She got the impression that she would not be able to communicate with him effectively with that icy eyes. The pleasant expression on his face suddenly disappeared upon seeing her, which was a terrible indication.
But she walked towards the man with her heart pounding and felt the hairs on her arms go up, but a woman stopped her.
"Have you received an invitation yet?"
Rafaella just stopped after that. She realized that those who attended that party had received invitations. How private!
She looked at the woman, and with a friendly voice, she replied, "No, but it won't be long. I need to speak with... Mr. Latimer."
She looked back to where she last saw him. He was heading towards them in the middle of the affluent crowd of people in the gathering area of the exhibition hall.
The woman continued, her silver eyes examining her, "Let me try to assist you. I'm Sandy, his fiancée. You can tell me what you need from him."
The woman did not recognize Rafaella, which surprised her. Maybe the five years she spent abroad changed her a lot. Another reason was that she had a black jacket over a plain t-shirt and a hat that held back her long dark brown hair to escape from whoever was trailing her in the airport.
She tried lowering her voice, "I'm his long-time friend."
"That's unthinkable because I know most of his friends," the woman retorted, suspiciously eyeing her.
The redhead's elegantly aggressive tone made her wince. She moved her hat, partially covering her forehead.
And suddenly, the color of the woman's face changed as she stared at her. Blood seemed drained from her face as it looked like she'd seen a ghost, and she speechlessly stared at her. Undeniably shocked.
"Rafaella..." she uttered almost in a whisper.
She whispered to Sandy, "Yes, I'm still alive." Then she looked at the man approaching them and said, "As I've said, I don't think I need an invitation since I'm one of his buddies."
As he passed, the slight blink of his blue eyes gave away that he heard what she said.
He casually offered the red-haired beauty one of the drinks before putting his free arm around her, "Ex-wife, to be accurate." He said with a blank expression.
Rafaella faced the person she hadn't seen in five years while trying to ignore the woman beside him.
She smirked, "Latimer, I believe we need to chat."
"As you can see, I'm busy. Call my secretary and make an appointment," he replied, thumping his free arm around Sandy's shoulders. "Sandy, my love, don't worry. It won't take long this disturbance."
"I apologize for upsetting your peace, but can you give me at least five minutes?" Rafaella sated. She was trying to control the anger that would erupt in a moment.
"I swear you heard me,' his icy voice said. "You must schedule a meeting by calling my secretary."
"Latimer, I don't have time to chase you. Please tell me where I can find my mother. That's the least you can do, and you won't see me again."
He answered directly, "At my house."
That stunned her, but she quickly shrugged it off.
"Alright, this news to me. No wonder I was told to seek your approval, for God knows why. I want to see my mom, but must I phone your office?" She could not help asking him in a sarcastic voice. She finally released the anger she had held back since entering his party. "You must be aware that I have been contacting your secretary nonstop since I arrived at the airport. If you had not avoided me, I would not be here today. We go somewhere and have a private conversation, or we can have one in front of your fiancée and all your close friends. Take your pick now, as I am busy too." Her words stuttered as she admired the woman's stylish red dress.
He deliberately drank from the glass while keeping his eyes fixed on her from the rim and somewhat playing with time to consider her request.
She erupted and said, "Okay, fine. Bear in mind that you had an option. I have some brief news that I thought you might find interesting. Our divorce that you filed? I wonder why it was not recorded. For whatever reason, we are still married. That means you and your fiancée need to abandon the upcoming pre-marriage ceremony. So much for being a great attorney. Very funny, don’t you think so?"
She spun around, ready to leave. Her lower leg almost slipped from under the new high heels she thought were comfortable, and she frantically walked towards the door.
And a smile left her lips when she heard the door open again as she came out. She seemed to expect the man to follow her explanation, and she was right. He did it quickly. His long fingers reached out and grabbed her before she could dodge.
He turned to face her while holding her tightly.
"Why do you think it's not true?"
"You dare to ask me?" She snarled. "You’ve no idea how shocked I was to discover our divorce was not filed in the registry or processed.”
"That can't be done. How did you choose to marry my half-brother? Falsification?"
Rafaella was surprised to hear what he said, "I wonder where you got that information as I'm not married to Luigi."
He looked stunned and speechless.
But she continued. "I learned about it when I saw the requested legal documents and my children's birth certificates."
"What, children?"
When Rafaella realized what she had just uttered, her face turned pale.
"Well..." she took a deep breath through silently cursed herself. "I have children.""But you're not married?" He asked while he looked around the contours of her body.
"No. I had no desire to get married once again. Remove your hand from me," she muttered as she pulled his hand away.
