Chapter 24: The Ring's Vow.

ISADORA’S POV

My father Peter stood in the middle of the big room with a wide smile on his face as he held the signed paper high in the air and looked at Rafael and me like he had won a grand prize. 

Valentina stepped closer to Rafael with her head held up, expecting him to smile and accept the deal she made with my sister.

"Now we own this estate together, Rafael," Valentina said, taking a step toward him as my stomach turned upside down with fear.

Rafael did not look at the paper in my father's hand, and he did not smile at Valentina at all either. He took my hand, stepped forward, and placed himself between Valentina and me.

"I will never do any business with you, Valentina," Rafael said, looking directly into her eyes as my chest expanded with sudden relief.

Valentina stopped moving, and the smile on her face disappeared completely.

"What are you talking about, Rafael?" she asked, reaching out her hand to touch his arm as my mouth grew dry. "I did this for us so we can control everything."

Rafael pushed her hand away from his body without touching her skin. "I do not care about your papers or your money," Rafael said, holding my fingers tight in his palm as my legs felt strong again. 

"Isadora is my wife, and I am rejecting your dirty partnership in front of everybody here."

My father Peter stepped forward with anger on his face, pointing his finger at Rafael's chest. "You are making a big mistake, boy," Peter shouted, shaking the white paper in the air as my heart beat fast in my ribs.

"If you or Valentina try to step into this house again, I will bring my whole company down on your heads," Rafael said, turning his back on them and pulling me out of the room as we walked fast through the long hallway and went up the stairs toward the old master suite at the top of the house. 

Rafael closed the heavy wooden door behind us, locking it tightly so nobody could disturb us. 

I sat down on the edge of the large bed, burying my face in my hands because my mind was full of worry and confusion.

First, I was afraid that my father and Valentina would still find a way to take my family legacy away from me.

Rafael did not sit down beside me immediately, rather, he walked across the room toward an old wooden desk that sat near the corner of the wall, opened the top drawer and started searching through the small boxes inside it. He was looking for something specific, moving his hands carefully through the old items we left behind two years ago when we separated.

After a few moments, he stopped searching, as he pulled out a small gold ring from the dark corner of the drawer.

I looked up from my hands, and my breath caught in my throat when I saw what he was holding between his fingers. 

It was my original wedding band, the gold ring I took off my finger and threw away in anger two years ago when I left him. 

I thought someone had thrown it in the trash long ago, but Rafael had kept it safe all this time.

Rafael walked back toward the bed slowly, looking at the small gold ring in his palm with soft eyes.

"You kept all these for years?" I whispered, looking up at his face as tears gathered under my eyelids.

"I searched for this ring on the floor for three hours after you walked out of my life," Rafael said, dropping down on his knees in front of me as my body grew warm. 

"And Isa, I promised myself that I would put it back on your finger the day you truly came back to me."

He took my left hand in his left palm and held it with so much care, as if I were made of thin glass. He looked into my eyes for a long time, and I could see all the love and pain he had carried inside his chest for two years.

"I am so sorry for all the mistakes I made in the past, Isadora," Rafael said softly, sliding the gold ring back onto my finger as my heart leaped with joy.

The ring fit my finger perfectly, just like it did on the first day we got married in front of our families.

Rafael raised my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles with deep tenderness, keeping his eyes locked onto mine. The heat from his lips moved through my fingers and straight into my chest, erasing every single doubt I had left in my mind about his love for me.

"I am swearing to you right now," Rafael said, pressing my hand against his warm cheek as my breathed heavily. "If Valentina or your father touches one piece of your legacy, I will strip them of every single dime they own in this world."

I leaned down from the bed and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his head close to my chest as my tears fell onto his shirt.

"I love you, Rafael," I whispered into his hair, feeling his strong arms wrap around my waist, holding me tight against his body.

"I love you more than my own life, Isadora," Rafael murmured back, kissing my neck gently before he pulled back to look at my face.

We sat together in the quiet room for a long time, holding each other and planning how we would protect our marriage and our family land from our enemies. I felt safe and happy in his arms, knowing that he was truly standing by my side as my real husband.

Then suddenly, somebody knocked on the wooden door three times, making us both turn our heads toward the entrance.

Rafael stood up from the floor, walked to the door, and unlocked it carefully as we saw my sister Rosalind was standing in the dark hallway, her arms crossed over her chest with an evil glare in her eyes.

Before I could say a word, Rosalind pushed past Rafael into the room, looking at the gold ring on my finger with deep hatred.

"Do not look at me with those pathetic eyes, Isadora," Rosalind said, laughing bitterly as my chest tightened with shock. "I sold my shares to Valentina because I am going to take Rafael and his wealth away from you, just like you took everything else from me.”