CHAPTER 142: NO SECRETS SURVIVE

"I know that you’ve been fucking around with your stepbrother. How scandalous. I wonder what your dear mother would say if she knew that you’ve been sleeping around with her husband’s son?" Rosabella asked in mock wonder.

I felt my entire face freeze just at the thought that she might tell my mother about my relationship with Raphael. Although I knew that I needed to tell my mother one day if I wanted to date Raphael for real, I was nowhere near ready to confront her about this. On top of that, my mother still didn’t know about the nature of Raphael’s family business. It felt like I had two very bad and shocking pieces of news to break to her. I had no idea what to say, and I didn’t even want to think about her reaction.

"I just told you that it’s not true," I repeated again, even though I knew she wouldn’t believe me. I finally found out the real reason why Rosabella had invited me to meet up with her today. She was using my relationship with Raphael to blackmail me into quickly telling my mother the truth about everything-so that she could marry Raphael as soon as possible, just as planned. She knew that I was in the way, and now she needed me gone.

"There’s no point in denying it. I’ve known for quite a while already. I didn’t want it to come to this, and I thought that things would end between the two of you sooner or later. But I can’t have you misbehaving like this around my fiancé any longer," Rosabella said, sounding mockingly regretful.

"You’re crazy. I already told you that it’s not true," I tried desperately to deny everything.

"You can’t fool me. That innocent-girl act of yours might fool someone else, but not me. I know very well what you’ve done. I was there," she said as she glared at me.

"What do you mean?" I asked in a breathless whisper.

"During that trip we went on together-remember when Raphael suddenly disappeared somewhere? You were supposed to be sleeping in your room when I went looking for him. Guess what I found out?" she said before smiling at me mockingly.

At that moment, I knew that it was useless to deny anything. I wished that I could just black out so I wouldn’t have to deal with Rosabella or the aftermath anymore. I should have known that there are no real secrets in this world-that sooner or later, someone was bound to find out about my affair with Raphael.

"You were pretty loud. I could hear the two of you from the other side of the door. Just because I didn’t barge in on you out of respect for my fiancé doesn’t mean I had no idea what you were up to," Rosabella said slowly and clearly, as if spelling it out to me.

I was speechless. I had no idea what to say to save the situation because it seemed impossible. My lips quivered uncontrollably to the point that I couldn’t even bring myself to speak.

"I’d had my suspicions even before then, but they were confirmed in the worst possible way on that trip. Oh, but don’t worry-I haven’t told Raphael about this," Rosabella said before smiling at me as if she were my friend.

My mouth dropped open as I wondered why she was telling me all this and why she hadn’t confronted Raphael about it. The two of them were about to get married, and she had found out that he had been sleeping with me. It just didn’t make any sense why she seemed so cool and collected about all of this.

"I don’t think a fling like you should ruin the relationship I have with Raphael, or his family, or the future that the two of us will share. Unlike a girl he uses to pass the time-like you-I am going to be his wife, and we will spend the rest of our lives together. I would never let you ruin that," she spat at me before showing a disgusted look on her face.

My mind kept racing as I struggled to figure out what I should do. I wondered if I should just get up and leave, and consult Raphael about what we should do next. Perhaps he needed to know that our secret had leaked out. I had to admit-I had never felt so scared before in my life. It seemed like my sins were catching up to me all at once.

"You’re mistaken..." I said in a shaky voice.

"You’re nothing more than a toy to Raphael. Just one of many. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. Hopefully, you haven’t really fallen in love with him, have you?" she asked with widened eyes.

I knew that she was looking down on me. I knew that she thought I was nothing more than Raphael’s plaything. It broke my heart because there was a part of me that started to doubt him. I started to wonder if I really was just a plaything to him-someone he could cast aside at any moment if I became an inconvenience.

I couldn’t say anything to Rosabella as a comeback. If I told her that Raphael and I were truly in love, then I would be admitting to our affair. Silence seemed like the only acceptable way out, so I just sat there with my lips clamped shut.

"You seduced him, didn’t you? After seeing your mother seduce Bennett and then land you both in a life of luxury, I guess you couldn’t let the opportunity slip through your fingers. What is it that you want? Is it the money or the power? Did you think that sleeping with Raphael would guarantee your future in this family? How pathetic," Rosabella said, followed by a cruel, sharp laugh.