CHAPTER 101: PINING FOR HIM

"I think there’s nothing wrong with being single," I told her patiently.

"That’s what you think, but I still worry so much about you. I think that if you can find the right guy for you, he can make your life easier, more comfortable, and also less lonely," my mother said before smiling at me. I knew what she was hinting at, but I wasn’t a big fan of her idea. It seemed like my mother had gotten much more comfortable after marrying Bennett.

"Not all guys are going to be as great as Bennett," I told her with a playful grin.

"If the guy is chosen and filtered by Bennett, then I think there is a great chance that he will turn out to be quite a fine and supportive gentleman," my mother replied with confidence. After staring into my mother’s eyes in silence for a couple of seconds, I had to sigh in resignation.

"Can we not talk about this right now?" I asked, attempting to postpone the inevitable. It seemed like my mother wasn’t at all keen on backing off this topic.

"I don’t think there’s a need to rush this, but I also don’t see why you need to be holding yourself back. Your ex-fiancé has clearly moved on with his life, and I think it is time that you do the same," my mother advised sternly.

"I have moved on. This decision of mine has nothing to do with him, and I’ve gotten over him a long time ago," I quickly corrected my mother’s misunderstanding.

"Are you sure about that? If that is so, is there another reason why you’re holding yourself back? Are you hiding something from me?" my mother asked as her brows drew together into a frown. For a moment, I was stunned speechless, and I couldn’t help but wonder if my mother had caught on to something. I didn’t think that I had been acting so suspiciously, but her questions made me fear that she might suspect there was something going on between Raphael and me.

"Nothing. I’m not hiding anything," I replied after a pause.

"Really?" my mother asked, and it was clear that she wasn’t entirely convinced. It seemed that the only way I could convince my mother that everything was fine and erase her suspicion was to go along with her plan.

"Honestly, what do you want me to do?" I asked, sounding quite tired.

"I just want you to give Daniel another chance. Why don’t you go on another date with him?" my mother suggested.

"Fine," I replied after deciding to give in.

"I’m so happy, and I’m sure you are not going to regret this," my mother said without hiding her satisfaction before she beamed a smile at me. When she pulled me into her embrace, I felt like I was lying to both my mother and also to myself.

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**A Week Later**

The past week had been very rough for me, and it was not because of work. Something must have come up because Raphael had to suddenly leave for a business trip. He left without much explanation after telling me that he would be away for a couple of days and that I should just relax a bit at the office while he was away. Although I was confused, I decided to do just that and enjoy some downtime. I hadn’t expected that I would end up thinking so much about Raphael, what he was doing, and how he was doing. I considered time and time again whether I should give him a call or send him a text message, but in the end, my cowardice got in the way, and all I could do was stare at my phone screen as I waited for him to contact me first.

It felt like Raphael had disappeared from the face of the Earth, and although he hadn’t been gone for that long, I felt like the distance between us was too much to bear. Without any work to keep me busy, I had all the time in the world to worry and think about him. The only thing that distracted me were the countless messages that Daniel sent me and his regular phone calls in the morning and evening. Had I not promised my mother to give Daniel another chance, I would have ignored his texts and also his calls. I knew that would be mean, but I felt like it might be crueler for me to give him false hopes.

"Are you free for dinner later today? I can pick you up at your office," Daniel asked via text. There was a sinking, disappointing feeling in my stomach when I realized that the text wasn’t from Raphael. I had no idea what he was up to and how busy he was to the point where he couldn’t even contact me once. Suddenly, I had the urge to go on a date with Daniel because I didn’t like being left alone. When the thought entered my head, I felt even more frustrated than before and decided not to reply to Daniel’s text.

I thought that Raphael would give me a download of where he went or what he did when he came back, but I soon found out that I was wrong. Raphael returned without offering any explanation, and our days together at the office resumed as if nothing had happened.

"How was your business trip?" I asked, trying to sound natural.

"It was fine. There’s nothing for you to worry about," Raphael replied. I knew that when he told me there was nothing for me to worry about, it was just another way of saying that it was none of my business and that I shouldn’t be asking him any questions. I felt a pang in my chest as I wondered if he had been involved in something dangerous.

"Tell me, Gail, did you miss me while I was away?" Raphael asked, showing me an enchanting smile.

–To be continued...