Chapter 24— Bitter Introduction

Diana's POV

I turned my face away from him and looked towards the direction of Raphael. He had a big, wide, happy smile on his face. Seeing him smile at me that way was making me feel strange.

What's this feeling?

As I went down the stairs, I saw him walk down to the base of the stairs with his right hand outstretched.

"Please allow me."

I stretched forward my left arm to him, he held it and helped me down the stairs.

"You look ravishing," he said, staring widely into my eyes.

His eyeballs were big and intoxicating.

I blushed.

"Thank you."

Everyone's eyes were fixed on me; I wasn't sure if it was the dress, my face, my heels or the fact that I was going to get married to Raphael.

But whichever the case is, I wasn't going to be bothered about it.

Ciara followed quietly behind us. There was soft music playing in the background. People were drinking their wine and toasting to whatever it was they were discussing.

My eyes rolled until they stopped on my adopted parents.

My mother's eyes were filled with disdain. It felt as though they were disgusted by my very presence.

Why were they even here?

"Raph, why are they here?" I asked my voice almost in a whisper.

"Gramps invited them here, he said they are family now, since Marcel, is also getting engaged to Serena"

I scoffed.

Looking away, we headed straight to where Grandpa Lorenzo and Grandma Audrey sat.

We knelt before them.

"Oh my gosh, Diana you look so pretty." Grandma Audrey said, complimenting my looks and my dress.

She placed her hands on my shoulder, patting me gently.

I smiled.

"Make sure you take good care of her son." Grandma Audrey said facing Raphael.

"I will."

"Now take her to meet your father," Gramps said.

The smile on Raphael’s face changed drastically. He was reluctant.

He tried to rebel against it, but Gramps insisted that he had to get the blessings of his father, too.

I was sure his father wouldn't have an issue with blessing us, but his mother would.

She was solidly behind Marcel when he broke up with me, she was even the major spokesperson during my humiliation.

But those weren't my concerns; what bothered me the most was Raphael’s expression; he had a very saddened expression. The same expression I saw the night when Marcel brought out an incident of the past.

Yes that night, my humiliation night.

What could be the reason why he always had this expression?

I wanted so badly to know about it, but I knew better than to ask him.

I know he wouldn't want to tell me what was going on, the resolve I had strengthened.

His parent, most especially his mother and siblings, hated him.

I have to find out why. I thought.

After so much convincing, Raphael agreed to go.

We headed straight to where his mother and father stood.

We got on our knees without saying a word; Raphael’s mom looked away. His dad placed his hands on our shoulders, patting us gently.

"Why would you give your blessings to a marriage like this?"

Raphael’s father looked at her with surprise in his eyes.

"Look, dear, Raphael is our son, and if it's Diana that he has chosen to spend the rest of his life with, then we shouldn't be the ones stopping him" he bowed his head. "We've done enough."

"Done enough?! What do you mean done enough? We can't let this wedding happen."

"Riley, come on, we-"

"I don't care if you give your permission or not, Mrs. Riley Lorenzo Junior," Raphael interrupted. "Whatever it is you want to do, please feel free to do it, but one thing is certain— this marriage is not ending, not when I am alive."

The fact that Raphael called his mother by her full name says a lot about the kind of relationship they've had in the past.

It was not the mother and son kind. They probably never saw eye to eye.

Why?

He had a father and a mother, who were his birth parent, but they didn't have a good relationship.

At a point, while I stood watching them, I wondered if Raphael was probably a child from another woman, but if he was, he wouldn't look so much like Mrs Riley.

What is going on in this family? I asked myself.

The next sound I heard was a slap.

Yes, Mrs Riley had slapped her son, Raphael.

And she was about to do it again when he stopped her by holding her hands.

"Don't you dare raise your hands on me again, ever!"

His voice was sharp and firm.

Just then, I heard a loud, piercing scream from behind.

I turned to look around to see a lady running ahead towards our direction. She looked so much like Aunt May.

The Lorenzo seniors gave birth to only two children, Lorenzo Junior, Raphael’s father and Aunt May.

I figured that she had to be Aunt May's daughter.

Aunt May is also included in my revenge plans. She was among them that day.

But this person seemed kinda different; she was lively and seemed to like Raphael a whole lot because immediately she got to where we stood, she hugged him from behind.

I just stood mute, watching as everything unfolded.

"Bro, I missed you so much." She said

From the look of things, she was probably around my age, so definitely she had to be younger than him.

Raphael let out a chuckle.

"Shania? Oh my gosh, Theeeee Shania" he turned to look at her giving her a big and very welcoming embrace. "I missed you too, Shania," he added.

I felt a tingle inside me.

What was that?

Jealousy?

No, no, that's not possible. I said to myself.

How could I be jealous of Shania? I had heard about Shania a few times when I was still Marcel.

So this is the Shania, I thought.

Their cousin, Shania. Aunt May's only child.

The international model.

"Why are you here? I thought you were busy with you know, your modeling stuff."

"And miss the part where I get introduced to your beautiful damsel..." she paused, looking at me "Oh my gosh, is this her?"

"Yeah, yeah, she's the one," Raphael said proudly.

"Bro, I swear if she wasn't your bride, I would have taken her out of here, flown her to my base and turned her into a star. This is a model material you've got here."

Shania's words left me feeling unsettled, but just as I was about to reply, a thunderous bang disrupted the calm. Gasping reverberated in the corridor as the chandelier overhead swung perilously, its crystals cascading like broken stars. My heart raced. Suddenly, a chilling voice pierced the disorder.

"Raphael, Diana... did you think I was going to let you both get married?"

I spun around, my breath catching. A figure moved from the entrance, their presence demanding silence. Chills ran down my spine as I fixed my gaze on the person I thought it would be; it was none other than.

Marcel.

And he was not by himself.