chapter 2

So he really is Rafael's uncle?

Lexie whispered to herself in shock while her hands continued to move, clicking the mouse of her laptop.

"What are you looking at?"

She nearly jumped in surprise when her cousin, Claire, spoke from behind her. She quickly closed the laptop and looked at her with a frown.

"Whatever I am doing, I believe is no longer your business, Claire," she said irritably. She wasn't even sure why she was wasting time looking at pictures of Ram all over the internet instead of studying for her upcoming exam.

"So he really is rich? Like overly rich?"

She whispered to herself again.

"What are you talking about, Lex? OMG, have you completely lost it?"

Claire asked her dramatically, which earned her an eye roll.

"I am most certainly not, Claire. Can you just please leave me alone?"

She snapped.

"As much as I wanted to leave you alone, I'm sorry to say I can't do that. Grandpa wants to see everyone at the hotel right now, and by 'everyone,' he meant you too. So get your ass moving," Claire said dramatically before turning her back on her.

"Wait, why?"

"Well, I don't know if you can handle it, but Amanda and 'the guy' are having a meeting with the family to—"

"Talk about the wedding."

Lexie finished for her cousin, completely uninterested.

"They seem a little too excited about that stupid wedding, don't they? And what makes them think I'll even attend that meeting?"

She said in frustration, sneering at Claire.

"Uh-huh, don't be mad at me. I'm just the messenger here."

"Whatever. I am not going."

—

Lexie was practically stomping as she walked through the family-owned hotel. Her protests against attending the 'important meeting' had been completely ignored. Now, she was forced to be in the same room as her backstabbing ex, Rafael, and her traitorous cousin, Amanda.

"Fix yourself, Lexie. Nobody wants to see you looking all grumpy," her older cousin scolded her.

"Shut up, Claire."

Despite Claire's words, Lexie refused to adjust her expression. Why should she pretend to be okay when her heart was breaking into pieces?

"Don't you 'shut up' me."

"Claire, stop. You know what happened between me and those two stupid soon-to-be-weds, and I'm sorry if I can't control my anger. For the record, I believe I have every right to be," she said, scowling before marching ahead.

As she neared the meeting area, she stopped in her tracks. Her family was there, chatting and laughing with none other than the man who had broken her heart—Rafael.

Lexie tried to keep herself calm. She put on a blank face and walked toward them.

The moment they noticed her, the room fell into an awkward silence. Lexie showed no reaction and simply sat near the glass wall of the lounge.

"H-Hi L-Lexie. H-how are you?"

Amanda stuttered nervously. Lexie wanted to roll her eyes but resisted. Her gaze shifted to Rafael, who was watching her with concern.

For a second, she wanted to talk to him, but she held herself back and instead turned her attention to their grandfather, who was observing the situation closely.

Lexie smirked.

Who in this room had the audacity to act all happy when everyone knew what Amanda and Rafael had done to her?

"So what? Are we just going to sit here in silence, or are we going to talk about the stupid wedding?"

She finally snapped when the room remained quiet.

"Language, Lexie," her grandfather scolded.

She was too furious to care about the warning in his voice.

"I don't mean to be rude, but can everyone stop pretending that nothing is wrong here?" she said, glaring at Amanda and Rafael.

"We know that, dear, but please understand that we—"

"Oh, come on, Grandpa. Are we really going to talk about this right now? Because I'm sure Amanda and Rafael here don't want to hear it," she interrupted.

Amanda lowered her head in shame.

"Okay, if you can't put yourself together, I think it's best if you leave," Amanda muttered, almost whispering.

Lexie's blood boiled.

"Oh, you think so? Because honestly, I don't even know what the hell I'm doing here. What? You wanted to humiliate me some more, Amanda? Rafael? Is that why you asked me to be here?"

Her voice trembled with restrained anger.

"T-that's not what I meant. I just thought… maybe you should calm down. Rafael's parents are here, and—"

"Yeah, they're here. And I'm sure they know the kind of betrayal you both committed. What? After everything you did to me, you expect me to be polite? No. I'm sure Rafael's parents will understand why I'm acting this way," Lexie said, her voice rising.

"Lex, please, that's enough," one of her cousins pleaded.

"No. This—this is enough! You wanna get married? Fine, go ahead! But keep me out of this mess!"

She yelled, standing up so abruptly that her chair almost toppled over. She was about to storm off when Amanda grabbed her arm. Lexie looked at her in irritation.

"I—I am s-sorry. I'm sorry for everything, Lex. I really am. I never meant for this to happen, and believe me, I feel terrible," Amanda said, her voice pleading.

Lexie stared at her for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter.

"Oh, wow. Best actress award? You feel terrible? Sure, you deserve to feel that way. No offense," she said flatly.

"Please, you never let me or Rafael explain—"

"You took advantage of me, Amanda. You were my cousin. Rafael was your best friend. I tried to trust you. I kept telling myself that whatever I was suspecting was just in my head, that I was just being paranoid. But I wasn't, was I?"

Amanda stayed silent, her head bowed in shame.

"And then today, you pull this stunt? It wasn't enough that you humiliated me by sleeping with my fiancé—you had to rub it in my face? Rafael may have been the one who destroyed our relationship, but you…

You were a woman, Amanda. And you did this to another woman. How cool is that?

You stole something from me like a petty little thief.

You're the one who should be ashamed."

Lexie took a deep breath, trying to suppress her tears. She looked at Amanda, who was now crying.

"You… don't you dare come to me for forgiveness, you traitorous bitch!"

She yanked her arm away from Amanda's grip.

"And that goes for you too, Rafael! I swear, both of you will regret this!"

She pointed at Rafael before storming off.

As she walked away, she could no longer hold back her tears.

She wiped them harshly and quickened her pace, ignoring Claire calling her name.

"Ouch!"

She cried out as she bumped into something solid and landed on the marble floor.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

A concerned voice asked as strong hands helped her up.

Lexie looked up, eyes widening in shock.

It was him.

The man she had been staring at in countless pictures on her laptop.

"Ram Jordan?"

"Lexie?"

They said each other's names at the same time.

"Hey, I'm sorry. Are you hurt?"

Ram asked, looking at her with concern.

"Yeah—I mean, no. I should be the one apologizing. I wasn't looking," she said, biting her lip.

Her eyes drifted to his suit-covered but clearly muscular frame.

'He's even hotter in person…' she thought to herself.

And then an idea struck her.

Maybe she could use Ram Jordan… against his dear nephew, Rafael.