Changing the Script

The private room felt suffocating, heavy with the scent of expensive cologne and spilled alcohol. Desmond audaciously bringing another woman to the private party was shocking enough, a calculated insult designed to provoke. The pulsating bass of the club's music seemed to fade into the background as everyone in the lavish lounge held their breath, waiting for the inevitable explosion. They aggressively anticipated a scene. They expected Valerie to scream, to throw a drink, to shatter crystal against the polished mahogany tables, or to collapse into a hysterical tantrum right there on the plush carpet.

Instead, Valerie’s complete, stony lack of reaction stunned the crowded room even more. She did not even look at the new couple. She kept her calm, focused eyes solely on her brother, Nolan.

She knew exactly what was supposed to happen next. In her previous life, this exact moment had been the catalyst for a disaster that spiraled out of control. Vividly remembering the past, she recalled how a vicious, drunken brawl over Vanessa tonight had permanently ruined Nolan’s reputation. In that tragic timeline, Nolan had thrown the first punch, blinded by a misguided sense of protective fury over his sister's honor. Desmond had hit back with ruthless precision. Desmond had beaten Nolan to the floor, leaving him bloodied and humiliated in front of Cresthaven's elite crowd. Vanessa had stood over Nolan and loudly declared her preference for Desmond. That single night had artificially bolstered Vanessa's saintly image, turning her into the ultimate prize, while painting Nolan as a pathetic, obsessed loser. The ensuing rumors had poisoned Nolan's future, causing endless, petty jealousy in his eventual marriage to Camilla Winslow.

Valerie watched Nolan’s posture stiffen. His jaw tightened. His hand slowly clenched into a fist on his knee, the knuckles turning stark white. He was shaking with quiet rage.

Valerie reached out slowly and gently covered his trembling, clenched fist with her palm. Her touch was firm and grounding.

'Even if it's only for Camilla's sake, I gotta stop Nolan from doing something stupid this time,' she intensely muses to herself, anchoring him to the present.

She pressed her fingers over his knuckles, refusing to let him rise from the leather sofa. Nolan looked down at her hand, his stormy expression faltering just a fraction as the warmth of her grip seeped into his skin.

Tobias leaned forward from across the table. He noticed her unwavering, protective focus on her brother rather than the new couple. He could not resist prodding the silent beast.

"Wow, you and your brother are really close."

The sneer in Tobias's voice was loud enough to cut through the muted bass of the club’s sound system, drawing the attention of the surrounding sycophants. They waited for Valerie to snap.

Valerie slowly turns her head and shoots him a glare so cold and piercing it makes him falter. Tobias swallowed hard and leaned back against the cushions, suddenly finding the amber liquid in his glass fascinating. His usual bravado evaporated under her dead-eyed stare.

Abruptly, Nolan stands up, his jaw tight. His massive frame blocked the view of the doorway. He drains his glass of liquor in one violent swallow, slamming the heavy crystal back onto the table with a sharp crack. He reaches down and pulls Valerie firmly to her feet.

"Something came up at home. Gotta leave now."

He announces loudly to the silent room. He did not wait for a response. He physically dragging her out without sparing a single, fleeting glance at Desmond or the woman standing beside him.

The heavy brass doors swung shut behind them, cutting off the suffocating tension of the lounge.

In their wake, the opulent private room immediately buzzes with disbelief and cruel gossip. The silence shattered into a dozen overlapping voices. Vanessa and Tobias confidently assume Valerie is pathetically running away to complain to Desmond's powerful grandfather, Wallace Bancroft. Vanessa felt a knot of genuine anxiety twist in her stomach, worried that the powerful patriarch would intervene on Valerie's behalf.

Desmond remained standing near the entrance. Utterly unbothered by her dramatic exit, Desmond simply squeezes Vanessa's hand tighter. His thumb brushed over her knuckles in a soothing motion.

"It's fine. I'm here."

He reassures her with a low, protective hum. His words brought a relieved smile to Vanessa's face, though her eyes kept darting back to the closed double doors.

Over the next few agonizing days, Desmond's elite circle braces for Valerie’s inevitable, hysterical, world-ending breakdown. They stalked her social media and texted their informants, expecting news of a public meltdown.

Instead, she completely vanishes from their world.

Without shedding a single tear or causing a single scene, Valerie quietly boards a flight and goes abroad to Aldoria, leaving the toxic gossip of Cresthaven far behind. Back home, Nolan calmly goes on a pre-arranged blind date with Camilla Winslow, showing no signs of the heartbreak or rage the gossipmongers had predicted.

Months passed in quiet rhythm.

While casually grocery shopping in a foreign market months later, Valerie stood in the produce aisle, comparing the prices of organic bell peppers. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting a sterile glow over the vibrant displays of fresh food. Her phone vibrated in her coat pocket, displaying an international number she recognized instantly. She receives an international call from a deeply skeptical Sabrina.

"Girl, I thought you'd cry in my arms... How did you just leave the country without a sound?"

Sabrina asks, the confusion heavy in her voice.

Valerie smiles softly, staring at the fresh produce. She picked up a bright red pepper and placed it into her shopping basket.

"I planned this graduation trip ages ago. I am rigorously preparing to work at the Ellsworth Group."

She patiently explains, her voice steady and light.

