Ruhi curled her fists on her sides and stood still. Her heart was a thundering mess as her eyes met Rafael's warm, hazel brown eyes. Looking at his pictures had got too painful, and she had stopped it many days ago. But seeing his gorgeous face and worshipping gaze threw her off control. She snapped out of the trance and looked at him with eyes clouded with anger.It appeared to her that he was in a heated conversation with her dad earlier, hostility coming off in waves from her parents. Unlike their hardened faces and furious glances, Rafael seemed to be calm and apologetic.He was elated to look up across the room and see Ruhi standing there. All the feelings that ran bone-deep within him surfaced, and he went speechless as butterflies flooded his stomach. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her hard and deep, as if his very life depended on it. Before letting his wild kisses take over her senses, Ruhi tried to push him away wit

Dhruv gawked at Ruhi, as he always did when he saw her in traditional outfits. "Yes?" Rafael wrapped his arm around Ruhi and raised a brow at Dhruv, resisting the urge to punch him in the face for showing up at her house and staring at her right in front of him.Ruhi pushed Rafael's hand away and walked toward Dhruv. She wanted to make him feel welcome."Dhruv, hi!" Keeping her voice steady, she turned around to her mom. "Mamma, this is Dhruv who we talked about.""Oh..." Her mom wasn't sure what to say."Oh? Mom?" Rafael asked her, feeling betrayed."We weren't sure if you would ever come, Rafael. Even you weren't sure about your visit." Ruhi's mom explained."So?" He flashed an angry glare at Ruhi for not caring to even explain herself. He grabbed her by the arm when she acted unbothered by his anger."Are you ever going to explain anything to me?""She's not eighteen... and it's not easy to find someon

"It was your dad's idea actually. The houseboat thing," Rafael said, unable to turn his eyes away from Ruhi.Her twinkling eyes and beautiful, soft curls framing her face had him mesmerized, and he was amazed at how quickly she forgot all about staying mad at him.She bounced around, exploring the ultra-luxurious boat with an open lounge area, a viewing deck besides a rooftop deck, a kitchenette, a skilled crew including an onboard chef, a spa, and an elegant dining space with panoramic views."Hmm... everything is fantastic, except one thing." She turned around to look at Rafael, who was following her. "Why is there just one bedroom? I have no option to kick you out if we fight because the crew and bodyguards will be occupying the outside and rest of the rooms.""No one is going to get into any fights today." He kissed her on the forehead."I love how cozy everything feels!" She hugged him and then fell on a plush couch in the living roo

"She's very excited about traveling in the business class for the first time," Rafael told him and walked toward where she was standing."Ah, so he finally remembered me. I thought both my parents and your dad are all on your side now." Ruhi moved to reach for the phone in Rafael's hand.A distant gunshot and a swish of a bullet came out of nowhere and passed right next to her as she moved out of her position, hitting Landon in the arm.Rafael dropped the phone and pulled her around. The next shot followed in less than a second, hitting him in the back. She could feel the bullet as it pierced through him because he was holding her close. He moved her out of the way with so much force before the next shot was heard that she tumbled over the sand, making him lose balance as well, toppling right over her. "RAFAEL!!" She ran her hand over his back, screaming as he held her in a protective grip.Open firing betwe

It was finally time to fly to San Francisco, and Ruhi was more nervous than happy after talking to her father-in-law about Rafael. His words played in her mind over and over while she was packing her bags. And yet, she had a hard time believing those words because of the kind of Rafael she saw.She thought he might have acted like a jerk a few times or was unreasonable, but mostly pampered her and treated her well. What Rafael's dad said about him was totally different."Not only his memory, but his attitude also seems to have gone back to how he was about ten years back. He was the biggest jerk of his college. He ganged up with Aaron, Eddy, and another dude you haven't met and beat up his football team captain and all his friends. He bullied every new student; the more innocent or weak someone looked, the more he harassed them. He earned many awful names, and I was ashamed of him. Not to mention the number of times he failed on the tests or the times cops came to