Chapter EightRaffael ~~~~I drove to the hotel I wanted I and Tori to meet. It was a small one just outside the city where I was sure we wouldn’t be seen or photographed.I got there in under thirty minutes and checked into the room I had booked under a fake name. I got to the room and waited for Tori to arrive.I waited for a little while then I heard a knock on the door. It was Tori. She threw herself at me immediately when she got inside. I had no choice but to hug her.She withdrew and went to sit. I followed sitting beside her.“How’s your face?” I asked moving it from one side to the other.“It still hurts like a bitch.” She said pointing to the bruise on her cheek.“What actually happened yesterday? Why did she slap you? She said you provoked her.” I asked with a hint of concern in my voice. “Provoked her? She was just mad because you chose me over her. I simply wanted to chat with her and try to explain things then she got angry.”“Hmmm,” I said.“Why did you want to meet?
Chapter NineCamilla~~~~I woke up feeling better than last night. Raffael had left the house last night after our little argument.I got up from the bed and went to take a shower. I got dressed and ready for the day. I called Skye to tell her to come over since we were both free for the rest of the day.It was almost 8’clock and he hadn’t still returned. Normally he would return at seven and then leave again before twelve. I wonder where he was.I called Anthony, his assistant to check if he was still at the office or if he was with someone else.“Hello, Good morning Anthony. I just wanted to check with you if Raffael was still at the office.”“He didn’t come in yesterday mam.”“He didn’t go to the office yesterday?” I asked confused.“Yes.”“Okay, thank you.” I said and hung up the phone.I threw my phone on the bed, biting my lip in confusion. If he didn’t go to the office yesterday where could he be? Is it possible he went to meet with her?I shook the thought out of my head and
Chapter TenCamilla~~~~My eyes fluttered as I struggled to adjust to the bright light. I finally managed to open my eyes and I looked around. I was on a hospital bed.What happened? My head ached so bad and I felt really nauseous. I stayed in my position for a while then the door opened. It was Skye.“You’re awake, finally.” She said rushing over to my side.“What happened?” I said trying to sit up.She helped me up. “You fainted.”“Why?”“The doctor hasn’t said anything yet. He was waiting for you to wake up. I’ll go get him.” She said and went out the door.She returned in a few minutes with our family doctor.“Ms Edwards, how are you feeling?” He asked.“My head still aches a little bit.”“We’ll prescribe some drugs to help ease the pain.”“Is that the reason I fainted?”“Uhm.” He looked over to Skye to indicate he wanted the conversation to be private.“It’s okay, you can say whatever you want to say.” I assured him.“You are 13 weeks pregnant, Ms Edwards.” He said handing me a
Chapter ElevenRaffael ~~~~The drive to the airport was short and silent. I didn’t have anything to do in California, I just needed to be away.Anthony dropped me off at the airport and then left. I made sure to wear a hoodie and sunglasses to avoid being recognized and photographed.I got on the plane and found my way to the first-class section and found my seat. After a long seven hours, we finally landed in California.I went to get my luggage and then went to the front for my best friend, Sam to come pick me up.I waited at a coffee shop for about ten minutes before he finally arrived.“Sam.” I said standing up to hug him as he came towards me.“Raffael. How’ve you been brother?”“Been good. How are you?”“I’m doing alright. You ready to go?”“Yeah.” I nodded.I carried my suitcase and we went outside. We got in the car and were on our way to his apartment. We arrived there shortly and went inside.“The first room by the left.” He said.I dragged my suitcase and went to the room
Chapter Twelve Raffael ~~~~The weekend in California rolled by fast. It was time for me to go back to New York. The flight back home was smooth and short.I had to go to the office directly from the airport because the Press conference was scheduled for four pm. I changed into a suit at the office and went downstairs.There were reporters outside gathered outside the building. We managed to get around them and we got in the car.I hadn’t seen Camilla since I got here. I tried to call her over the weekend but she wasn’t returning my calls. I’d already practiced my speech for the press conference and I was ready for any question thrown at me.We drove to the location and there were more reporters outside the building. These were the ones who were not allowed to be inside but still wanted to get a story.We had to go through the back because the crowd outside was too much and it would be difficult to go in through there.We got inside the building and the reporters were waiting for me
Chapter ThirteenCamilla ~~~~I’d already made up my mind that I was going to sign papers. It was clear right now that he didn’t love or respect me. I already knew the first part but this just confirmed everything.“So you’re keeping it?” Skye asked.“Yes. I mean it was a hard decision. I was conflicted on if I wanted to be reminded of him every day or just forget about him.”“You made a good decision Cammy. I want you to know that I’ll always be there for you.”“Thank you, Skye. I don’t know what I would do without you.”“So you’re not going to tell him?”“No, he doesn’t deserve to know. After the way he’s been treating me for the past three years and knowing that I know now. Nothing’s going to change anyways.”“You’ve signed the papers already?”“Yes. I just have to give them to him.”“What about the press conference that’s already scheduled?”“He should have a chance to clear his name. We’ll just say we weren’t compatible anymore and we decided to get divorced.”“So what’s the pla
