Lexie didn't make any sound on the way to Rafe's party. He sat pressed against the door, keeping his distance from Rafe who was also sitting quietly in his place on the left. There wasn't any conversation between them, as if that was the best thing they should be doing right now. Lexie felt she couldn't say anything to Rafe as long as the man, Alan, was driving ahead. Since the corner of Alan's eyes, it seemed as if he was watching him, who mostly turned his face to the window. He purposely didn't make any contact with anyone so he could calm himself from all sorts of vigilance that was starting to poison his brain.
When the car stopped at the Lower Broadway intersection as a group of pedestrians crossed the street, Lexie rolled her eyes at Rafe. He wanted to know what Rafe was doing right now. But apparently Rafe did nothing. His gaze locked forward, his jaw tightened, he seemed bored to see a group of tourists crossing the street while occasionally photographing any object
They exited the casino room through the same door, which was guarded by Gael and Robert. There didn't seem to be any other door to exit the room to make it easier for Gael and Robert to check on the guests. As soon as they stepped out of the casino room, the sound of loud stomping music filled Lexie's ears again. This time it took her a little longer to adjust to the noise as her ears clearly preferred the softer music in the casino room. "What are we going to do on the dance floor?" "Having fun. You can order food and drinks at the bar." "Only me? How about you?" Lexie tried to raise her voice between loud music that stomped all her nerves. In fact, she wasn't comfortable here. “You have to eat something so that you recover quickly.” When Rafe was pulling Lexie's hand across the noisy dance floor, a man suddenly stopped their steps and made Rafe freeze instantly. "Cooper Smillow." “Great party. Thank you for inviting me. I've
"You're really going to do it here?" "I can't be more serious than this. Copper Smillow was having fun in there like he knew nothing about the devious plan he was playing. I will kill all the rats he has sent into my territory." Jeffery Huggen scratched his chin which was growing a coarse beard. He saw three bodies in front of him with gunshot wounds to the chest and head. All three looked terrible and pathetic. Then one more person looks battered with his feet and hands tied. He was the only rat Rafe had left for dessert tonight. Rafe deliberately made the rat see the tragic death of his three friends, then slowly Rafe tortured the man until he begged for his own death. “What if the police sniff out your crimes?” "I've got a plan B. Cooper Smillow won't even report me to the police even though he really wants to because he also has a string of crimes that could jeopardize his career." "What are you going to do with them after this?" "
"Why are we stopping here?" Lexie turned to Rafe warily. The car driven by Rafe suddenly pulled over on the side of a deserted country road. No other vehicles passed besides them. The place was very dark and quiet. The only source of light was Rafe's car light. There was an empty clearing on the right side of the road overgrown with very tall weeds. Lexie guessed the height of the weeds was around her waist. As the south wind blew fiercely around the place, the weeds swayed eerily and created a hissing sound that sounded like the hiss of a cobra. "Get down." “What are we going to do here? Your house is still half way to go.” "I said get down and don't ask too many questions." Rafe unbuckled his seatbelt, threw it in a huff and jumped out of his car in a hurry. Lexie still remained where she was, she didn't move at all and just stared at the scene around her in horror. Why did Rafe tell me to get down here? Lexie shifte
Lexie was really happy that she had knocked on the right door. She reflexively jumped to hug Kaella tightly and cried on her shoulder for reasons she couldn't understand. She just wanted to cry and spill out all the sadness that had filled her heart since yesterday. "What's the matter with you, Lexie? Why are you crying? How was last night's party." "Very bad," Lexie muttered hoarsely. She was still reluctant to let Kaella go because she needed someone to cry on her shoulder. "Mr. Wilder carried you out of the car when you came home. She says you fainted from exhaustion. Is it true?" asked Kaella hesitantly. Kaella's eyes scanned the entire backyard. She was worried that someone from Rafe's bodyguard saw her with Lexie crying. She then pulled Lexie's body into her room. "Tell me everything inside," whispered Kaella quietly. Lexie released her arms from Kaella. She limped a little as she followed Kaella into her room. Her tears were sti
Rafe stopped his car in front of the main door of his house. The house is quiet and serene. The front door was shut tight, the lights were on, but still that didn't light up the house. Instead he felt the house was very dark. As dark as his heart. Rafe took a deep breath. He removed the seat belt that was wrapped around his body and then looked at Lexie who had passed out next to him. You're a monster! Lexie's words danced in his mind. He's a monster. He even used his hand to hurt Lexie. He had beaten Lexie unconscious just because she didn't like hearing Lexie's loud cries. Rafe stared at his fists clenched on the steering wheel. Those were the hands he had used to kill those he hated. It was the hand he used to beat Lexie unconscious. Rafe suddenly felt disgusted with himself. He hated being born Rafe Wilder as cruel as a monster. The people he loved left him one by one. He is cursed to be lonely all his life because God knows he will only
