Romans de Mercyogochi

Raphael’s POV The black cars rolled in the compound just around past seven, they were sleek and clean just like the men that owned them. I met them at the door with my practiced smile and firm handshake. James Anton and Peter Lang, they were titans in their fields and known for cutting seven figure checks and giving deals with a precision that I could call surgical. The rumors were that they never made a loss, so if they backed you in business, that alone was proof that whatever project you had embarked on would be a success. And I needed that for the next phase of the company, this might push dad to put a date on that handover before some other mishap occurred. “Raphael, my man,” James said, taking in the grand look of the house, “we’ve been hearing things about you, good things.” “Let’s make sure they’re all true,” I replied. We stepped into the living room, they took their seats like they were Kings assessing the seats they had been given in another kingdom. I knew these me

Henrietta’s POV After breakfast, Kristine insisted on clearing up the dishes, I knew she thought I’d try to do it but I just let her. Raphael looked at me for the first time since I sat at the table, he couldn’t maintain eye contact for long though, maybe he knew I could see through everything. “I got a call this morning, before I came down for breakfast. My business partners are stopping by today for dinner,” he said, he sounded anxious which meant that this was important. “There’ll be two of them, they’re not casual friends, they’re really big players in the business world and if things go well, it’s something my father would be happy about. I need the house right, the energy needs to be great.” I nodded. I knew what he meant, the energy right now was suffocating him but he had brought it on himself, this wasn’t even remotely my fault. I was part of his strategy, one of the perfectly arranged areas of his picture perfect new life. “Please, you know exactly what to do,” he add

Henrietta’s POV I knew I had left him without saying another word. Nothing else to back up the hard truth I had dropped on him, I wanted to forget it too. But I didn’t. I couldn’t possibly forget it. And that night turned out to be one of the longest, most bitter sleepless nights of my life. I lay awake with my back to my door, the pillow was damp beneath my cheek from all my crying. I kept hearing Kristine’s voice, her stupid flirtatious laugh and the way her hands were on Raphael’s chest, her lips so close to his. It was crazy that Raphael claimed nothing happened but he couldn’t even look me in the face when I walked in, the betrayal burned me like acid. Sleep finally came just before morning but it was short lived and so shallow. I woke up later than usual, the morning sun was already in full blast and I sat up quickly realizing that I had messed up with my usual routine. I had a splitting headache but I ignored it. The least I could do today was just make breakfast and

Henrietta’s POV Walking up the driveway was tedious, the cab had dropped me off a house too early because of some flat tire. The grocery bags with the baby supplies now felt like weights in my hands. My heart pounded so hard inside my rib cage, I felt like it might explode inside me. I didn’t need to be a genius to figure out what I had walked into. Kristine’s body had been so close to his, her silky pink annoying robe was hanging loosely off one shoulder and Raphael’s shirt was half way unbuttoned, his cheeks were flushed. This was the kind of scene that you only needed to take one look at and you had already interpreted the situation. And the worst part, Kristine didn’t even look the least embarrassed.There was no atom of shame on her face. Raphael, on the other hand, barely looked at me. His face twisted into something I couldn’t decipher for just a moment before he turned and dashed up the stairs, disappearing into the house like a coward. He couldn’t even own up to it.

Raphael’s POV Getting home was harder than I thought, the traffic was an absolute nightmare. I tapped the horn impatiently, other brake lights almost blinding me. I weaved through sluggish lanes, praying the cars could move faster. The excitement of the news from my father and the company buzzed under my skin but I was growing frustrated with the traffic. Who would have known that leaving work early could be this stressful? I should have expected it, everyone was trying to beat rush hour and ended up clogging the same roads, it was just rush hour, an hour early. The excitement of earlier was beginning to thaw out. Maybe I should have called Henrietta to meet me outside for a nice, quiet dinner to celebrate our milestone. It was too late though, by the time I pulled into the driveway, it was already dusk, later than I had wanted to arrive home. Much later. I turned off the engine and grabbed my briefcase, walking quickly to the front door. Inside, the house was quiet and ther

Raphael’s POV I rushed up the staircase, two at a time already tugging at my jacket as I headed for my bedroom. I had barely made it through the door when my phone buzzed urgently in my pocket. Grace, my secretary’s name flashed on the screen. I answered immediately. “Hello, Grace, what’s up?” “Sir, I thought to let you know that a few of the board members are arriving earlier than scheduled,” she said quickly. “I think traffic was lighter than expected.” “Understood. Tell them I’m on my way,” I said, already turning back towards the stairs. There was no time to change the suit, it’ll have to do for today. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I wore back the jacket. The slate blue suit Henrietta had picked fit perfectly to my frame but it was lighter than what I normally wore, brighter even. It didn’t look bad, it just looked sharply different. Why did I even have the suit in the first place? It would have to be fine, I had no other choice. I rushed back down sta