Chapter FourteenCamilla~~~~“Raffael? What’s she talking about?” My grandpa asked.“I-I don’t know.” He stuttered.“What? Cat’s got your tongue?” I mocked.“Camilla, what are you talking about?” My grandpa asked.“Tori came to me, she said she wanted to talk. She told me how two months ago when he went on a business trip they ran into each other.”“Whatever she told you was a lie.” Raffael interrupted. He was already sweating.“Shut up and let me finish.” I retorted. “ She told me about how they slept with each other that night.”“Raffael.” My grandpa stood up. “Is what she’s saying true?”“I promise it’s all a misunderstanding.”“Everything’s a misunderstanding when it comes to you.” My grandpa said.“Is that why you gave me the divorce papers?” I asked standing up. “You felt guilty didn’t you?”“We didn’t sleep with each other, I promise.” He stood up also.“Shut up, you did. That’s why when you came home you were all over me. You felt guilty didn’t you?”“If you would just let me
Chapter FifteenRaffael ~~~~I left the house with my mouth wide open. I was still in shock after what just happened. I couldn’t believe she signed the papers.I got in the car by myself leaving behind the others. To think straight, I needed to be alone. This was my life now. I knew I shouldn’t have let Tori leave like that. She went to run her mouth to Tori.I took the divorce papers with me. Thinking about it now, I didn’t want to get divorced now.I drove to the house and circled the neighborhood for a few minutes. So many thoughts were running through my head. What would happen to the company now? Things were already bad right now. Confirmation of our divorce would only bring more damage. I couldn’t believe the power Camilla and her family held over my company.I finally drove into the compound and parked. I thought of ways to convince Camilla to change her mind. It couldn’t end like this.I went into the house and went to the bathroom to wash my face. I removed my tie because
Chapter SeventyRaphael’s POVCamilla was furious after, but Alexander managed to calm her down. She was a thin line away from causing me major bodily harm. I understood her. My personal life had interfered with hers, causing trouble for her.What I didn’t understand was why and how Emily did what she did. I was still trying to wrap my head around everything. How did she find out about Camilla and her life back here in California?We all made our way to the station to give our statements. We spent about an hour in the station. They also asked Rory some questions about the man who took her. She said he was kind to her and that he gave her ice cream and let her watch TV.By the end of the night, they had managed to track down the guy who took her and confirmed the relationship between him and Emily. She was the one who hired him to do the kidnapping.The guy immediately confessed to everything. It kind of made me wonder why a hardcore criminal would confess to his crimes that easily. He
Chapter Sixty-NineCamilla’s POV‘I didn’t want to hurt your little girl before, but now you made me mad.’ That was the next message I received from that same number.I showed the message to Rapheal who then sent it to the PI. We also called the police to let them know that the person texted again. So far, it seemed like they weren’t after ransom or anything. They just wanted to hurt me and my daughter.“We’re running out of time, Raphael.”“We’re not. Trust me, they’re not going to do anything to her. They know better.”The police now had a breakthrough. With the help of the PI, they had managed to track the phone number, but what was weird was that the location was New York. There’s no way they flew with Rory to New York. That was impossible.The NYPD got involved and took care of finding the person behind the number in New York.They still focused on finding her here.After a while, we got a call. They had an idea where she was. I picked up the keys and dashed out of the house wit
Chapter Sixty-EightRaphael's POVI rounded up my work and set to leave the office. The driver was already going to pick Jason up so I didn’t have to worry about that. Emily was having dinner with us tonight so I called her to let her know I was off work.I drove to the house and after I had freshened up, Emily had arrived. She offered to cook for the dinner so she arrived early.I let her do the cooking and went to the living room to watch TV.After a few minutes, I got a call from Camilla. It took me by suprise. We hadn’t really spoken all week. I was trying to give her the space that she deserved.“Where are you?” She asked.“What?” I was taken aback by the question.“Where did you go with my daughter?” She asked again.“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Was she drunk or?“What do you mean by you don’t know what Im talking about? The school said you came to pick Rory up.” “What? I'm in New York.”“Are you being serious?”“Yes. What happened?” I was starting to get wor