Lexie's body stiffened when she heard the sound of the soles of Rafe's shoes hitting the marble floor in his house loudly. He must be walking across the hall to the dining room. She feelings were filled with vigilance and fear. The breakfast of pancakes and bacon in front of her had become unappealing, and she had lost her appetite just because she was about to come face-to-face with Rafe. What do you think will happen? They haven't seen each other since last night. Rafe would probably explain what happened to her the night before she passed out. But maybe not. Remembering how Rafe's character is. And Lexie had seen the darkest side of Rafe which was horribly. The squeaking sound of a chair hitting the floor startled Lexie. She had been daydreaming so much that she didn't realize that Rafe was now across from her seat, looking as arrogant as ever and staring at her expressionlessly. Lexie tried to avoid Rafe's eyes which were as dark as the night by trying to look busy with
Rafe is focused on his work. He was determined to shake off Lexie's image this morning as he walked into the dining room. Lexie looks tensed and scared of him. Lexie's face pretending to be angry couldn't fool him that she was actually scared and intimidated by his presence at the dining table. He could feel the rapid pulse in Lexie's pulse. As had happened the night before they arrived at his club, Lexie was so nervous he had to massage her wrists to relax her.But Lexie was nervous because she already knew everything. The fact that Alan is a traitor and not his men scares Lexie. And luckily he moved quickly to get the damn rat out of his house. He will not let anyone spread terror in his house.When Rafe was writing numbers on his ipad screen, suddenly the corner of his eye glanced at his phone which was lying a few inches from his left hand which was drooping on the table. He was intrigued to reach for his cell phone and look at all the cctv footage connected to his
“Jacob, can you help me in the kitchen for a minute? I'm afraid I missed a few things about today's grocery list.""What? You don't usually forget the things you need to buy."Jacob was still standing around the van. He had just cleaned the dust off the van's surface with a feather duster. Jacob always liked that the cars he drove looked clean, even though he didn't own them."We have a new member added. I'm having a bit of trouble fitting my shopping list to what we need for Lexie."Kaella was still screaming from the kitchen doorway only a few yards from where Jacob had parked his van."Tsk, I'm coming. You're so noisy, Kaella.""You're as slow as a snail."Drizielle grumbled in the doorway like a chatty old woman. When Jacob arrived, she grabbed his wrist and led him into the kitchen to help her with the grocery list they needed for the day.Lexie peered through the rose bushes that were climbing high nea
Lexie watched Rafe leave in silence. Guilt gripped her heart because Rafe saw her with Justin. Although it is unlikely that anything will happen between her and Justin, but Rafe seems quite jealous of their closeness. She was just grateful that Xena was sleeping soundly now. She couldn't imagine what would have happened if it had been Xena. "Come on Lexie. We have to hurry because we have wasted quite a bit of time.” Justin led her to the elevator. His arms were still slung over her shoulders and he pressed the lobby button for both of them after the elevator doors closed. "Is he still rude?" "What?" Lexie asked looking up. "Your husband. I used to see you cry because of that man. Is he still as rude as before?” "Sometimes." Lexie answered half dreamily. No marriage is absolutely flawless. There are always fights and arguments in every marriage relationship. Even she couldn't keep herself away from all domestic troubles. Rafe or Xena h
"Dance with me, lady?"Lexie looked up, left her cherry juice and smiled gently at the man who had just reached out in front of her. She didn't waste the opportunity to dance with this handsome man and took his outstretched hand in front of her face."Of course. It's an amazing party and I can't miss dancing with a guy like you." Lexie smiled gently.The man led her to the center of the ballroom, joining another couple who had already started their dance. His wide palm gripped Lexie's tiny palm which was so soft. He smiled widely at everyone, as if he was celebrating his success in persuading a princess to dance with him."Beautiful music. Thank you for asking me to dance."Lexie pressed herself against the man, holding on to his sturdy shoulders and they began to move in sync with the melodious classical music. The soft violins play beautiful notes with the rest of the orchestra. Lexie closed her eyes while following every movement made by her dan
Tonight was really fun for Rafe because he was in the midst of a harmonious complete family. There is a father-in-law who is so kind to him, a lover or a future wife or maybe his wife and an adorable son. They had dinner together happily at the dining table. There were loud laughter from his father-in-law and spoiled whimpers from Archer if Lexie started forbidding him to do this and that. Everything seemed so good to Rafe that he was reluctant to return to his miserable life in New York. If he could, he wanted to be in the midst of this family forever. And in order to make his wish come true, he needed to improve the conditions between himself and Lexie. He needed to make it clear to Lexie that he wanted a complete family and didn't want to live apart like he used to. “Archer is asleep?” Rafe deliberately waited for Lexie in front of her bedroom. Tonight he was supposed to sleep in Kaella's room, but he hadn't been in Kaella’s room since then and had just stood by t
