Shock

Rio stared in shock at the woman who had returned to her mourning for her lost one. It couldn't be, he thought to himself. Or could it?

"Sa-Sarah?" He called out slowly.

Anita smiled to herself before she turned around, "Who are you calling Sarah? My name is Anita," she informed the man.

Rio couldn't believe his ears and eyes. He was sure that one of them was deceiving him. He stared deeply into the woman's eyes and that was when he saw that she had hazel eyes instead of the gray one his Sarah spotted.

"I'm sorry, Miss. I must have mistaken you for somebody else." He apologized but the woman didn't bother to respond and only just continued with her sobbing which had reduced and the occasional sniffing she did. "Stop crying, Miss." He consoled her.

"How could I not? I have no one else in the world now…" She stole a quick glance at the name and age of her supposed family, "...My uncle is dead." She finished, refusing to wish her father even a fake death.

Rio crouched low to her, "Believe me when I say I know just how you feel but we still have to keep living on. Not for ourselves, but for them," he spread his hands to the two graves.

She looked at him with puppy eyes, "But–" She started.

"–No buts," Rio interrupted her smoothly. "I'll tell you what? I'll take you to a coffee cafe I know around here so you can feel better." He suggested.

"Can you?" She asked, trying to sound unsure.

"I can and I will," Rio shrugged. He would probably regret it but he wanted to know more about the woman who looked so much like his dead wife. "Up you go." He instructed her and got up too.

Anita did as he asked, happy that her plan was taking the direction she wanted it to take.

In fifteen minutes, he drove them into a plain-looking cafe house as he had promised. For somebody who was wealthy, Anita couldn't figure out why he would dress and act like a pauper.

"Mr. Rio. Good morning and welcome." A woman with salt and pepper hair greeted.

"Oh, Grace. Drop the formalities, will you?" Rio waved his hand dismissively. "Just get us my regular coffee, please." He turned to Anita, "Let's go sit over there," he pointed to an empty spot at a corner which offered seclusion.

The two walked to the place without a word and sat down. Anita noticed how Rio moved his chair away from her as far away as possible but she didn't mind. All she wanted was just to get her hands on a publishing deal.

Rio looked at the woman once again, still amazed by how much resemblance she shared with Sarah. He wanted to ask her if she did surgery or if she was related to his wife's family but he held his tongue.

"So, who were you visiting at the cemetery?" Anita asked when she got uncomfortable with the silence.

"A family member," Rio answered, effectively cutting off that part of the discussion. "So, tell me about you. That is if you don't mind."

She saw the golden opportunity she had been looking for landed on her lap, "Like I said before, name is Anita. A lawyer fresh out of university but I don't want to practice law." When she saw Rio arched a brown at her, she quickly added, "I want to be a writer instead."

"Oh. So, you love books?" She nodded. "Have you read any book by Gena Showalter then? He asked, knowing that the woman was an author based on otherworlder books and not many people are a fan of that.

"Of course. I especially love her Lord of the underworld and original heartbreaker series." She said with genuine enthusiasm.

"Oh, well. Someone truly is a book ripper," Rio said with a laugh.

Time for her A-game, "Not just a lover of books but I also write some. As a matter of fact, I have two finished novels on my laptop." She informed him.

Rio's interest sparked up, "Can I see?" He asked her.

Way to go, babe. Anita patted herself inwardly.

"I only have sample chapters on my phone now," she said and brought out her phone. "Here," she handed the phone to him.

As he kept scrolling through, Anita prayed silently in her heart that he would open up and tell her he was a publisher and how interested he was in publishing her book.

"Nice concept," he told her as he returned the phone. "But it still needs a lot of work if you want it to get a publishing deal," he finished.

Her smile fell instantly. "Oh." She said simply, knowing that her plan was for naught then.

"Let me show you," Rio told her and dragged his seat closer to her.

As he kept scrolling and talking to her about the flaws in the book, Anita did her best to ignore how warm his breath on her hands felt. She also ignored the husky tone that came out of her each time she replied to his questions.

"Work on those and I'm sure that every publishing company will be after the book." He told her and returned back to his seat.

"Thanks…" She tried to say her phone rang and she picked it up, seeing that it was from one of the publishing companies she had submitted her sample to. "Hello?" She said. "Yes." A pause. "Now?" Another pause. "Okay." She finished and hung up.

"I'm really sorry but I have to go now." She told the man with her. "The call was from a publishing company." She explained and got up from the seat. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr…?"

"Rio. Name's Rio." He excluded his last name.

"Got to run now," Anita said.

"Wait," Rio told her. "If you want, I can help you point out all the errors in your books." He offered.

"Everything?" Even she was surprised.

"Yes."

"Great. We'll meet here tomorrow by 12 then." She told him. "Bye." And she was out of the cafe in recorded time.

Rio got up from his seat too. He knew that what he did was selfishness but he had realized just how much the woman kept out the thought of his dead wife from his head when he was with her. Hence, his reason for telling her he was ready to help her. In actual fact, he wanted to use her to keep his sanity.

"Your coffees," Grace said, finally appearing.

"No need for it any more." He brought out a note from his pocket and handed it to her. "For the coffee."

"Sorry it was late. We ran out of your favorite." The woman apologized.

Rio waved the apology away and moved to the door. Just as he was about to step out, a woman crossed his path and refused to move.

"Excuse me, Miss." He told her politely but she still didn't move.

"You don't remember me?" The woman said in a small voice that was melodious to the ears.

Rio took a quick survey of her entire body, from her long black hair to her brown eyes to her model figure body but he still couldn't tell if they had ever crossed paths before.

"No, I don't." He finally voiced out.

Her eyes fell, "I'm disappointed by those words, Rio Allen. Do you have any idea how hard it took for me to find you again?" She pouted.

Hearing her call his name, he was sure that she did know him well. But it also made him feel that she might be one of those who wanted to use his connection and wealth to climb up the success ladder. He hated them and he never entertained them in his life anymore once he discovered them.

"Excuse me." He moved his body around the woman and went out the door.

"Hey?" Mimie screamed at him but he didn't even pretend to hear her, talk more, acknowledging her voice.

She shrugged when she saw that all eyes in the cafe had focused on her. She didn't care about what they thought of her in any case. She just wanted Rio to acknowledge her and she would do anything to make that come to pass.

She had lost her opportunity to be his woman three years ago instead of that woman he got married to. Now that fate has smiled on her and she was back to Los Angeles and she had discovered that his wife was dead, she wouldn't lose her second chance.

She didn't care how long it took or even how she made him hers, all she just knew was the fact that he would belong to her sooner or later. This time, if there was any woman who tried to snatch the man from her, she would destroy her and make sure she never lived to tell the tale.

"Rio is mine. Mine alone." She mumbled to herself and walked out of the place.