Chapter 16


    Another two monthster.


    Today was the day, thest inspection to say whether or not all our hard work had paid off. Macey, Zoe,


    and I watched as Vrie talked to the health and safety inspector from the balcony. He had walked


    around the entire building with his measuring tape and torch, his clipboard tucked


    under his arm and pen behind his ear as he went over every nook and cranny in this ce.


    We secretly called him the birdman. His nose looked more like a beak, his beady little eyes too far


    apart. Macey snorts when a gust of wind has him clutching his toupee. It was chocte brown and not


    even close to the greying on the sides of his head. Vrie watched over his shoulder as he wrote on


    his clipboard on the frontwn, giving the ce onest scrutinizing look before shaking his head in


    disbelief.


    He tears off the piece of paper and hands it to Vrie, who stares at it. He walks over to his red sedan


    and climbs in while Vrie stares at the form.


    “Come on, we should go see what birdman says needs doing this time, “ says Macey. Zoe and I went


    to retrieve our kids from our room, who yed happily in their ypen with their blocks. Scooping up


    Valerian, I set his feet on the ground, and we carefully walked down the steps to the ground floor. He


    started walking earlier than expected. Last month he just stood up and took his first steps. He was


    pretty smart for his age.


    Vrie is still standing in the yard, staring up at the Hotel. As we approached her, a look, I couldn’t


    decipher painted her face.


    “He said four rogue women would never aplish anything on our own without help,dies, “ Vrie


    says, and I sigh, wondering what he has told her needs fixing.


    We stop beside her and look back at the huge building. No more peeling paint, the exterior white with


    blue and light grey trims, the hedges cut to perfection, the roof painted a deep grey, flowers hung from


    the top, and flowers along the hand railings. It looked like a brand new ce.


    I lost track of the number of times doubts rained down on us, but now standing out the front looking


    upon the building a yearter. I realized all the blood, sweat, tears, and frustration, and anger when


    people refused to help, were all worth it. Four rogue women with no future, no help, and just pure


    determination gave this run-down Hotel a new life.


    Every callous, every blister, every cut and graze was all worth it, every sleepless night. It all paid off,


    and seeing the look on Vrie’s face was priceless. She was a tough woman, with an even tougher


    exterior, yet not even she could hide her emotion as we stared at what we aplished.


    “So, what’s the verdict?“ I ask, staring at our hard work.


    “The verdict,dies, is we are now open for business,“ Vrie says casually.


    “Well, we will get it done. We can- “ Macey starts to say before stopping. I look at Valerie, her lips


    tugging up at the corners, and Macey looks around me at her. It took a few seconds for her words to


    register.


    ”Wait, you said?” Macey asks before stopping.


    ”I said we are open for business; we did it, girls, ” Vrie says, and we all erupt in squeals of joy,


    jumping up and down excitedly. Macey Howls loudly, and we join her.


    It must have been a sight from the road to see four women standing near the road howling at the sun


    and cheering, but we didn’t care. We did it. We did the impossible. But most of all, we proved to


    ourselves that we could do anything with a bit of determination and probably stubbornness, hard work.


    We had proven to everyone who said it was impossible that they were wrong and that we were more


    than just four rogue whores with an unrealistic idea. That unrealistic idea was now real and standing in


    front of us, showing us we were capable of so much more than anyone believed of us.


    Laughing and walking back to celebrate with the kids, we talked about advertising and hiring. I had an


    idea. I ran that idea past Vriest month, and now we only needed a chef for the restaurant when


    things kicked off.


    Four rogue single mothers made this ce what it is, so sticking to that, we decided that everyone we


    hired would be rogue women. A hotel owned and run by rogues, the cities less desirable. Vrie loved


    the idea, so Macey, Zoe, and I went to everymunity center and put out wordst month that Vrie


    was hiring.


    The next day the lineup went halfway down the street. It was hard work interviewing everyone, but


    once we opened, we had fifty staff on rotational shifts. All that was needed was a head chef. But for


    now, Vrie and I would have to make do , Vrie was an excellent cook and had been teaching me,


    and that would have to be good enough until we find someone.


    Walking into the restaurant, Vrie walks out back to grab a bottle of wine while I hold the sses.


    Hearing a cough, I pause, looking out the doors leading to the storerooms.


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    ”Are you okay, Val?” I ask before I hear more coughing.


    ”Val?” I ask while walking into the storerooms. I see Vrie hunched over, having a coughing fit, the


    worst one I had seen her have as she gasped for air. The wine sses slipped from my hands,


    shattering on the tiled floor when I saw her copse.


    It was like watching everything in slow motion as I saw her clutch the steel shelf, her hand covered in


    blood. Vrie turns to look at me, no doubt to tell me not to worry when she coughs again. Blood


    sprays from her lips and dribbles down her chin as her eyes zed over, and she was falling , her skin


    pasty and covered in a cold sweat. I screamed as I saw her tumble to the floor as I raced toward her


    trying to get to her in time, but she crashed against the floor.


