POV: Victoria I stood and watched as the girls danced with him one after the other, dancing with elegance and poise. I still can’t believe that Gramps did this for Raphael and I. My eyes took in the elegantly decorated ballroom with shimmering lights and lavish decorations. It’s so beautiful and it’s held in my honor as a part of the family, the Hawkins family.If only Raphael could see me the same way if only he would consider me a part of his family. My eyes went to the guests who were dressed in their finest attire, clinking glasses of champagne and mingling throughout the room. It landed on Raphael and I noticed he had his eyes on me all this while. I smiled at him but he looked away, ignoring me.Cindy looked confident, she was sure she would win the competition. She had been to countless parties before and was known for her graceful dance moves and charming demeanor. As she took her turn dancing with Grandpa, she twirled and swayed with practiced elegance, expecting to win over
POV: Victoria “I don’t care how you feel, Victoria!You knew what you were getting into when you agreed to be my pretend girlfriend. Now I’m going to try to please my father by proposing to you. Do me a favor and pretend to be surprised okay?” he told me through gritted teeth, holding me close and locking his lips with mine before I could say anything to annoy him further. “Fine, you win!” I told him after the kiss, smiling brightly. He chuckled at my excitement and for a brief moment I saw his eyes brighten up and his smile almost looked genuine…almost.He looked into my eyes and kissed me In a romantic gesture, his eyes fixed online. He took a step back and went on one knee, presenting me with a small velvet box. He opened the box and Inside was a stunning diamond ring, a huge diamond I must confess. I known was expecting this, I mean, he just told me to fake it. But this is actually a nice surprise because I didn’t know he had it in him to be this romantic. Hell, I didn’t even k
POV: Raphael “You will regret this!” Ethan told me this morning before he got to his car and left. All these years he has never threatened me or shown me his true colors. It’s been Nate all these years. Ethan just stayed in the shadows, doing his business behind the scenes. Now he has decided to join forces with Nathan and it’s going to be more trouble for me.“You don’t have to take me home, I can get home by myself.” Victoria told me as I drove her home. She has been quiet since last night, she didn’t say anything about it, not even when she witnessed Gramps brutality with my brothers. She got her fair share of threats from Nate, but she kept her cool and just pretended not to notice.“I didn’t ask for your opinion, did I?” I asked sternly.“Can we skip this pretense and talk like two smart adults?I thought we were past this stage. You may not like me Ralph, but at least treat me like a friend or a sister. Just get rid of the attitude already, it’s not who you are.” She told me, s
POV: Raphael Her eyes narrow in suspicion as she looks at me, her expression cautious and scared, “You may be wealthy, Mr Hawkins. But I am not scared of you. I want you to stay away from my family, leave my daughter alone!” She affirms, glaring at me.“Let me make this very clear, ma’am Eloise. You have no right to interfere in my relationship with Victoria. Like I said earlier, I did my best to respond on time and save you and Claire from my enemies. It’s not Claire's fault and it's not my fault either. I would work harder to make sure it never happens again. You cannot use this incident as an excuse to keep us apart. I won’t let you!And I’m not here to threaten you or force you to like me. I’m saying that I won’t let you control her life and if you insist on keeping us apart, I will make you suffer!” I told her sternly, earning a gasp from Claire and her sister. “How can you be so mean, Raphael?How dare you speak with my mother in that tone after all she has been through?” Vic
POV: Raphael “Fine!If you feel I’m such a bully, then why are you with me, why not break up with me already?!” I asked her furiously, glaring dangerously at her. To think that I’m looking out for her and she dares to call me a bully, yelling at me and calling me names. Her mom is the reason they are being bullied by their father always. He knows her secret and he’s using it to bully her and threaten her. If she tells her girls the truth, then they will be free from his attacks because their mother would have nothing to fear anymore and she would fight for her inheritance and face him head. “Come on, what are you waiting for?Leave if you want to, I fucking dare you!” I yelled back at her, walking out on her and heading back to my car. I thought she would not respond to me, but I heard the sound of her footsteps behind me and I knew she would not let me have the last word.“You are so arrogant and proud, Raphael. You don’t think of anyone but yourself. You must think that I have no
POV: Victoria “You love him?” Claire asks me, startling me from my thoughts.“He’s not coming back, is he?” I responded, my voice heavy and sad. I’ve been standing out here since he drove off. A part of me still thinks he would turn around and come back to me. I didn’t think he would leave that way, I thought he was simply bluffing. But as it is, nothing is a joke to Raphael Hawkins. “You shouldn’t have asked him to leave if you love him that much, you shouldn’t let anyone manipulate you into leaving him. You need to start thinking about your future, no one has the right to tell you what to do and who to be with!” she told me firmly. “Jeez, who are you and where is my kid sister?” I joke, earning a chuckle.“You know how you always ask me to leave Kyle because he is not good for me and I completely ignore you?Well, that is because I love him and I chose to think with my heart and not my brain. I let myself love him because I know he is a good man and he loves me too. In fact, he i
POV: Victoria The master bedroom is incredibly spacious, it covers a significant portion of the top floor of the mansion. I smiled in appreciation as I looked up at the high ceilings with a beautiful chandelier in the middle. It has large windows that offer a stunning view of the terrain.At the center of the room is a massive, custom-made bed with the finest linens, plush pillows, and a designer headboard. The mattress is likely to be a top-of-the-line luxury model for the ultimate in comfort. I jump on the bed and smile in satisfaction, chuckling excitedly. Claire jumped in after me and we jumped and danced on the bed, loving the soft mattress. The décor of the room is elegant and sophisticated, there is custom-made Italian furniture and tasteful artwork. The color theme is grey and white with luxurious tones of gold and silver as designs.“This room is huge, Vee!It has everything you need!” Claire let out excitedly and we toured my room. I am pretty sure that this room belongs t
POV: Victoria “Erm, I… I…Why don’t we forget about that and talk about,” “Which one!” He asked sternly, stopping me from dodging his question.“The Ferrari,” I let out softly, thinking he would yell at me. But he just looked away as if it didn’t matter, “It suits you,” he told me, leaning further on his seat and staring at me. “So why are you here?State your business and get the hell out of my business!” he lets out sternly.“Fine!Just show me to my office and I’ll be out of your way,” I told him, smiling down at him. “What office?What the hell are you talking about?” he asked me, sounding pissed.“Come on, Ralph!Don’t pretend as if you don’t know what I’m talking about. We talked about this a million times before I agreed to sign this contract. I need a job so I can pay off my debt and take care of my mom and my sister. You don’t want me to come running to you for every fucking thing we need, do you?” I asked him. “I have enough money to cover your needs. Don