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
SCARLET POV.Today was the happiest day of my life and as the light from the chandelier cast a lovely glow on me as I walked down the aisle, I couldn't help but smile, and smile some more.Raphael was waiting for me and the look in his eyes was enough to make me swoon.I couldn't tear my eyes off him and the closer I got, the more brighter he radiated his love for me. I was going to be happy this time. So much happier.My gaze caught my mom's and Antonov and they grinned back at me.I got to Raphael and he took my hand and guided me to my stand with a smile that lit up his eyes."You take my breath away little bird" he whispered and I blushed, holding his gaze even as my face burned."So do you, and I love you so much. Always" I said and the officiator cleared his throat and both of our gazes snapped to his.Gods, I'd almost been close to kissing him since it had been as if we were the only two people in the room.I chuckled as he did, then turned to face the officiator.The wedding c
RAPHAEL BATISTA POV"I want her found. I don't care how you do it but you need to do it before she hurts anyone" I said clenching the content that I had gotten out of the brown envelope just a few weeks ago. It had been meant for Scarlet. Thank God I had gone to meet Bianca myself that day. Scarlet was just starting to get better and not be dependent on her pills but I was sure if she found out about this, it would be down that rabbit hole once more. She would worry and live in a state of constant fear and I could not allow her to go through such suffering again, not after everything she'd been through. But the strain was starting to get to me. Margo was still at large despite all efforts to find her and with our wedding plans already underway I couldn't help but be worried. Where was Margo right now and what was she scheming?"We have eyes everywhere, but we haven't seen anyone remotely resembling Margo, we'll intensify our effort, so be rest assured. She won't be able to get past
SCARLET POV"You've been smiling a lot these days, but you still haven't introduced Raphael to me, why? Do you think he's so good-looking, I'll try to keep him for myself the first chance I get," Elde said and I gaped at her."Mom! Oh my goodness, I can't believe you just said that"She chuckled, stood up from where she was sitting, and came to stand in front of me. "I admit I was a bit skeptical about Raphael at first" she got out. "I still am, but since he's succeeded in making you so happy, I want you to bring him home... You just set a date and I'll fix the wedding... How about that"I grinned, then hugged her. "I must have given you a lot of tough times for you to be planning to marry me off so quickly, huh"She patted my back. "Oh you did, you almost turned me into a murderer at a point too, you little brat" she laughed, then let go of me and helped me tuck my hair behind my ears."I am just so glad that you are finally ok, Scarlet. I want you to be happy like this for a very lo
RAPHAEL BATISTA POVScarlet let out a harsh sob and then pressed her forehead against my chest, so I kissed her on the back of the neck in an effort to soothe her. “Talk to me, baby, tell me what you need me to do” I urged. Scarlet relaxed as if the endearment was a balm to her soul, then she went quiet for several beats before she met my gaze. “I ache,” she said softly. “I burn and I can’t… I can’t make it go away on my own. I've tried...” she trailed off, the color on her cheeks darkening. It took me a few painfully long seconds to understand what she was trying to tell me. She couldn’t make herself come. “Oh God, Scarlet, I’m so sorry,” I said as I lifted her head up and pressed kisses along her temple, then her cheeks, and finally her mouth. “I’ll take care of you,” I said as I began ramping the kisses back up.“Raphael” she called, her voice hitching. "I... I..." “What?” I urged gently when I saw a bit of fear still lurking in her eyes. “I don’t think I can… go all the way
RAPHAEL BATISTA POV"Is she going to be alright?" I asked the doctor as I stared down at Scarlet. She was asleep and her breathing was even but that didn't stop me from worrying."She will be fine. She has been under a lot of stress which was why she collapsed... But please try to monitor her drug prescription. I am afraid she is taking them more than is necessary and if she continues to do that, it would not bode well for her in the long run" the doctor warned, his voice severe and I nodded."I'll do that doctor, I'll make sure she takes only what is prescribed"He nodded and then picked up his bag. "Just let her rest and I'll be here to check on her progress tomorrow morning," he said, gave a curt nod, and walked out of the room.I sat beside Scarlet and just stared at her, pain and elation warring in my heart. I'd always felt that she was Eve but to have it confirmed that I was indeed right, shook me to my core.I took her hand in mine, then placed it on my cheek, my heart breaking
SCARLET POVI liked the weight that was pressing me down into the warm mattress. It was hot and just the right amount of heavy. I groaned, moving closer to it. Was my pillow always this warm, or did Mother get me a new pet? I asked myself as my hand reached to clutch at whatever it was but my hand didn’t come in contact with short fur or a pillow.No, what was beneath my fingers was short but it was also super soft, silky even. And just a few inches down there wasn’t any hair, just hot skin.Raphael has hot skin. I jumped off the bed, my eyes flying open as I struggled to make sense of what the hell was going on.Raphael maintained eye contact as he slowly got up from the bed too, his gaze trained on mine as if I were some wild animal and just a look away from me would send me running off.He looked as if he'd been awake for a while so why was he just lying by my side?I couldn't remember what had happened the night before. I just remembered having a drink and Pierce forcing a kiss on
MARGO POV.Everything hurt, especially my face. It burned so hot that I wished I hadn't woken up at all.I've been drifting in and out of consciousness after the van I'd been in exploded... I didn't even understand how I'd been able to survive, but I guess it was because the force of the explosion had pushed me out of the van as it crashed to the ground.Miguel hadn't made it... I knew it because his face had been the last thing I'd seen before I was flying through the hot air.We'd been in the van and he hadn't even spoken a word to me. He'd stared at me as if I was the vilest person he'd ever met as if I had ruined his life as if I was the one to blame for everything and not Eve.Her name made me groan and all of a sudden, someone was hovering over me, and then a wet cloth touched my head.I tried to open my eyes and only managed to get my left eye slightly open while the other felt as if it was permanently shut.The eye I was seeing with was still blurry though and I had to blink t
SCARLET POVI couldn't hear the words that Santos was saying not when Raphael was just a few feet away from me, talking to some men and smiling when they said something funny. When last had I seen a smile like that? It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that just a touch of his hand had had my walls and resolve crumbling like ashes. It had been so hard to wrench my hand away from him when all I'd wanted to do was to lean in and press my lips against his. He'd stared at me with such fierce passion or was it my wishful thinking... Was I just projecting what I felt onto him?I flinched when I saw Kristine walk toward him, wrapped her arm around his waist, and animatedly joined in on their conversation. I couldn't help but clench the document in my hand harder while murderous thoughts ran through my head. Raphael was mine... He fucking said he was going to protect me. "Miss Scarlet" Santos called and I flinched, then forced myself to focus on him when it turned out that he'd been trying to ge
RAPHAEL BATISTAScarlet Antonio Rivera was standing in the elevator and her eyes were wide open in surprise as she saw me. She was clutching at her hair and sweat dripped down her hairline as if she'd been struggling with something in the enclosed space. I stared at her, totally speechless as I took in the most beautiful pair of green eyes I'd ever seen and when I looked closer, it felt as if I'd always stared into those eyes for as long as I could remember. Scarlet lowered her gaze and dropped her hand from her hair, but I noticed the strands that were clutched in her deathlike grip and it had me wondering why she'd been tugging so hard at her hair. I stepped into the elevator with her and once the door closed, sealing the both of us in, I had to resist the urge to grab and tilt her chin so that she could look at me just as she'd done before. I couldn't believe she was here since no matter how many appointments I had with her assistant, I had never met her in person.I turned to