All Chapters of Rafael: The Mafia's Substitute Wife: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

•ANEIRA• After working in the garden for two hours without taking a break, I sat on the bench nearby to catch my breath. I felt out of breath and a little hungry, but I didn’t want to go inside the house to get food yet. Not when I would bump into Rafael or Amari and get questioned if I had done what they instructed me to do. Lost in thought about the past, specifically when my dad was alive, and we’d wash dishes together, I noticed someone walking towards me. I lifted my eyes and looked as Amari got closer. Her brow knitted, and she looked angry. I then stood up when she arrived at my side. “Amari,” her name came out as a whisper, and she quickly cut me off. "Don't you dare speak my name with your filthy mouth," she sneered. "Why don't you want to leave my boyfriend alone? Do you think he will throw me out of this house again because of your love potions?" "Love potions?" I almost laughed, but held it in. “I—” A hot slap landed on my cheek before I could finish my sentence, an

•NARRA• “Oh, Judith. Thank you for calling to check on me. The death of my dearest Aneira has been so heavy on my heart. My life has no meaning anymore, and as if the world couldn’t be cruel enough, they took my only daughter, Narra, and married her off to that beastly man, Rafael Sterling.” My mother sobbed over the phone, and I rolled my eyes as I sat beside her on the couch. “Good heavens,” Judith gasped on the other end of the line. “Rafael would tear her apart. He won’t let her go until she’s dead. You should get your daughter back, Emma. What about your husband? Is he well? I noticed you haven’t been home for two weeks now. Your house is as quiet as a grave.” I saw my mother roll her eyes before she continued her performance. “My poor husband is late, Judith. Rafael has refused to give me his body, and I’ll never know where he was buried. So, I ran away before I became the next victim." “Don’t worry, Emma. God will see you through and will bring your daughter back to safety.

•AMARI•“I want you to find Narra’s mother and bring her to the house. Make sure that she gets here alive, Finn.” Rafael hung up the call and paced in his home office, making another call.I walked in and closed the door behind me.I leaned toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist, and he didn’t even flinch as he lifted the phone to his ear.“I want Doctor Xander to come to my house tomorrow morning. Tell him to be here before 10:00 in the morning. Yes, good.” He hung up the call before he slipped my hands from him and went to his desk.“Is everything?” I cleared my throat and leaned toward him. “You were not in bed when I woke up this morning. And also, you never came to bed last night, Rafael. What’s going on?”I was worried because I thought Rafael and I were getting somewhere. He brought me back to his house and was treating me like his woman again, and I feared losing that.“Can I be left alone? I have things that need my attention, and I don’t want to be disturbed,” he re

•ANEIRA•I shook my head as I looked at my mother and couldn’t believe what she had just said to Rafael. I knew if I told him the truth about my identity to get back at her, it would backfire.“How could you say something like that to me? I loved my sister and wouldn’t have done anything to risk her life. She was as important to me as she was to you. How could I have killed my twin sister?”“That’s not what I called you here for, Emma. The deal was to give me your daughter to spare your life, and that was done. Doctor Xander will be here tomorrow morning, so I want you to be here as well, to see the consequences of your daughter’s deceit,” Rafael answered before he walked to the door and left.My mother and I looked at each other for a few seconds before she broke the silence. She closed the gap between us and chuckled.“My goodness, Aneira,” she shook her head. “If I had known Rafael had turned you into his maid, I would’ve laughed all the way from home to see you. You weren’t joking

•RAFAEL•I woke up with my pillow drenched that morning. I sat up on the bed and breathed, trying to remind myself that it was only a dream, just as it had been for the past twenty years.It was always the same dream, and with the same outcome. My parents always ended up dying. They died horrible deaths every time the dream returned each night.It felt like a shadow that wouldn't leave me alone. No matter what I did, or wherever I was, the dream always returned, and each time it did, my vengeance for my parents intensified.Narra and her mother were still alive.Her mother was still alive, while mine wasn't."Baby, are you okay?" Amari asked when she woke up and found me sitting on the bed.I looked at her and rolled my eyes. I didn't know how many times I had told her to go home, but she still insisted on staying, even though I wanted nothing to do with her anymore.Whatever happened between us was supposed to last one night. To make Narra jealous, but she wouldn't leave anymore."I'