LOGIN"That's one of the reasons," he replied casually without letting go of my hand.We strolled around the mall along the lines of fancy stores side by side. Although having him hold my hand made my chest feel queasy inside, I decided not to make a huge deal out of it. Although I didn't want to think about it, I found myself recalling the conversation that I had with Sam. I never thought that things would unfold between us that way when I met him again, not that I wanted to meet him ever again. Suddenly, I found myself giggling and realized that I had recalled what Raphael had said about Emily's company and its future now that it was in Sam's hands. That was certainly an amazing whip of icing on top of the cake, and I couldn't stop giggling whenever I thought of it. Although I didn't want to admit it at first, I had started feeling quite thankful for Raphael's interference, although it was quite bothersome in its own way. I glanced at Raphael's face, and he turned to offer me a charming
"Of course, I understand that. However, if you want to discuss anything about business, please do not hesitate to contact me. I can get you in touch with my father-in-law, and I'm sure that he will be very interested in pursuing business cooperation with Hale Corporation," Sam said before smiling in a very business-like friendly way."What is this company called again?" Raphael asked, although he didn't sound interested."Gaston Solutions," Sam replied proudly. I hated how smug he sounded. He acted as if he was the one who founded the company, although it had been less than a month since he married into the family."I've never heard of it before. Actually, I almost got lost on my way here," Raphael replied indifferently.Sam was clearly shocked by Raphael's careless attitude, while I found it quite amusing. Although Gaston Solutions wasn’t exactly a small company and it was decently well-known in its industry, it wasn't by any means comparable in size to Hale Corporation."I guess tha
Getting involved in Raphael's family business was the last thing on my mind; if anything, I believed that it would further complicate our relationship. Job hunting was going to be difficult, but I didn't want to rely on my ties with Bennett to land my new job. "My mother and I are not involved in any way with their business. There's nothing that I can do to help you, and you can tell Emily and her father that I said exactly that. In fact, even if I could help you, why would I help you guys out after all that you've done? You can tell Emily that too," I said before rolling my eyes."You don't have to get so defensive. I was just asking out of curiosity," Sam replied dismissively.It felt like I was seeing him for the greedy and manipulative man that he truly was, and that disgusted me more than anything. "Don't ever approach me again," I said before turning to walk away. I felt a tremor of anger run through my body when I felt his grip on my arm, preventing my escape. By that time,
“That was a disaster…” I muttered underneath my breath once I had exited the room. Now all I had to do was to get out of this office as fast as possible before I end up running into the person that I dreaded seeing the most.I was honestly almost out of the office when I suddenly heard a voice. "Isn't that her?" A man's voice caught my attention. At first, I didn't think that he was referring to me, but when a group of men approached me, I realized that they were talking about me and it wasn't hard for me to imagine what they were gossiping about behind my back. I tried my best to ignore them while I waited for my ride to come pick me up."Abby!" I heard a familiar voice call my name and my heart sank. I hated days like these when nothing went my way. I let out a long sigh before turning towards the direction of the voice. Not surprisingly, Sam was standing there. His face lit up in recognition before he quickly made his way towards me. I had to resist the urge not to run away bec
That was when I realized that there was no way that I could leave the mansion with my luggage. I narrowed my eyes slightly at him while thinking that that wasn't at all enough to stop me from leaving."Are you trying to run away from me?" his voice was icy cold. "What are you talking about?" I asked, as if I had no idea what he was referring to. "You don't have to run away from me. I won't do anything to you... that you don't like..." he said before showing me another one of his enticing smiles.I closed my eyes and let out a sigh of resignation. Raphael was surely taking his role of my guardian and elder brother too seriously. "Fine," I muttered darkly.Everything would be fine as long as I stayed away from him.…It felt like many years had passed since the last time that I entered my office building. I looked up at the large building before entering the usual lobby and heading towards the elevator that I always use. Everything felt so familiar, and I found myself missing my work
My body froze as I closed my eyes in dread when I heard the voice that I least wanted to hear. Slowly, I turned around to see Raphael coming out of the shadows as if he had been lying in wait for me. I wondered if he had anticipated that I would leave the mansion, and then I tried telling myself that there was no reason for him to be obsessing over me. "Yes," I replied firmly without bothering to explain myself because I felt like there was no need to. "Where are you going?" he asked, easily closing the distance between us. I stood a little straighter as I stared directly into his eyes. It felt like if I faltered, I would end up losing control and he would dominate over me completely. "Do I have to report to you about where I'm going?" I asked sarcastically. "Well, your mother did leave you in my care, and I intend to do my best to take care of you," he said as he brought his face too close to mine. I quickly took a step back before realizing the mistake that Raphael had come bet