They fell silent when every sane head turned to face them.
"I wasted the entire five minutes I asked you for. The divorce and my mother are all I ask of you." She made a turn to go.
"Rafaella, hold on."
"I'm done with you. I'll wait for my mom at the Hilton hotel's lounge if you don't mind."
"No, I'm not finished talking to you."
She ignored him as she made her way from him, heading to the hotel's main entrance and stepping onto the road.
She frantically considered that he seemed to have his fabulous party, friends, and girlfriend. She stopped a bit and bent to take off her shoes. Leaving them dangling on her hand as she muttered an annoying curse. She would have the opportunity to process their divorce and ensure it was completed in a way that leaves no room for questioning. She could not believe she was still married!
She hailed a passing cab, but it went passed her. As she continued walking, she let out a quiet curse.
"How often have I told you to speak out loud if you intend to use profanity?" Alexus's voice radiated an arrogant joy that another cab did the same.
She prayed for another cab as she continued to watch the traffic. "Latimer, I’m done with what I wanted to say. Stay away from me."
"I have been, if you remember, spanning five years. You came by this evening."
"My error. Before it was in front of me, I forgot who I was talking to. It won't happen again, I promise. Give me one more thing, please. My mum should be with me."
"And you're returning to your single life?" He growled.
She ignored him.
When a different cab ignored her wave, Rafaella whispered an expletive annoyance which she managed to control. " If I can, I'm going to the hotel with my mum, not that it's any of your business."
Alexus grabbed her hat, which covered her long, lustrous, chocolate-brown hair that fell to her shoulders down her back, rather than responding.
He was staring at her like he was shocked.
"Stop looking at me like I'm furniture and scrutinizing me!" She glared.
"Barefoot?" He was oblivious to her outburst. The smile came, and he raised one corner of his moving lips. "Wearing T-shirts & jeans with high-heeled sandals. What happened to you?"
"Latimer, stop commenting on how I dressed. And don't waste your time contacting me. All I want is my mom and the divorce finality.”
"If I'm right, Rafaella, I don't believe you'll enter my home."
She felt compelled to admit it by his eyes. And for a brief second, their eyes met.
Rafaella broke the awkward silence by saying, "I detest this coldness between us, but you began it when you didn't accept my calls," as if she were in a tight spot. "Why do I think you dislike me? We parted ways amicably."
He was still for a moment and was about to say something, but instead, he shook his head.
"Latimer, what have I done to make you hostile?"
"Why is it so formal?" He retaliated in kind. "You sound chilly when you call me by my name even though you are a Latimer and know my name very well. You claim that at that point, our marriage is still intact."
"You believed what I claimed?" "Shouldn't I be when you trotted here after several years of silence?" She was speechless, with her eyes wide, staring at him. "And I want to remind you that our marriage is legally binding and consummated by your choice, even though it was done by proxy." She rolled her eyes and glanced down the road to cover up the heat in her cheeks. When she managed to respond, she merely muttered, "It... that wasn't tallied. Before everything happened, we had already signed the documents, and it wasn't your fault. As you’ve said, it was my choice." "And I could have refused," he retorted. She burned in his eyes. "Can we not discuss it?" She avoided looking at him to cover up her humiliation. She didn't want to talk to him about what she had done in the past. Everything that had occurred was her idea. She struggled to despise him because of it, but she never regretted what she did since the outcome of her action made her life worthwhile to move on. "Certainly.
