CHAPTER 123: LOVE AND LIES

"It wasn’t all a lie, Abigail. Nothing between us was a lie," Raphael said as he tried to convince me.

I searched his face and the depth of his eyes as if looking for confirmation that I could trust him. However, I realized that trust wasn’t the only issue. I thought that I knew him, but I truly did not know this side of him, and I wasn’t sure that I was ready to. Before I could speak, Raphael’s expression darkened as he stared at me with narrowed eyes.

"Stay away from Josh. Please don’t make me repeat myself," Raphael warned.

"What?" I asked, taken by surprise by his sudden warning.

"I’m certain that I told you before that he is dangerous and for you to stay away from him," Raphael pointed out, quite rightfully so.

I knew that he was right and that Josh had lured me in with the promise of the truth before he boldly tried to take advantage of me. He taunted me and toyed with me, using me as bait just to get under Raphael’s skin. I hated the fact that I had somehow become Raphael’s weakness and that he had to rescue me.

"I was wrong. I’m so sorry, I should have listened to you," I apologized regretfully.

My sincere apology seemed to have gotten to Raphael, as I saw the look in his eyes soften somewhat.

"You should have," he said, his lips curving up into a slightly teasing smile.

I knew that he took some pity on me, but that did not completely excuse me of my wrongdoings. Once again, I made a silent promise to obey Raphael’s orders in the future.

"Come here. Let me hold you tight," Raphael said as he wrapped his arms around me and drew me into his embrace.

There was nothing demanding in the way that he held me. I felt safe and secure in his arms, but the rapid beating of my heart made me feel unsure. Although I hated to admit it, I realized that just as Raphael had warned me that Josh was dangerous, he could be just as dangerous, if not more so. The truth was that they were part of the same family-a mafia family. Both Bennett and Raphael were part of the mafia. That fact alone should have made me run for my life while taking my mother with me to a faraway place.

However, I found myself wrapping my arms around Raphael as if I didn’t want to let him go. At that moment, I realized that it was already too late for me to make my escape. No matter how much he promised to protect me, the truth was now out, and that meant that my mother and I could never truly be safe, and our lives could never truly be normal. Despite that, I couldn’t find it in me to let him go. Just as much as my instincts were telling me to run for my life and save my mother, another part of me was terrified at the thought of leaving Raphael and never seeing him again. I had fallen for him so helplessly.

Just as my mind was engaged in an endless war with my heart, a firm knock echoed on the door. It was Bennett, and my mother was with him. They both had a very worried look on their faces, and I could only imagine why.

"Oh...Abby..." my mother cried out as she ran towards me and pulled me into her embrace.

Raphael quickly stood to the side to give us some space. My mother kissed me tenderly on each cheek as her eyes inspected my face for any signs of injury.

"I’m fine, Mom," I said reassuringly as I tried my best to smile.

"We’re so worried about you. I can’t believe that Josh would do something like that. Be sure that I will deal with him, and no such thing will happen ever again," Bennett quickly promised.

I wanted to trust him, but now that I knew the truth behind the kind mask that he always wore-of who he really was-I didn’t know what to believe anymore. My mother was still worrying over me, and that made me realize that I should be the one worrying about her safety.

"Raphael told me everything about what happened last night. I want to assure you that it will not happen again and that it was my fault for not putting Josh in his place," Bennett continued to blame himself while reassuring me at the same time.

"I’m glad that Raphael was there to save me," I replied with the only truth that I could manage.

Bennett continued on with his apology, but all I could focus on was the fact that this man was the mafia boss. The man that my mother had married-the man who was now her husband-was the mafia boss. If I hadn’t heard it from Raphael himself, I would never have believed it. Bennett had always been kind, respectful, and ever so doting towards my mother. He didn’t look like a dangerous man. If anything, he just looked like any other wealthy businessman-well-spoken and completely in control.

I wondered what I should do. Should I confront Bennett and tell him that I knew the truth and that he needed to tell my mother the truth? Would he kill me? Would he hurt my mother if the secret came out?

All my thoughts led me to various dead ends because I just didn’t know what to do.

"Thank you for checking up on me, but I feel fine now. Maybe I just need some more rest," I replied, trying my best to smile.

"I still can’t believe that Josh would do something like that. I didn’t view him as the violent type. I guess some people can be dangerous," my mother said with a regretful shake of her head.

"Don’t overthink things. I’m truly fine," I repeated once again.