CHAPTER 18: PLEASE FORGET EVERYTHING

Of course, I was feeling fine, but his sudden question drew our parents’ attention. I glared at him as I asked him silently with my eyes what he was really up to.

"Are you feeling unwell, Abby?" my mother asked as she turned to me with a worried look on her face.

I hesitated about what to say to her. That brief moment of silence was enough for Raphael to jump in and answer her question in my place.

"I’ll take Abigail out for a breath of fresh air. You don’t need to worry. If anything happens, I’ll take care of her. You two should go ahead with your planning," Raphael replied smoothly as he clutched at my arm.

My mother agreed hesitantly before turning her attention back to what Kim was saying. With their backs turned to us, Raphael basically dragged me after him out of the church. I only followed him willingly because I thought that this might be the perfect opportunity that I had been waiting for. If I could get him alone, then I could talk to him and get this pressing matter out of my mind for good.

"What are you doing? Let go of my arm right now," I demanded as I tried to yank my arm away from his grasp.

"You look so bored back there that I thought that you might need saving," he said without letting go of my arm.

"I looked bored?" I asked, feeling quite surprised.

Was it so obvious that I looked bored while I walked around with my mother just now? I sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case because I did try my best to look as engaged and interested because the upcoming wedding was going to be my mother’s big day.

"Yes, you looked absolutely bored. It was clear that you were stifling yawns a couple of times," he said with a shrug.

Did I really do that? Was it really that obvious?

I certainly started feeling very guilty and I prayed that my mother hadn’t realized. Then I narrowed my eyes at Raphael when I was reminded of another reason why I felt very sleepy on that day.

Wasn’t it his fault that I couldn’t catch a wink of sleep the night before?

"This is all because of you," I muttered darkly.

"Why is it because of me? I offered you a good night kiss, but you were the one who turned it down, remember?" he reminded me with a mischievous smirk on his lips.

I clearly recalled him offering me a good night kiss while promising that it would lead to a good night’s sleep. I felt heat rush to my face and I had to look away so that he wouldn’t catch me blushing.

"Anyways, coming out for fresh air here is a good idea. We should leave them to do whatever they want to," Raphael said casually.

The conversation that played out between us did not at all match up with what I had in mind. I stared at Raphael’s face while I noted just how long his dark lashes were and how their color seemed to contrast so well with his pale gray eyes.

"Why are you staring at me so intensely? You think I’m super handsome, right?" he asked, although it didn’t feel like a question.

He leaned down and brought his face so close to mine that our lips almost touched, and I found myself staring deeply into his mesmerizing gray eyes. He was right that I thought he was super handsome and also very attractive on top of that. I also thought that having sex with him was great and all that; however, none of that mattered because it doesn’t change the fact that he is supposed to be my stepbrother in a few days’ time and I should be nothing more than his stepsister.

Since I was certain that he had heard compliments from many girls regarding his looks before, I didn’t feel compelled to add my words of compliment on top of their pile.

"It’s probably not the first time you’ve heard it, so I’m not even going to bother saying it," I replied bluntly.

"I see. That’s an interesting way to look at it," he commented as he cocked his head slightly to the side.

I backed away from him a little as I tried to gather my thoughts while noting that once again I was losing track of our conversation.

"Actually, there’s something that I need to talk to you about," I said as I clenched my hands into tight fists while telling myself that I have to do this right now.

The sooner I get this over with, the better.

"I’m all ears," Raphael said before showing me a sweet smile.

"Let’s forget all about it," I blurted out in a pretty loud voice.

"Forget about what?" he asked as his relaxed expression slightly darkened.

"Let’s forget all about it. Let’s forget about everything that happened that night between us. Let’s just pretend that none of it ever happened," I said, hoping that my words would be convincing.

I couldn’t see the reasons why he would want to hold on to memories associated with that random one-night stand, so I didn’t think that it was a big deal or a big ask. The way he narrowed his eyes at me and the look of dissatisfaction that emerged on his face told me that I couldn’t have been more wrong and that he didn’t share even a fraction of my opinion.

"Why? Why are you asking me to forget?" he asked as if he truly couldn’t understand the reason behind my request.

I looked from side to side to make sure that no one was there in the garden with us so that our conversation wouldn’t be overheard.

"Isn’t it obvious? Your dad is about to marry my mom," I replied to him in a hushed whisper because I had noted that we were speaking quite loudly.

"So what?" he asked as if my concern didn’t matter at all to him.

–To be continued...

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