He made her voice happy, "No, Mom. It's just that returning here brought back those restless nights." "Ignore what occurred here. There is no other way to proceed. Rafa, may God prosper your endeavor." "Mommy, thank you." She darted subtly at her back when she felt a soft movement and found Alexus standing with his eyes on them. She cleared her throat, "I appreciate you giving me this chance, Alexus." Rafaella looked at the man after her mother said something. She was worried Alexus had overheard what she had said—observing the shape of his grin subtly as he approached her mother. Did he hear what I said? She pondered. "Thank you for having the time with my mom," she said firmly as Alexus walked to the front door together. "I'm sorry to say this, but I can't ignore what you’ve said after seeing my mother. I agree that she’s okay to be here for now. Don’t worry; I will continue to send Mrs. Woods what I can spare." "And you think your mom's simply thinking about money?" He said in
"I used to enjoy your ex-wife," Marla explained with a twitch at the corner of her mouth. "But abandoning you for another man like that is beyond my understanding." "Marla, my wife. Who gave you the impression that she left me for another man, by the way? As I believed during our divorce proceeding, I learned that all of her outward infidelity was a deception. Back then, she never cheated on me, which I blindly believe." "God, oh God!" Marla exclaimed in shock. "What a big lie! Is that what she claimed to be when the video clearly showed that she was-" "Cut that crap, Marla. I don't want to hear any of that nonsense. Save her from your bias. You are unaware of the specifics." "Now what? Are you siding with her because you were in bed with her for less than an hour?" His face was etched with anger at what his sister had said. "Marla, watch what you say. Because the divorce was not public, so Rafa is still my wife. And let me add that I shouldn't have trusted that video. I slept wit
Christ! Quietly, Alexus whispered. For some reason that he couldn't understand, he sensed that Rafaella was lying when she claimed to be his sweetheart. What other lies remained? To make his point, the attorney raised a finger. "We need to show he wasn't the only one to have a sexual encounter with her." "Are you saying that the only way to get a divorce is to turn her into a whore?" Alexus gave David a stern look while seeming irate. "Yes, something like that to prevent her from receiving anything." He mumbled under his steely exterior, "David, I'm not buying that. I'm sorry, but I disagree with you regarding my wife's reputation. Her lack of promiscuity is too much. No way." Marla intervened, saying, "Alex, try to be objective. She is with someone else, as you just stated. Then perhaps she wants you to end things soon so she can wed." "Whatever. I want it done well without putting her down, "Alexus answered. "Perhaps I can get her to agree to anything before I go and file it in
She turned to face the man in the elevator. He looked back at her, and an idea crossed her mind. When she told Oscar he was her lover, she overheard him chuckling. He confronted Oscar, whose ears grew pink, and then strolled away to demonstrate his point by coming to her side and bringing her closer to him. When she overheard him speaking to someone on his mobile phone, she realized he was gay. He grinned broadly as he extended his hand to her. Rafaella hoped that her steadfast relationship would enable her to escape the terrible circumstances she had found herself in. She had no idea why she had a stalker all of a sudden. As he held the elevator door, Luigi reassured her, "Complete discretion." Starting with that hallway encounter, she and Luigi became best buddies. After she unexpectedly called him for security protection, he became her excellent buddy and was ready to assist her and treat her like a VIP at his friend's business. As she and Luigi started to stroll down the thickl
"If they haven't already left the hotel, that is," Alexus remarked dryly. "My life is in chaos every time she's here," he said grimly. "So you would prepare that you don't see her around?" Alexus opted not to respond, but his demeanor was anything from happy. "How come you got married to her in the first place?" He gave him a scathing glance. He could not talk about his relationship with Rafaella without feeling regret, especially what went wrong after their marriage. "I've previously questioned whether the events in your marriage are still impacting you. Your current state of agitation proves that everything in your life is spiraling out of control. Since you engaged me to take care of your injury five years ago, I have only learned a little about your marriage. And most often, when you're angry and complaining about how foolish you are." Alexus let out a long sigh. "I wed her by proxy just a few days before she became 18." "What?" He gave him a stern look. "For this reason, I
Alexus jerked from his reverie when he felt a hand gripping him on his shoulder and met the eyes of his Physical Therapist. He didn't realize tears were falling down his face. He quietly ran his palm on his face to wife it. "Are you alright?" Timothy enquired. He studied the distressed CEO intently, a look of worry on his face. He took a deep breath and shook his head. He was watching the emergency entrance with concern. "Did you hear anything from the doctor that examined her?" "No, and that only makes it worse. I'm going insane while waiting here, anticipating the worse." "Alex, you can't be acting like this. Be upbeat and consider the children's feelings." "What, children?" He inquired, appearing perplexed. Timothy stared at him and shook his head. He realized Alexus was not in the right mind to handle another issue. AFTER MIDNIGHT, the surgeon informed Alexus that his wife's procedure had been completed and was a success. Within twenty-four hours, she was supposed to be awa
"I don't dispute that. But Alex, it's just for fundamental gratification. Not enough for me to want to wed him." "Well, that's your issue, and I'd rather not be part of that. And never claim you wanted to be my fiancee because you love me. Then we have a different outlook on loving someone." "Alex-" "Sandy, no. Enough already. As you know, I am still married and would like to try it again with my wife." "Even when she betrayed you many times?" Hoarse laughing was heard coming from Alexus's mouth. "She didn't, in my opinion. And I chastised myself for assuming the worst. She might have, but I still want her back." "You're nuts!" "Spare me this name-calling, Sandy. Have a good time. Bye." And as if nothing had happened, he pocketed his mobile phone again when he saw Timothy enter the room. Timothy patted his shoulder and grinned at him, saying, "I'm happy you look better than the last time I saw you. Guess what." "You tell me, and stop seizing me with your eyes," he stated. He w