All Chapters of Rafael: The Mafia's Substitute Wife: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

•ANEIRA•"Narra," Rafael's voice called behind me in the hallway when I was heading to my room, and I stopped walking.I kept my head down with my hands clasped in front of my stomach. My heart pounded in my chest, thinking he was about to question me about the things he had heard from my mother."The doctor is here, and he's waiting with your mother in the guest room upstairs," he informed me when he reached my side."Oh," I breathed, realizing that he meant every word he had said to me before. He didn't want this baby, and I couldn't believe that it hadn't crossed his mind that he was the father."Of course, Mr. Sterling," I answered, nodding. "I will get ready right away." I turned to walk away when he grabbed my wrist and held me back."Once this procedure is done, there will be no going back," he muttered. "So it will be wise for you to tell me if I am the father of the child."I looked at him, realizing that he thought the baby was his, but my mind was already made up. He had ta

•RAFAEL•"How is she?" I asked as I jumped to my feet when I saw the doctor. "Is she awake?""Mr. Sterling, the baby is—""I don't care about the baby," I snapped. "I want to know how Aneira is. Is she okay?""She's fine, sir. She's stable now, but she lost a lot of blood and lost the baby," the doctor answered. "We tried everything we could to save them both.""Can you take me to her?"The doctor nodded before she took me to her room. When we walked in, Aneira was crying, looking the other way."I'll leave you both to talk," she said as she gave me a small smile before she walked out and closed the door behind her."I'm sorry," she muttered. "My mother never told me that my sister was alive. I can't even imagine—" she paused. "You and your sister can do whatever you want with us.""You and your mother are free," I answered, exhaling. "The marriage contract between us will be annulled. You're free now, Aneira."She looked at me, shocked. "What?""I will provide you with enough money t

•ANEIRA•“The doctor will come to see you soon,” the nurse said after bringing my breakfast and checking my vitals. “If everything continues to look good and there are no new complications, you should be discharged in two days.”I gave her a polite smile before she turned around and left the room.The moment the door closed behind her, the smile slowly faded from my face.Two days.Two more days trapped in this hospital room, staring at the same white walls that reminded me again and again of what I had lost, and then what?Would I go back to Rafael’s house? Back to the man who had married me only to use me as a tool for his revenge?Back to the life that had already taken everything from me, including the baby I never even got the chance to hold?Rafael had told me I was free.He had said those words so calmly, so easily, as if freedom was something he could give away after everything he had already taken from me.But I knew better.Men like Rafael Sterling didn't let things go unles

•RAFAEL•The moment my lips met hers, every wall I had spent months building came crashing down at once.She didn't push me away.She kissed me back, and that was all I needed to pull her closer, to close every remaining inch between us until there was nothing left but her warmth against my chest and the faint sound of her breathing between kisses.I had told myself I would let her go.I had rehearsed it, prepared for it, and convinced myself that watching her walk out of this house and out of my life was the only decent thing I had left to offer her. It was the least I owed her after everything she had done for me. After all the nights I had reduced her to tears and told myself she deserved it.But then she smacked my chest and cried and told me she could never be free from me, and every rehearsed word dissolved.I walked her back slowly until she leaned against the edge of the desk, and she pulled me with her, her fingers curling into the front of my shirt. "Rafael," she whispered

•ANEIRA•They found Narra three days later.She hadn't fled the country the way she had promised me she would. She hadn't disappeared or run or tried to become someone else in some city where no one knew her name.She had gone back to the house where we grew up.Polly told me this with the same flat expression she used for everything, standing in the doorway of the room where Rafael was still recovering, watching me to see how I would react.I didn't react. I just looked at my hands for a moment before answering her. "I want to talk to her.""That's not a good idea," Polly replied."I know," I answered. "I still want to."Rafael was awake by then, propped against the pillows with the kind of stillness that only came from a man who was too stubborn to admit he was in pain. When Polly left the room he looked at me, and I looked back at him, and neither of us spoke for a moment."You don't have to do this," he breathed. "Your sister might hurt you, and I won't be there to protect you."