Sabrina let out a loud, ringing laugh on the other end of the line, clearly dismissing the notion of Valerie prioritizing work over her obsession.

"I bet you won't last a week at work before coming back. Then you will just marry Desmond after grad school like you always planned."

Valerie's posture stiffens, her resolve hardening into steel. The soft smile vanished from her lips. The casual joke brought a sudden, violent rush of memories crashing into her mind. Remembering the tragic, blood-soaked deaths of her father and brother in her past life—slaughtered all because she had blindly trusted the wrong people—she felt a familiar ache in her chest. She remembered standing in the rain, staring at their graves, knowing she had handed her heart and her family's future over to a man who watched them burn. The pain cut deep. She was no longer the love-crazed fool who lived and breathed for Desmond Bancroft.

She grips the phone tight enough to turn her knuckles white and replies with unshakable firmness.

"That won't happen. I don't like him at all anymore. I promise."

Sabrina went quiet for a moment, stunned by the cold certainty in Valerie's voice.

For six grueling, silent months, while oblivious outsiders assume she is pitifully nursing a broken heart in exile, Valerie was building an empire in the shadows. She secretly founds an aggressive investment firm. She set up her base of operations in a modest office near Oakridge University, dedicating every waking hour to market research and networking. She pouring every cent of her personal savings—the money her parents sent and her own hoarded allowance—into heavily recruiting brilliant, hungry college students who she knows will become future top-tier engineers.

She offered them generous contracts and endless support. She spoke with undeniable conviction, drawing them into her vision of the future. She worked until her eyes burned and her head pounded, analyzing market trends and securing patents, refusing to take a single day off. By the time her self-imposed exile came to an end, she had secured a roster of unparalleled talent that would eventually rival the biggest tech corporations back home.

Returning home half a year later with an air of absolute maturity, Valerie finally walked through the front doors of the Ellsworth estate. The frantic, obsessive energy that used to cling to her like a second skin was gone, replaced by a calm, calculated grace that commanded attention.

Her family gathered in the spacious living room to welcome her back. The atmosphere was joyful and loud, a stark contrast to the cold isolation she had endured. Valerie opened her suitcase and presents her joyful family with expensive gifts she had brought back from Aldoria. She handed her mother a luxurious silk scarf and placed a custom-tailored suit jacket over her father's armchair.

She reached into her bag one last time and pulled out a small velvet box. She casually tossing Nolan a delicate piece of jewelry specifically meant for Camilla. Nolan caught it with one hand, looking down at the sparkling necklace inside with blatant confusion.

"I haven't even given Camilla anything yet. You are beating me to it?"

Valerie crossed her arms and leaned against the sofa.

"Give it to Camilla in your name. She might love you a little more."

She teases, watching his cheeks flush a deep shade of red. Nolan cleared his throat and shoved the velvet box into his pocket, avoiding his sister’s teasing gaze.

Her father, Richard, picked up the suit jacket. He ran his hand over the fine material, admiring the craftsmanship, but then he tries to gently hand his expensive gift back to her.

"Your mom and I don't need gifts. Give these to Desmond's parents. We don't need anything."

He insists, completely out of touch with the reality of the social circle. He still lived in a world where the Bancroft and Ellsworth families were destined to merge, oblivious to the humiliation his daughter had faced.

Nolan stepped forward, his protective instincts flaring up instantly.

"Desmond is actively and publicly dating Vanessa now. Valerie doesn't need to kiss up to his parents anymore."

Despite Nolan angrily arguing that Desmond was parading another woman around town, Richard stubbornly dismisses the highly publicized relationship as mere childish rumors.

"There are rumors, sure, but we haven't heard Desmond say anything himself about what is really going on with Vanessa. Until he speaks, it is all childish gossip."

Not wanting to spark a pointless argument with her stubborn father, Valerie let out a quiet scoff. The man meant well, but his naive optimism had cost them everything in her previous life. She lies with practiced calm.

"I bought something else for them. These are for you. Keep them."

Richard smiled and finally accepted the gift, satisfied with her answer.

In absolute truth, there are no gifts, no cards, and no apologies meant for the Bancrofts. Valerie had not spent a single dime or a single second thinking about Desmond’s family during her time in Aldoria. She is entirely done pouring her soul into a cold man who gives absolutely nothing back. In her past life, she had catered to Desmond's every whim. She had picked out his clothes, bought him endless presents, and meticulously cared for his parents while treating her own father like an afterthought. She had never bought Richard so much as a cheap tie, yet she had bled herself dry for the Bancrofts.

She refuses to ever again ignore her own family's well-being for his sake. Her loyalty now belonged solely to the Ellsworths.

She stood in the center of the living room, listening to the warm laughter of her mother and brother. The sound grounded her. Now that six long months have passed and Desmond's parents surely know the undeniable reality of Vanessa's existence in his life, Valerie knows exactly what she has to do to finally sever the chain that bound her to her tragic past. The illusion of the Bancroft-Ellsworth union was shattered in the eyes of the public.

The timing was finally right.

Valerie meticulously plans to go to Desmond's house. She would look his haughty mother, Miriam, right in the eye. She would explain the irreparably broken engagement clearly to his haughty mother, offering no room for negotiation or manipulation, and end things for good.