Chapter 71

I wasn’t sure how late it was when Valen came in, but I felt him slip into bed beside me before snuggling into my back. Although when I woke up, he was gone, his side of the bed was cold, and I wondered what time he got up and left. I did, however, notice Valerie’s not had been opened because it sat on the bedside table. Picking it up, I placed it back in its envelope before tucking it away in the top drawer where it wouldn’t get ruined. Racing around, I quickly got dressed for work. Marcus had taken Casey to school for Zoey. She was also running around getting changed, hopping on one foot as she slipped her shoe on because both of us were already late.

Kalen had already taken Valarian to school. Kalen had sent me a picture of Valerian and him at the school gate, so the only thing I had to do today was pick him up when he finished.

In the meantime, I had never-ending work at the hotel, having fallen behind in recent days with all the added drama. With the cleanup and multiple rooms that needed cleaning after the place was packed last night, I was already exhausted just thinking about my never-ending list. With a groan,

I dragged myself down to the restaurant, knowing that was the first major task, taking inventory to order new stock in. However, Zoe came rushing in halfway through, scaring the living daylights out of me when she squealed loudly.

“Evie, come quick, you have to see this,” she gushed excitedly, waving me to follow her. I held up my notepad, but she was practically bouncing on her heels with excitement. Placing my notepad down with a sigh, I followed her into the staff lunchroom, which was packed and full of staff members as they crowded around the small TV in here when they should be working.

“What, Jesus, Zoey, I have things to do,” I whined at her when she reached over and grabbed my hand, ripping me to the front as she pushed past everyone. My feet halted when I saw the TV screen.

Looking for the remote, I noticed Sarah had it and took it from her, turning the news up. A reporter stood out in front of the rogue primary school, and huge buses were lined up along the road. The news reporter stood between them, but what was most shocking was Valen standing in the background talking to men in construction uniforms.