    ”Vrie ! ” I shriek as I clutch her, her hand weakly grabbing my arm as I pull her head into myp.


    “Call an ambnce,“ I scream out. Vrie starts choking, her hand clutching my arm as I turn her head


    so she doesn’t choke on her own blood while she gasps for breath.


    “Hang on, Val, help ising, “ I tell her as Zoe races in, grabbing Valerian as he walks out and nearly


    walks over the broken ss. Zoe holds both babies, clutching them as she looks on in horror as Vrie


    lay gasping for air. Macey is talking frantically on the phone to emergency services while I look down at


    her in my arms.


    “It’s okay, you’ll be okay,“ She says as she gasps. Tears stream down my face as I hold her hands.


    Holding the hands of the woman who had the biggest heart in the world. I admired her strength, a


    woman I saw bigger than life and gave me a home. My heart broke when she squeezed my arm, trying


    tofort me even though she was the one that neededforting.


    “They will be here in twenty minutes. They are t out, “ Macey says, pacing. Twenty minutes? I knew it


    would be because she is rogue; no one cares for rogues, not even the health system. Vrie turns her


    face to look up at me and smiles sadly.


    “Where is Valerian?“ She gasps, barely audible, and I look over at Zoe.


    “He’s here,“ I tell her. Macey grabs him bringing him over so she can see him. Macey stops next to her,


    kneeling next to us.


    “He looks so much like his father,“ Vrie tells me; I nod, wiping the tears that were dripping off my


    chin.


    Valerian pats her arm, not understanding, and Vrie smiles. I move her hand for her so she can touch


    his little foot that was beside her, she closes her eyes, and I see a tear slip down her cheek.


    “I am so proud of you girls,“ Vrie croaks out, and we all nod, all of us crying and blubbering messes


    as we watch one of the most inspirational women we know suffer.


    “Don’t speak like that; you will be fine. Help is on the way,“ I tell her. Vrie coughs; more blood spills


    from her lips that were a bluish tinge. Zoe hands me some paper towels, I wipe her mouth with shaky


    hands.


    “Not this time Evie“ She replies. My lips quiver, and my heart breaks at her words because deep down,


    I knew it; I just didn’t want her to go. I knew I should have pushed harder for her to see the doctor.


    Biting down on my lip to try to stop it from trembling.


    “Listen to me, Evie, I need you to promise,“ She says, and I shake my head.


    “I will listen when you’re better, then you can tell me, then I will promise you anything,“ I tell her.


    “Look after my grandson for me, you promise me that, you promise not to let my son break you like his


    father did me“ She gasps.


    “What?“ I choked out while trying to hold it together and failing terribly.


    “The eyes, he has my son’s eyes, you look after him for me. You fight for him, promise you will fight for


    both of them, “ She says before coughing and sputtering. She grabs my hand harder as her body starts


    heaving violently.


    ”Shh, shh, hold on, Val, ” I tell her, hugging her and holding her when she stops, her body expelling


    what little air was left in her lungs, blood sttering across my shirt and arms.


    ”I promise , ” I whisper into her hair, and I kiss her head just as I hear the sirens racing up the street


    toward us. Zoe races out to get them when I feel her hand fall limp on my arm, and I know she is gone.


    Her head rolled in my arms, falling back, pulling away I looked down at her. Her face was ck, and the


    color had gone as shey limp in my arms.


    Paramedics rush in with Zoe, who stops in the doorway, and I look at her and shake my head. The


    paramedics race to work on her. I got out of their way and took Valerian from Macey as we watched


    helplessly while they tried to revive her. Ten minutes they worked on her, and I handed Valerian to


    Macey;


    she followed Zoe out and to our room tofort her.


    A few minutester, a man rushes in wearing a tailored suit. I knew instantly it was her mate. He stops


    in the doorway, and I immediately see the resemnce between him and Valen’s, his son. That was


    also when I noticed his amber eyes were the same as Valerian’s. He stood there staring down at her as


    they kept trying to revive her. Eventually, they stopped. There was no bringing her back.


    He falls to his knees, clutching his dark hair and falling apart. He did this; this was his fault. I knew I


    didn’t have to tell him because he knew it too. I watched as he broke and felt nothing but numb.


    Vrie gave me so much and had been my rock for so long. Now she was gone because of the man


    falling apart in front of me. All because he refused to mark and love her.


    Wiping my tears, paramedics were on the phone with someone when they brought the stretcher in. I


    watched as they wheeled her out, thinking of what she told me and promising myself I would not let him


    kill me as his father did her. He will not take my son as her mate did to her. I will live for Valerian; I won’t


    let history repeat itself.