Rafaella felt Alexus tighten his grip on her hand, but she didn't even bother to glance at him since her eyes were set on the person she wanted to see and hoped she would never see again. The man's gaze lingered on Alexus's face rather than hers, which surprised her because he didn't even seem surprised to see them both.Then his mouth broke into an amused laugh, "Alexus Latimer, what brought you to this part of the world?"Rafaella silently regarded him. She was optimistic that the old man had no malice toward her spouse."My blood has recently started to turn sluggish. Perhaps it needs some direction, Lombardi," Alexus replied. There was no politeness in their words or how they greeted each other."Uhm," Lombardi smirked, bobbing his head, his right brow lifted, and his eyes somewhat grinning. "I guess you're right and seem to be steering in the right direction.""I don't agree with what you said, Mr. Lombardi," Rafaella's stern face interrupted the conversation between the two. "Yo
Rafaella laughed loudly as she ran away from her husband towards the shore, but Alexus caught her, and they both fell into the water, laughing. But when Rafaella tried to get away from him, he just shook his head and watched her hit the ground with her arms dropped around her head. Alexus eyed the kids having fun quite a distance from them which made him miss their twins. And as he looked around, he realized he was spending a lazy afternoon at Sardinia's most exclusive resort. He was in the VIP section, adults-only, where there would be no children to watch the intimate moments with his wife. He loved children wildly when they shrieked, laughed, and splashed in the water. Alexus stayed in the water. Rafaella could see the muscles in his back and arms moving smoothly with each stroke, the fabric of his shorts billowing around his legs, his water-dark hair slick. She closed her eyes but could still see Alexus' body, l, the length, and strength of his limbs, the stream of bubbles com
"Hold on," Rafaella said as her eyes narrowed at her husband. "What are you thinking?" "There was no evidence, but it's how my father died," Alexus stated. "I didn't tell the investigator but saw everything that happened that night. I hid like a coward when I saw his gun as panic surged in my chest. I hid in the corner of the living room. The assassin bore enough battle as he launched himself at the guards. He struck precise and devastating. Despite their best efforts, the hall was too small for more than a handful to surround him at once. I heard the gunshot when my father managed to flee to the balcony and was followed by the assassin. "Oh, Alex...." Rafaella mumbled as her hand rested across his belly. "That must be hard for you at that moment..." "Yes..." "But why didn't you tell the police what you saw?" "Because I realized that the assassin may pursue my life. I was a weakling then, as I said. Just like what happened to the guard crashing to the floor, all three died fro
"Are you going crazy? What do you think of my husband, a meal that is handed out so easily?" Rafaella couldn't stop her tirade at the woman she was talking to on the other line. Then she felt Alexus squeeze her shoulder sweetly. He was reminding her to focus. Alexus heard what his ex-girlfriend was saying, so he couldn't blame Rafaella, who raised her voice in annoyance. Gwen showed her what she wrote on the laptop in bold letters. RELAX, RAFA... THINK OF JOSH. "Which of the two of us do you think is going crazy at this point, Rafaella?" Colleen's annoyed voice was harsh. "I'll give you ample time, only three days, to decide. I'll be waiting for your call. Bye!" "No--" Rafaella took a deep breath and looked at her husband before her. She leaned against Alexus' chest as Giovanni quietly pulled Gwen out of the room. "I'm sorry, I blew it..." She said in a whisper. "No. I'm not blaming you. If I'm selfish enough, I'd like to think I agree with your irrational rebuttal. A sad
At the request of Alexus' mother, they all stayed at the hotel still owned by the Rossi couple, Alexus' biological parents. And he found out from them during the conversation that his parents broke up because Mateo got one of his flings pregnant, so they lived together, but it was an unborn baby because of a complication. By that time, Alexus' mother had already filed for divorce. And due to the failure of the birthing, Mateo also broke up with his affair to regain his ex-wife's trust. Still, to no avail, he was not taken back. However, he stopped traveling around the country and voluntarily managed the hotel's operation. Although the idea suggested would ensure Joshua's safety, Rafaella couldn't help but worry. She was not convinced it would work though partly jealousy roiling around in her gut, so she thought of a better way to speed up the capture of Alexus' destructive ex-girlfriend. She was purring in satisfaction to see Colleen Grant was about to go down in flames. "I
Alexus cut his connection to Gwen's phone. Then he browsed online to see the possible effects of the foods his wife had fed him earlier. Only then did he realize why Rafaella had been extra sweet and attentive earlier while providing him primarily green leafy vegetables. Alexus frowned when he realized Rafaella's plan. "What are you frowning about?" He shook his head and grinned reluctantly as he said, "Oh, dear lord. She was aiming for me to have an upset stomach...." "Like diarrhea?" He reckoned. "Yeah. Something like that..." "Well, you've better heed then. She is plotting for you to be sick so your ex won't seduce you. Is your wife that jealous?" "No. Well, I've no idea, and I better not test that part of her." "Oh, man. That's tough, but that will stop you from being pawed by Colleen," Giovanni slowly cracked a peal of laughter. And he was stopped. "Ah. I should have known that she was aiming for something when she was attentive to me. I thought I knew the woman I married
Rafaella had fallen asleep in his arms long ago, but Alexus could not bring himself to nap even though it was past midnight. During his conversation with Rafaella, she confided about the "diarrhea plot." She planned to take him to the hospital and let Colleen visit there as long as their son Joshua was with her. So he agreed to take the diet pill that his wife mentioned. He understood his wife's mind was not thinking straight, so he couldn't get angry with her plan to save their son. And he felt that the two tablets he was given to drink had worked, as he was constantly making small farting and causing pain in his tummy. Unable to resist, Alexus carefully removed Rafaella's head from his shoulder and got off the bed. He grabbed the bath towel from the floor, draped his naked body, and went to the veranda to calm himself from the pain that somersaulted in his tummy. He shook his head impatiently and headed to the shower. He lingered in the shower room momentarily while his mind was
"OMG! You mean that Alexus was upset that you made him take diet pills so that he would get sick and be hospitalized?" Gwen's incredulous reaction. Rafaella's head barely moved in the nod. Between her cries, she told the whole story to Gwen. "Give him a breathing space, and he will realize that what you did was for your family," Giovanni advised as Gwen quietly nudged him to say something. "Of course, he could be shocked by what you were plotting, and he could not believe that you wished him to be sick...in other words, you sacrificed him to save your son. Well, I would feel the same way. I would be upset for a while, but if there is love, that is just a temporary setback. Just let him be away for a while..." Rafaella was quiet, but what Alexus did hurt her heart deeply, and she didn't know if she could forgive him when he willingly delivered himself to their son's kidnapper as a ransom demand in exchange for Joshua's release. "Hey, I thought today was fun, and he was with us her