Release

As Valentina read the email from Sarah Lee, she felt her eyes begin to tear up. It felt nice to see that someone appreciated the work that she did and even looked forward to working with her again.

She looked at the clock and saw that she had spent quite some time in her bedroom. It was currently 11:30 p.m. and would soon be midnight. Skipping happily, she went down to the kitchen to grab a light snack so she could watch her first music video appearance.

Surprisingly, both Kaiser and Luca were still sitting in the living room, although Luca was in his plain pajamas and was struggling to stay awake. Seeing the little nugget nodding off with sleepy eyes, she immediately forgot her original goal and ran over to him.

"Luca why are you awake, you should be in bed."

Rather than answering her, the young boy blushed and looked away.

"He wanted a hug and kiss before he went to sleep but knew he couldn't bother you because of work," Kaiser explained.

Touched at the cute reason, Valentina immediately went over to hug the little nugget.

"Oh my little nugget, you can bother me anytime just knock on my door okay? Come here, I'll go tuck you into bed."

"Okay." Luca wrapped his little arms around her neck as she lifted him up while stifling a groan. He had definitely gotten sturdier and if she was going to keep carrying him with this weak body, she would need to start working out or begin taking supplements.

Seeing that Kaiser was about to say something rude, probably about Luca walking on his own, she quickly shot him a glare before going up the stairs. If a little baby wanted to be carried, it was the duty of an adult to carry them no questions asked.

She gently tucked the little nugget in, read him a chapter from his favorite Minecraft book, and kissed his forehead as he went to sleep.

As she went back downstairs, Richard was in the kitchen making hot chocolate for three mugs.

"Are you having a guest over?" she asked him curiously as she sat down on the kitchen bar.

"One cup is for you. Roman called to say he's coming over. Apparently you have a music video coming out tonight? He's coming to watch it here with us. Do you mind?"

 Kaiser glanced up at her noting the blush that immediately covered her face.

"…Honestly, I kind of do. It's my first thing being released and I'm kind of embarrassed since I don't know how it will turn out since it's my first time seeing it as well. I'm somewhat used to you, so I don't mind watching it with just you, but with Roman…. Maybe not this time?" Valentina replied with a bit of apprehension.

"Ah, I'm not saying he can't come over. It's your house after all. I'll just go and watch it in my room. I know it's something I should get used to as I'm in this industry, but I still get nervous when people I know see my work." Even when she was a marketer in her previous life, she still felt shy sharing things that she had worked on with other people.

"No that's absolutely fair. There's no need to go to your room, I'll kick him out and we can watch it together. This is your house too and there's no need for you to be uncomfortable for a random stranger who invited themselves over without asking." Kaiser calmly responded.

Hearing Kaiser call his own blood brother a stranger, Valentina couldn't help but laugh. As someone who had no siblings in her past life and was on bad terms in this current life, it was very interesting for her to watch them interact.

After Kaiser placed a mug in front of her, he poured the remaining hot chocolate into a to-go cup.

Just as he finished, the doorbell rang. Once. Twice. Three times. It kept on ringing then suddenly stopped.

She could then hear the door rattling as somebody kept trying to open it.

Kaiser quickly took the to-go mug and headed towards the door and Valentina followed behind him curiously.

He quickly reached the door leaving her far behind and yanked it open.

"Brother, how could you change the locks again? Do you not love me? What if I had been beaten up, or robbed, or even kidnapped." Roman cried out in a loud voice. He was wearing a simple blue suit and seemed to be tearing up. 

Kaiser didn't even bother responding. He simply shoved the cup in his hands, ordered him to go home, and slammed the door shut in his face.

"Brother? Brother let me in! Sister-in-law is that you? Please save me sister in law, I came to support you! I promise I'll be good. I'll be quiet! Let me in!" Roman began sobbing and wailing as he pounded on the door.

"If you don't stop sounding like a ghost, I'll beat you up before calling the cops for trespassing." Kaiser interrupted with a cold voice.

There was silence for a moment before Roman resumed wailing "Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law, you have to help me!"

Seeing the interaction between the two brothers, Valentina couldn't help but burst out laughing. Especially the exasperated look on Kaiser's face, it was really too funny.

"Why don't you let him in Kaiser? It's pretty chilly at night."

"He can get back into his car and drive home." Kaiser ruthlessly refused.

"I have no car! My driver has driven away! I will have to walk home if you don't let me in! Sister-in-law, please have mercy on me. I can't walk home ten miles! I'll be kidnapped! I'll be murdered!"

Seeing the expression of annoyance cross Kaiser's face, Valentina laughed once more before reaching out to grab Kaiser's sleeve. 

"Let him in for a bit okay? He drove all the way here afterall. I'm feeling a bit tired, so I'll just go to my room and head to bed. Thank you for the hot chocolate."

Kaiser looked over at her and seeing her earnest expression sighed. Using the opportunity, he grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth, gently kissing the back of her hand while looking into her eyes.

"Anything for you milady. Although I wish I could watch it with you, maybe another time. You should get some rest if you're tired. You're about to get busy with a new role after all. Good night Valentina."

Valentina couldn't help but blush again before she tugged her hand out of his.

"Good night Kaiser."

After responding, she quickly dashed to her room and slammed the door shut.

The environment was getting dangerous, and she really needed to keep her distance.

Still, his attention on her was kind of cute.

Still blushing, she got comfortable on her bed and pulled up the music video to watch on her laptop.

The intro to Kill Your Love started and then the scene and screen changed.

The four-minute clip finished in a flash. Before it ended, she rewatched it and evaluated her performance.

Objectively, she felt that her acting was a bit lacking. Director Brian Loewe had been correct that her expressions were a bit too exaggerated, especially during the fight scenes, but the team had done a good job editing the clips and adding CGI, so it looked really good and really meshed with the lyrics.

To be completely honest, she felt that Yuri had done a much better job than her in those scenes. But…as she stared at herself, she had to say…she looked beautiful. She had gotten somewhat used to looking at her face in the mirror every day but seeing it fully glammed up on a production like this was amazing. She truly looked like an ethereal angel on screen. The power of editing was truly amazing.

Once the video ended with a to-be-continued screen, she almost turned it off but then the credits started rolling. On the screen right underneath Rio's name was hers in big letters. Lilith - Valentina Salazar.

Seeing it there after she finished watching herself on the screen, she didn't know what came over her, but tears dripped down her face and she cried her heart out.

She didn't know if it was the original Valentina's spirit crying out, or if the lyrics were moving her, but she felt some peace of mind once the tears stopped.

She had done it. She had finally released something out into the world that had her name on it. Something she could be proud of and say was hers.

Still, she was nervous to see the feedback and comments so after reposting on her social media, she closed her laptop and lay down. She could see the negative comments tomorrow. Tonight was a night for celebrating.

Somehow, she wanted to go downstairs and give Kaiser another hug to share her excitement, but she didn't have the courage, especially with Roman there. Maybe another time.