Chapter Sixty-SevenCamilla’s POVThe past week was just a rush of things. We moved out of our old house into a much safer house. We also hired private security just in case. I was thinking of changing schools for Rory but I just decided to let her continue going there. It’d be hard for her to adapt to a new environment.I spent almost all my time at work. I put in all the hours I’d taken off before. I met with Alexander one time and vented to him. He was a good friend, he reassured me and gave me words of encouragement to keep going. It was finally Friday and I was happy to spend the weekend in bed. I dropped Rory off at school and then went to work. I went to my office and got started on work. During my lunch break, I got a call from Alexander. “Hey. How are you doing?”“I’m fine. How are you?”“Good, good. How’s the new place?”“It’s alright. It’s a lot different than our old house and Rory’s a bit scared to sleep in her new room but she’ll come around.”“I know she will. Any ne
Chapter Sixty-SixRaphael's POVI sat down on the couch in defeat. I’d mange’s to make Camilla angry at me again. Every time we wanted to talk, I somehow always said the wrong thing and pushed her further away from me.It wasn’t my intent to shame her for her decisions when she was younger or make her think Aurora was something to be hidden. I’d fucked up, once again.The chairman who had followed behind her returned to the living room.“She’s leaving, tonight. She’s packing already.”“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say all those things to her.”“But you did. You can’t seem to let go of the past, can’t you? You always bring that up in every conversation you guys have. She’s already apologized for that countless times. Why do you have to keep punishing her? She’s already going through enough.”“I know. I'm sorry but she took those years of my life. I can never get that back. You had a hand in that too.”“You know, you could have refused the marriage. But you didn’t, because of your father
Chapter Sixty-FiveCamilla’s POVI stormed out of the living room after I slapped Raphael. Normally I wouldn’t resort to violence but he riled me up so fast I didn’t know when I walked up to him and slapped him.How dare he? Shame me for being in love. And I thought we were already past that but if seemed we still had a lot to talk about.I went to my room and started packing up my things. I also went to Rory’s room to pack her bags. Whether he liked it or not, we were going to leave tonight.I didn’t know if I was angry with what he said because it was true or not. I wasn’t ashamed of my daughter, I could never be. I was only trying to protect her from the things I was exposed to. No child deserves to grow up under the limelight and scrutiny of the media. I was crying and I didn’t even know it. My eyes were clouded with tears and I could barely see. I sat down on the bed trying to calm myself down.I heard a knock on the door and I looked up to see a figure of my grandpa.“Are you o
Chapter Sixty-FourRaphael's POV“Did you see the news about Camilla?” Sam asked as I came out of the meeting room.“What news?”“They leaked her address, her job back in California, and her phone number. Everything about the life she’s been living these last few years is on the internet.”“What the hell? Did they say anything about Aurora?”“No. They didn’t. But I’m sure they know about her too. They’re just kind enough not to put that out.”“She must be devastated.”“I know right? Have you talked to her? When was she thinking about going back?”“I don’t know. She hasn’t said anything. I’ll call her right now.” I said.“Ok, bro. I’ll get back to work. See you later.” He said and left. I went back to my office and picked up my phone to call her. It seemed her phone was switched off. Of course it would, it would be blowing up by now with messages and calls from random people.I went online to check for the news Sam talked about. It was kind of nasty. The comments said mean things abou
Chapter Sixty-ThreeCamilla’s POVAfter spending the whole night trying to figure out what my next decision would be, I finally made uo my mind to go back to California. I wanted to spend the rest of the week here before returning though.I got up and got ready for the day. I went to check up on my grandpa and took him out for a walk around the compound.“I’ll be leaving next week.” I announced.“That’s good. You’ve spent a long time here anyway. It’s time to return to your normal life.”“But this was my life though. Here in New York.”“And it’s not anymore. You started a new one that you can’t leave behind.”We continued the walk in silence. After circling the compound, we returned to the house. Rory was already up by this time. My grandpa was to return to work in a few weeks after the doctor cleared him. For now, he was taking a break and letting Jeremy handle the company.We had breakfast and then my grandpa headed to his study. He was invested in reading nowadays. Rory kept beggin
Chapter Sixty-TwoRaphael's POVI worked from home today so I could spend a little bit of time with Aurora. Camilla still hadn’t made up her mind about when to leave for California. To be honest, it was making me kind of nervous that I didn’t know when my daughter would be leaving me.Aurora was in the middle of the room playing with her toys while I worked away on my computer. “Daddy, when will Jason be back?” She asked.“He won’t be back for long, honey. He’s at school, remember.”“Why didn't I go to school? I miss my friends.” She said.“You’ll be back to school in a bit. When you guys return home.”“Are you going to come with us?”“Uhm. I don’t know yet.”“Well, I do want you to come. And Jason too.”“We’ll think about it.”“Okay.” She said going back to her toys.After an hour or two, I went to make her something to eat.“Daddy, can we go to the park and then go get ice cream? I don’t want to stay inside all day.” She complained.“I’ll have to ask your mummy first. We can’t go o