CHAPTER 39: HE KNEW

I felt so on edge and insecure all the way during the ride back to the mansion because I was alone with Raphael in the car. Although he had to focus on driving, that didn’t completely eliminate the possibility that he could turn his attention to tease me at any time. I felt a sensation in my chest each time that he turned to direct his attention my way. Thankfully, we managed to arrive back at the mansion without incident. A wave of loneliness washed over me as I made my way into the mansion when I realized that my mother wasn’t there waiting for me. Hopefully, she was having the time of her life on her honeymoon trip with Bennett.

"I’m just going to go back to my room," I told him without looking at him.

"I’ll help you carry these to your room," he offered, as if following me to my room.

Since there were so many maids and helpers in the mansion, I had no idea why he was so determined to delivery everything to my room by himself. I let him do what he wanted because during the silent time in the car, I had reflected on what happened earlier with Sam and realized that I might have ended in a very difficult situation had Raphael not intervened. Looking at it from that perspective, it seemed like I did owe him some kind of thanks and appreciation. I struggled with myself and my own emotions with every step that I took closer to my bedroom. I never thought that it would be so difficult to thank someone for their help.

"Thank you," I said as I stood in front of my bedroom door.

"This is nothing," he replied while sounding so kind that I wasn’t used to it.

He must have thought that I was thanking him for carrying all the things that he bought for me earlier when we were at the mall, but that wasn’t what I had in mind.

"No, I don’t mean that. Okay, maybe I should thank you for carrying all this stuff for me and buying all of it for me, although I didn’t really ask for it and I kept saying that I didn’t need it, but that’s not what I was referring to," I said, while wondering what I was going on about.

Raphael looked at me with a slightly confused look on his face, as if he wasn’t sure what I was getting at. I let out a soft sigh as I tried to find the right words to say to him. We stood awkwardly in front of my bedroom door in silence as I tried to pick the right words.

"Thank you for earlier. I mean, thank you for helping me deal with my troublesome colleague," I said, referring to Sam.

I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes, but when Raphael didn’t respond right away, I stole a glance at his face. He had an unreadable expression on his face, as if he was slightly surprised that I had thanked him so straightforwardly.

"You’re welcome," Raphael replied simply.

I thought that that was the end of our conversation and that I had thanked him adequately. Before my embarrassment could take over me, I knew that I needed to make my escape into the sanctuary of my bedroom. I quickly reached my hand to take the shopping bags out of his hand so that I could make my escape, but Raphael wouldn’t let me.

"You shouldn’t let anyone treat you that way. You shouldn’t let anyone just disrespect you by saying and doing those things to you as they please, no matter who they are, even if he happens to be your ex-fiancé," Raphael said as he trained his eyes intently on my face.

It felt like he was lecturing me, but at the same time, it felt like he was giving me very friendly and protective advice. I could feel that he meant well, but at that moment, I could not bring myself to appreciate it because I was stunned by the fact that he seemed to have known all along who Sam really was.

He knew...?

"You knew?" I asked before I could stop myself.

I honestly thought that Raphael knew nothing about who Sam was and that he just wanted to help me out because I seemed to be having a difficult time with a colleague. Sam did not mention our past relationship but only focused on his present marriage to Emily and his ties as part of the owner of the company.

"About what?" Raphael asked casually.

"That he’s my ex..." I replied in a soft mumble.

"Why? Is that supposed to be a secret too?" he asked teasingly.

"Well, no..." I mumbled.

I just didn’t think that Raphael would know about something like that.

Did he say all those things to Sam because he knew about our past relationship?

"I know more about you than you think," he said, as if he could hear my internal thoughts.

I didn’t know what to say to him or what to think about what he did earlier in the day. I might have felt like a loser had Raphael not stepped in. I was very scared that Sam might somehow end up using my mother or me in a way that would be beneficial to him and Emily’s family. Just the thought of it brought a bitter taste to my mouth, and I realized just how angry that made me.

"Don’t look so worried. You’re a part of the Hayes family now, and no one can touch you. I’ll make sure of that from now on," Raphael promised as he reached his hand towards my face.

I felt a quivering feeling in my chest that made me flinch slightly at the thought that he might touch my face. Instead, his beautiful fingers brushed a strand of my hair before tucking it neatly behind my ear.

"Thank you. I’ll try not to be a bother so that you won’t need to help me," I replied as I took a step back away from him to put some distance between us.

–To be continued...

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