CHAPTER 141: HAUNTING WARNING

I instantly froze because I recognized that voice. Turning slowly, I saw Rosabella standing there with a sweet smile on her lips. She had the perfect mask on, but I knew she didn’t come to see me with any good intentions.

"I hope that I’m not intruding. I just thought that maybe we could talk. It’s been a while," she said as she walked even closer to me.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"I wondered if you got my text message? I don’t recall getting your reply," she said as she wrapped a strand of her hair around her finger.

"I’ve been busy," I replied shortly.

"Of course. I’m sure that the trip you went on with Raphael kept you plenty occupied," she said before letting out a small laugh.

"What is it that you came here for?" I asked through gritted teeth. Rosabella was definitely bad news, and the fact that she could walk in and out of the mansion without prior notice made it even worse. Because she was engaged to Raphael, everybody here already treated her as if she were part of the family-and I couldn’t blame them for it.

Rosabella shook her head from side to side with apparent disappointment.

"I don’t know why you like to act so distant. You should really try harder to connect with me, Abigail. After all, we’re about to become family, aren’t we?" she said sweetly.

I couldn’t deny that with how things were progressing, Rosabella would be marrying Raphael very soon, just as planned. I tried to stop my body from shaking with anger as I clenched my fists at my sides.

"What is it that you want?" I repeated my question again.

"I just wanted to warn you," Rosabella said as she glared at me from across the table.

"Warn me about what?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her suspiciously.

"You think that you can keep your dirty little secrets forever and that no one will ever find out," she said as she cocked her head slightly to the side and smiled at me again.

I had no idea what she was trying to get at. On top of that, I was scared that this was nothing more than a trap she had set up for me to spill my secrets. I never thought that I would have so many secrets to keep in my life or that someone would use them to threaten me. Before, I could probably say that I lived my life pure and clean-however, now I wasn’t so sure.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," I said without revealing anything.

Suddenly, she let out a loud, pretty laugh as if she found what I just told her truly entertaining. For a moment, I thought she had completely lost her mind, but then she collected herself and stared directly at me. This time, her gaze was sharper than ever before. A shiver ran down my spine when I considered the possibility that she might have seen through me.

"Do you honestly think that I wouldn’t know?" she asked pointedly.

"I already told you that I have no idea what you’re talking about," I replied.

"I know everything about what you have done-and all the evil plans that you and your mother have," she said.

"You have to stop this. You have to stop accusing me-and also, please make sure not to drag my mother into this," I warned, my tone edged with anger.

"It seems that you’re not about to confess to your crimes. What if I told you that I know there’s something going on between you and Raphael?" Rosabella asked before smiling victoriously at me.

It felt like my entire bloodstream froze in my veins right at that moment. I didn’t know what kind of face I made, but a chill so cold ran through me that it seemed to seep into my bones. My mind raced to figure out how to deal with the situation as I asked myself if it was truly possible that Rosabella had caught on about my relationship with Raphael-or whether she was simply bluffing just to see my reaction.

"I don’t know what you’re implying," I replied after carefully considering my words.

"I know that you’ve been sleeping around with Raphael-your stepbrother," Rosabella said as she leaned across the table toward me.

I could hardly believe what she had just said. The way she said it told me she was sure about this piece of knowledge and that she wasn’t just bluffing to see my reaction. It wasn’t an accusation-she said it as if she had known all along and was just rubbing it in my face. I began to panic while wondering when she found out and how she discovered it. On top of that, I wondered if Raphael already knew that she knew-or if she had confronted him about it. Did he decide to keep it a secret from me? Or was there a deal between them that I didn’t know about-just as Rosabella was clearly trying to use this knowledge against me?

"It’s not true," I immediately denied.

"You know, I always found it strange-just how close you two seem to be, even though you’ve only just met. You haven’t known each other that long, and even if Raphael wanted to be the perfect stepbrother to you for his father’s sake, I still thought he was being too nice to you... and far too close," Rosabella said as she continued observing me.

"You’ve got it all wrong," I denied firmly once again.

Rosabella simply chuckled, brushing off my words. She shook her head slowly from side to side with a smile on her lips, as if mocking me. Clearly, she did not believe my denial in the very least.