Chapter 10: Confrontations and Kisses

Rayna's POV

Two weeks into my secret job, the stress was starting to show.

Oliver's deadline was approaching only three days left. Susana was making my life hell at home. And the tension with Denzel was suffocating.

He barely spoke to me. Barely looked at me. We existed in the same house like ghosts passing in the night.

Meanwhile, Susana had taken over completely. She redecorated rooms without asking. She hosted her society friends for lunch, acting like the lady of the house. And her comments grew sharper.

"Another day of shopping?" she'd ask at breakfast, eyeing my professional outfit with suspicion. "You must have quite the wardrobe by now. Though I never see you wearing anything new."

"I prefer quality over quantity," I'd reply coolly.

"How wise. Though one does wonder what you're really doing with all that time away."

I'd ignore her and leave quickly, heart pounding.

It all came to a head on a Tuesday afternoon.

I'd come home early, just in time. Danielle had canceled a meeting and walked into chaos in the kitchen.

Susana was screaming at Bee. Actually screaming, her face red with rage, her finger pointing accusingly.

"completely incompetent! How difficult is it to prepare a simple breakfast? My son has specific needs!"

Bee stood there, tears streaming down her weathered face. "I'm sorry, Miss Susana. I didn't know Connor couldn't have "

"You should have known! That's your job! God, you're useless!"

"That's enough." My voice came out cold and hard.

Susana whirled around. "Oh, the contract wife has an opinion."

"Bee, are you okay?" I moved past Susana to stand beside her.

"I'm fine, dear. Just a misunderstanding."

"It's not a misunderstanding when someone makes you cry." I turned to Susana. "You have no right to speak to her that way."

"I have every right. As the mother of Denzel's child…. "

"You're a guest in this house. That's all."

Susana's face flushed with rage. "How dare you?"

"What the hell is going on here?"

We all turned to see Naomi in the doorway, her expression murderous.

What followed was explosive. Naomi tore into Susana with a fury I'd never seen.

"You made Bee cry?" Naomi's voice shook with rage. "Bee, who raised me? Who's been with this family for twenty years? You made her cry over burnt toast?"

"She failed to properly prepare…."

"I don't care!" Naomi stepped closer. "You don't talk to Bee that way. You don't talk to anyone that way!"

"I'm the mother of Denzel's child..”

"Oh, please cut that crap off!! We all know that you're a guest who's overstayed her welcome! How are we even sure that you're the Denzel is the father of that child?" Naomi pulled out her phone. "I'm calling Denzel. Right now."

"Naomi, wait.." I started, but she was already dialing.

"Denzel? Get home. Now. Susana just abused Bee to the point of tears. No, it can't wait. Twenty minutes or I'm calling the police."

She hung up.

Susana's confident mask cracked. "You're going to regret this."

"The only thing I regret is not doing this sooner." Naomi hissed at her in disgust.

Denzel arrived in fifteen minutes.

I'd never seen him move so fast. He burst through the door, his expression thunderous.

"Where's Bee?" he demanded.

"In the room," Naomi said. "Rayna's room."

His eyes found mine for just a moment, something flickering in his gaze. Then he turned toward the sitting room where Susana waited.

Naomi and I followed. We weren't missing this.

"Did you yell at Bee?" Denzel asked, his voice dangerously dark and quiet.

"She failed to properly prepare Connor's breakfast…"

"Did. You. Yell. At. Bee?"

Susana's jaw tightened. "Yes. But she deserved…"

"That is it, Stop I have gotten my answer." Denzel's voice was ice. "Bee has been with this family for twenty years. She practically raised Naomi. She took care of me when I had nothing. She is my family. Do you understand that?"

"I was just trying to ensure that our Son…"

"By making her cry?" Denzel moved closer, and even I shivered at his tone. "Let me make something very clear, Susana. You are a guest in this house. A guest I'm tolerating because of My child and because you are his mother, he knows only but you and I don't want my child growing up thinking that I abandoned him. But if you ever and I mean ever speak to Bee or any member of my family that way again, you will be out of this house so fast your head will spin. Are we clear?"

Susana's face went pale, then red. "Crystal."

"Good. Now go apologize to Bee. And if I hear about anything like this happening again, there won't be a second warning."

Susana grabbed her purse and left, her heels clicking angrily on the marble.

Naomi hugged her brother. "You should have kicked her out."

"I can't. Not yet. Connor needs some stability." He looked exhausted. "But she's on thin ice."

Naomi left to check on Bee, leaving me alone with Denzel.

"Is Bee okay?" he asked quietly.

" Go check on her yourself but she should be. She's tougher than she looks."

"She shouldn't have to be." He ran a hand through his hair. "Thank you. For standing up for her."

"I wasn't going to let her be abused in her own home."

We stood in awkward silence.

"I should check on her," I said, turning to leave.

"Wait." His hand caught my arm. "Can we talk?"

My heart hammered. "About what?"

"About everything. The job. The fighting. About... us."

"There is no us, Denzel."

"I know there isn't!!" He moved closer. "But I can't stop thinking about you. Where you go. What you're doing. Why you're always happy, smiling at your phone. If you…" He stopped, jaw clenching.

"If I what?"

"If you think about me too."

The raw honesty in his voice caught me off guard. "Denzel..."

"I know I've been an ass. I know I tried to control you. But Amelia, I need you to understand that, this is how I am. Because if you had your own life, you wouldn't need me anymore."

"That's not how it works."

“I know but can I kiss you?” The words came out of his mouth than the way I expected.

I should have said no. Should have reminded him about all the reasons this was a terrible idea.

But I nodded instead.

And then he kissed me.

This kiss was different from any kiss, I have ever had. Slower. Deeper. Less desperate, more intentional. His hand slid into my hair, and I melted against him, my hands fisting in his shirt.

When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Denzel rested his forehead against mine.

"Denzel we can't be doing this, we are obviously lusting after ourselvesl," I whispered breathing so hard, without being able to look at him.

"This is absolutely lust," he admitted.

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

But footsteps in the hallway made us spring apart.

Naomi appeared, eyebrows raised. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No," I said quickly, my face flushing.

"Uh-huh." She grinned. "Sure. Well, Bee wants to see you, Rayna. She's making tea."

I left quickly, my heart still racing, my lips still tingling.

That night, lying in my bed, I replayed the kiss over and over.

It had been real. Too real.

And I had no idea what to do about it.

But first, I have to call Serena to let her know what happened!