RAPHAEL BATISTA POV CONFERENCE. Scarlet had a smile on her face as she spoke with Miguel and it just made me see red. It wasn't just them talking but it might as well have been, since Miguel was hanging on her every word as if they were the very essentials of life.She'd consumed my thoughts through the days leading up to the conference, and now as I watched her, I knew what it was I felt every time I thought of her. I gripped Kristen's wrist tighter and she winced, an audible gasp falling from her lips. I let her go as if I'd been burned when a camera flashed in our direction.Sighing in frustration because I knew an article painting me in a bad light would be coming out soon, I turned to face her. "Sorry about that," I said, taking her hand and inspecting her wrist where a bruise was already forming, then I glanced up to see her watching me."You have been staring at her all night" she stated and I didn't even need to look to know she was referring to
SCARLET POV "This conference was a bad idea" I murmured to myself as I dug around for my pills, my gaze blurring a bit as my head throbbed.I'd managed to convince Kristine to Collab with me on the new project I had for the company, and when my head started acting up again, I spent the rest of the night trying to lose her, and once I did, I'd just dived into the closest room I could find and shut the door. Grabbing the pills, I opened the bottles, but I must have been too forceful because everything flew up in the air and scattered around me.I groaned, then whirled around when I heard the door that I was sure had been closed the entire time I'd been in here make a sound. "Raphael" I choked out his first name out of shock. He exhaled shakily, relief flooding his face as his hand clenched on the handle of the door. "God! I thought I lost you" he rumbled, his voice causing my skin to break out in goosebumps. I gaped at him, at his frame blocking the door that led out to the party,
SCARLET POVI had no idea how the conference ended... The evening had gone by in a blur after Kristine had come to find us in the room we'd been locked in. She'd gotten someone to help her get Raphael out of the party without anyone noticing his drunken state and then she'd told me without mincing words that she wouldn't be doing business with me.It was as well because I didn't want to have anything to do with anything related to Raphael.He was dangerous, more dangerous than I thought he was.Groaning, I clutched my hair and slammed my head against my office desk. I hadn't even been drunk and yet I'd kissed him back, and I still couldn't stop thinking about it."Enough of this bullshit" I yelled into the space, got up from my seat, and started to pace the room.Would he remember? He'd been drunk and he'd also called me Eve... Maybe it was her he thought he kissed... He'd confessed that Eve was his first love."But it's so absurd. He literally never even talked to me once" except a
MARGO POV. EARLIER.Anton's body had been found and as I sat in my office I couldn't help but feel anxious. If they carried out an autopsy would they find out that he'd been murdered? Darn it! I should have just told Andre to burn the body, but he'd had such a nice body... The perfect body if I was being more honest. How could I possibly destroy that after snuffing the light out of his beautiful eyes? I'd instructed Andre to make it look like it was suicide, but I wasn't sure how perfectly he had managed to pull it off. The bastard probably did a halfhearted work... Did I have to live in fucking fear of the cops coming to knock on my door at any minute now? God this was nerve wrecking. I slammed my hand on the desk, the sound jarring in the silent space. "It's done and I can't regret it now. I just have to keep on going about life the same way I did before. There's no way they'll ever find out that I'd been the last person to visit him... I just hope they put a fucking dimwi
SCARLET POV "She's going to kill me" Bianca got out without a trace of emotion on her face. It was as if she was just a shell of her former self as if she'd shut down completely. Her trembling had also stopped and she looked resolute. I was almost worried that I would not get any more information from her and when she finally spoke, I feared the worst."You told me that this place was safe for us to meet"She was right. I'd assured her that there was no way Margo would ever find out or know that we were meeting so I had no excuse. I reached to touch her arm. "I am sorry. I had no idea she was following me. I was so confident that this place was safe that I didn't take proper precautions""Well, you should have. You might not know it because you haven't been here long, but Margo is not someone you can just toy with and expect to go scot-free, Scarlet. You embarrassed her and even hit her in the face, she's definitely going to hurt you, but that is after she comes for me. I'm sure of i
MIGUEL POV"You are a fucking coward! First, it was Margo and now you are going on dates with other women" Delia yelled, her chest heaving as she stood over me.God! Why did I ever only get with the craziest women? "Delia for goodness sake, I came here to be with you tonight so what the hell is all this drama""All this drama is because I am tired. I'm tired of being understanding... For how long do I have to live in the shadows while you gallivant around with other women? You told me that I only had to wait for a few years and you'd get rid of Margo, but it's been five years already Miguel, and I am still your Mistress""Enough of this" I shouted, slamming my hand on the table in front of me and getting a thrill from the way she flinched. "You're going to do this for as long as your family owes me, do you hear me? So fucking quit your whining. The only reason you are still alive is because I love and protect you. Your father still owes me a lot of money Delia, so I think you should b
MARGO POVI screamed and dodged at the last seconds, then without waiting to see what he would do, I ran, bounding up the staircase without looking to check if he was coming after me.The door to our room loomed ahead of me and once I grabbed the handle, I yanked it open, rushed into the room, and made to slam it shut but Miguel just kicked it in and then we were standing face to face."You cheated on me" he stated incredulously, his chest heaving and his eyes manic. "And you had the nerve to go all psycho about Delia..."It was infuriating. I was having the worst day ever. How could this have happened... The ugly stare of the people at the restaurant last night popped into my head and my skin crawled... Now that the news of my cheating was public, I'd definitely get more stares, and it would probably be worse than last night. Why did the humiliation I felt at the hand of Scarlet choose this very moment to creep into my head? God, everything was going to shit. "Are you just going to
RAPHAEL BATISTA POVI'd kissed her and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Every time I shut my eyes, I could remember every minute detail despite being drunk, her soft lip, her heady taste, and the way her hands on my skin had felt like shock waves bringing me back to life.It had been so mind-blowing that at first, I thought it was because I had been high off the alcohol and hence all the feelings had been enhanced but even now, just thinking and reminiscing about the kiss had me adjusting myself in my pants.I jerked into a sitting position and cursed. Why her of all people and I'd even confessed to her that Eve was my first love... I just hated the way she looked at me as if I was a monster and I'd also wanted someone to believe me. They'd all judged me without giving me a chance to defend myself and I'd borne the burnt of their hate without a care... I was used to the hate anyway, but I didn't want Scarlet to hate me. I wanted her to stop looking at me with such disgust on her fa