian Valerius.

The only child Roderick and Eleanor Valerius

The heir to the Valerius empire.

My family’s long-standing, greatest business rival.

I heard about him so many times.

From my family

From Camille and Kendal

And even the boy-crazy girls from college.

But I had never actually met him.

I quickly retracted my gaze

And focused on the real reason why I came here, to have fun.

I continued dancing with Kendal and Camille when someone bumped into me.

And my glass of wine shattered on the floor.

I let out a scream

Suddenly, I felt a strong set of arms around me just as I was about to hit the floor.

I lifted my head up to my biggest surprise.

It was him.

Adrian Valerius.

One minute I was partying

And the next I was in the arms of my greatest rival.

And somehow

It felt right.

For a moment, the room went dead silent.

And those few seconds felt like hours.

I had almost forgotten how to breathe.

I stared at him for a second, trying to grasp what had just happened.

He was the last person I expected to catch me, but there I was in the middle of the room in his arms.

The air in the room shifted.

It was as though everyone had moved their focus away from the party and directed it to us.

Their flashlights illuminated the foggy room, and I could feel their eyes almost piercing into my soul.

And then, it finally hit me.

I understood why the room went silent all of a sudden.

It wasn’t because I was in the arms of a random stranger.

No, It was because they were the arms of Adrian Valerius.

The heir to my family’s decade long rival.

And for some reason it felt so hard to let go of his embrace.

Not because I was still falling.

But because it could not shake the feeling of comfort I felt by merely being in his arms.

Every bone in my body screamed it was wrong, but instead it weirdly felt right.

Being in his arms alone logically felt like betrayal, and I found myself unable to pull away.

“The famous business rivals!!”

“Now kiss!”

A man yelled from the back.

BANG!

I quickly snapped back to reality.

I found myself on the floor.

The bastard had let go of me.

Everyone in the room burst into laughter.

“Are you okay?”

Camille and Kendal said in unison as they held my hand and helped me regain my balance.

I was beyond embarrassed.

“I’m fine”

I said with a scowl on my face as my gaze returned back to him.

The comfort I had felt from being in his arms a few moments ago had disappeared

His expression had completely changed from calmness to annoyance, the minute he realized who I was.

He didn’t drop me by accident.

It was deliberate.

I stared at him in utter disbelief as I adjusted my dress.

“What the hell was that?”

He stared at me for a second, as though he had been calculating his thoughts.

“You’re Natalia Sinclair”

“Yes”

I replied

It wasn’t a question

It was a realization.

I heard his voice for the first time, it sent a shiver of annoyance down my spine.

The infatuation I felt moments ago had disappeared, or so I thought.

It wasn’t just because I was meant to hate him for the surname he carried, but because he showed me who he really was.

A Valerius.

Cruel, proud, and cold.

And to him, my name enough reason to let me fall.

I stared at him for what felt like eternity.

Waiting for a response

A question

An expression…

Anything.

But instead he stared at me blankly with the come expression he had been giving since he realized who I was.

“You should have said so earlier”

He finally responded coldly.

And somehow his response irritated me even more than his expression.

“Then why did you catch me in the first place? You perv.”

I immediately clapped back.

He looked down at the shattered glass before turning back to me.

“My apologies”

“Next time I would let you fall”

The nerve of this man honestly surprised me.

“Wow”

“It’s one thing to be a Valerius, and it’s a completely different thing to lack empathy”

His response came with a slight smirk

“It’s not that I lack empathy, it’s just that you’re a Sinclair, and you of all people shouldn’t be talking about sympathy”

“Next time, try not to fall”

He said as he walked past me and exited the party.

As I watched his footsteps recede, I opened my mouth to respond but was completely stunned to even speak.

I looked around and everyone was still staring.

Some whispered.

Others laughed.

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

For the first time in my life, I had been silenced.

Not just by anyone, but by a Valerius.

And the only thing I could think to myself was

“Father must never know about this.”

I turned back to my friends

“Please can we leave now?”

They looked at each other and stared back at me then gave a nod of approval.

“Let’s go”

Camille wrapped her arm around me as we made our way to the exit.

The music faded as we stepped outside.

The cold night breeze hit my face and I took a sigh of relief.

“Phew!”

“At least that’s all over”

Kendal said with a slightly sarcastic tone.

“I hate him!”

I snapped

“I know baby, it’s okay”

Camille said, wrapping me in a tight hug.

“Genuinely I do hate him”

“I mean, why did he have to catch me just to let me go, he would have just let me fall in peace and saved me the embarrassment”

I stared at them with tears already building in my eyes.

This wasn’t enough reason to make me cry, but for some reason I couldn’t help it.

How could I let a Valerius insult me like that, in a room full of people.

Kendal held my hands firmly

“Forget him, he’s a loser, you’re better than that.”

“Maybe mom was right”

“Maybe I don’t have what it takes to carry on our family legacy”

Camille stared at me for a second.

“Natalia, don’t say.”

“Selene’s opinions aren’t a depiction of who you are”

“You have more than what it takes, and we believe in you”

She said wiping my tears

“Thanks guys”

“Your words mean more than you imagine”

Kendal opened the car door

“Come on, get in guys, let’s go home already”

“The party sucked anyways”

I entered the back seat and Camille drove the car while Kendal sat beside me, hugging me the entire ride back home.

It was quiet the entire ride home.

I got home and immediately hit the hay.

The chaos had finally been over.

Or so I thought

I had no reason to believe I would see Adrian Valerius’s face the next day, and that my father would be the reason why I would have to.

I was wrong.