Fifteen minutes later they arrived at Lexie's beautiful two-story house filled with various kinds of plants in the front yard. Rafe was almost surprised to see so much change in the house. The last time he came here, the house had no woody trees. But now the front of Lexie's house was filled with giant pots filled with woody trees that were struggling to grow into giant-sturdy trees. The flowers that were once only planted in two small pots, have grown into a bunch of colorful flowers that have been transplanted into the ground. "There have been a lot of changes in this house." “My father used the garden next to the house as a garage because it wasn't safe to park the car just on the side of the road. Sometimes there are naughty children who scribble on the car body with spray paint. Some time ago our neighbor was screaming hysterically because his Mercedes Benz had been scribbled with a series of obscene swear words.” “Your father has done the right thing as
Rafe stepped off the plane and was greeted by a light drizzle in late summer. The soothing scent of wet earth relaxes him for a moment. A little man who will be his driver today to go to Lexie's house has just opened an umbrella near the plane steps, getting ready to umbrella him. Rafe actually had absolutely no problem walking in the rain. This is really refreshing and can wash away a little bit of his anxiety that is thickening more and more. "Thank you. Before we go to Lexie's house, I will pick up my son at his day care. He'll be home in thirty minutes." The man nodded after handing the umbrella handle to him. Rafe walked slowly behind the man to his car which was parked near the hangar. He inhaled strongly the scent of summer which was about to fade and be replaced by the cold, gray scent of autumn. Time flies so fast, and he hasn't been able to summon Xena back so he can surface like he used to. "Please come in, sir." The man grabbed the handle
Lexie stepped aside for a moment from the commotion of the bridal shower which was really noisy and excited. Tomorrow morning Kaella will marry her lover, and today will be her last day as a single. So everyone was excited to have a party in one of the finest suits at a five-star hotel in Charleston. Her cell phone has been ringing loudly ever since. She had ignored the call because she was pinning the crown for the bride-to-be and taking pictures with the rest of Kaella's friends. Now she would pick up Rafe's call and talk to him because Rafe must have called her for something important. “Hi Honey, sorry for not picking up your call. I was at Kaella's bridal shower. It's very noisy in here. Tomorrow you will come to her wedding right?” Lexie finally found a comfortable and quiet place to talk to Rafe. While everyone was partying like crazy in Kaella's suit room. She has a balcony which is very quiet and with a beautiful view of the city of Charleston. Folly Beach wa
Xena looked to the side, at the statue of the cross that soared up to the church ceiling. He imagined the look on his face that looked ridiculous as he said those bullshit words. There is no love in his heart. It should be like that. But strangely he felt love when he was with Lexie. At first he felt loved, and more and more he felt like loving. It was the most complicated reciprocal relationship he had ever experienced. His week-long trip to Chicago wasn't strictly business. He purposely distanced himself from Lexie to reflect on all this. Does he really love Lexie? Did he really want to be with Lexie forever? And after a week of excruciating contemplation, he finally came to the one answer that he wanted all of that. He wanted to love Lexie, he wanted to be with Lexie, and he wanted to make Lexie happy. Unfortunately this body does not belong to him. He couldn't be selfish by removing Rafe forever from this body. And he had to do something to fix all of this."Xena... are y
There are so many things that it can sometimes be confusing to the point of misleading. Some of them sometimes appear in the form of secrets that are difficult to understand. Like Xena and Rafe who are very elusive. Even though they live in the same body, they have two separate elements. Had they come together, the two of them would probably have been a formidable fusion of two elements. It would create a man with the perfect personality. It should be like that. But in reality it is not easy to unite two elements that are already separated.Lexie stood on the balcony alone looking up at the starry night sky. Tonight the air is very warm, suddenly she couldn't sleep because she was thinking about many things. First she thought of Xena who suddenly disappeared without a word. The rest of the day she spent thinking about the man's whereabouts now and the possibility if Xena and Rafe fused into one unified element. It would definitely be great if they could unite to occupy their
"Wren! I can't believe it's you." Lexie hugged Wren very tightly after she opened the front door wide and told Wren to come in. It's really an unexpected surprise that she can meet Wren who is now super busy. After a week of living in New York, Lexie finally got to meet Wren. "Long time no see and you are getting more beautiful and sexy." Wren chuckled as he patted Lexie's shoulder a few times. God only knows how badly he missed this woman. He had lost track of Lexie ever since Lexie disappeared and Rafe gave him a stern warning not to try to get someone to track her down. "You say I'm sexy? No way. I got fatter after giving birth. Come in." "But you actually look sexier. You used to be so skinny, you know. I prefer your new look." Wren studied Lexie's body from head to toe. Her long hair has now been cut shorter with a very beautiful wavy style at the ends. Lexie gained weight of course because her arms and curves were now more beautiful than