CHAPTER 57: FAIRYTALE LOVE STORY

"Dad," Raphael said with a hint of warning in his tone. However, before Raphael could say anything else, Bennett blurted out his announcement.

"Raphael is getting engaged!" Bennett announced with a proud smile on his face.

He’s getting engaged?

What?

Suddenly, it felt like time stopped ticking and everything around me was frozen in absolute silence. My mind struggled to comprehend the words that just came out of Bennett’s mouth.

What does he mean? Did he just say that Raphael is getting engaged?

For a moment, I didn’t know what I was feeling or how I should react. It just felt like the ground underneath my feet had just opened up and was about to swallow me whole. The sense of emptiness that opened up inside of me like a broken void made me feel like I was about to lose my mind.

"Engaged! That is wonderful news!" my mother exclaimed before she broke out into a wide smile.

"Isn’t that right? It seems like everything great is happening to our family all at once. First, we got married and now it’s going to be Raphael’s turn very soon after he gets engaged," Bennett said excitedly. The two lovebirds beamed bright smiles at each other that made them appear as if they were a young couple in their prime once again.

The joyous reaction was the stark opposite of what I was feeling inside. The dark and cold feelings that enveloped my chest told me that I was more than shocked at hearing this sudden announcement. I couldn’t even bring myself to glance over in Raphael’s direction because I was scared to see the look on his face. Even after all the times that we spent together, he never once told me that he was getting engaged. While our parents looked like they were on the verge of celebrating, I felt like I wanted to shrink away and hide somewhere where I could be alone.

I didn’t have the mental strength to act like I was fine. It seemed that Raphael had lied to me, or he had manipulated me while strategically keeping this piece of information away from me. I felt like I had been used and then betrayed. I couldn’t believe that he slept with me when he was already engaged to another woman. I felt pain shooting through the palms of my hands and then I realized that I had balled my hands into tight fists, and my fingernails were digging into my palms as my body shook with anger.

If he’s getting engaged and married soon, then why did he sleep with me? Why did he make that stupid deal with me?

I felt like such a fool, and I hated every moment of it.

"So? Who’s the lucky lady?" my mother asked the next question that had been burning on my mind.I would be lying if I said that I had completely no idea who that lucky lady was.

"It’s Rosabella. You met her and her father at our wedding, do you remember?" Bennett announced before turning to ask my mother.

"Yes, I believe I do. She’s so beautiful, and her smile is so sweet," my mother said before smiling again.

"I have to agree with you. She’s a good girl. Her father and I have been friends for a very long time as well as good business partners. Raphael and Rosabella have known each other since they were kids," Bennett said before turning to offer me a smile, as if he was trying to keep me engaged in the conversation. That was when I realized that I had remained silent all this time and had not offered any words of congratulations regarding this good news.

"Congratulations, this is great news," I said, purely out of obligation. I tried my best to smile while I hoped that no one could see through my act.

"This sounds like a romance straight out of a fairy tale. Getting engaged to your childhood friend, have you two been in love all along? Perhaps ever since you were young?" my mother asked with sparkling eyes. Her reactions made me feel like she was a hopeless romantic. Instead of replying to my mother, Raphael just smiled without saying anything. I wondered if she had guessed correctly about the two of them being in love ever since they were young.

"Her father and I are in agreement that there is no point in putting this off any longer, and that the two of them should just get formally engaged. We’ve talked about their engagement for years ever since they were young, and this seems like the perfect timing," Bennett said with a decisive nod of his head.

"I have the business to worry about right now," Raphael said after a moment of silence. It could have been my own imagination, but for a moment, he appeared uncomfortable. That didn’t mean that he had outright denied or turned down his father’s idea regarding the engagement.

"If you’re really worried about the business, you will quickly marry her to secure all ties with her father and also produce an heir to take over the business," Bennett said sternly as he crossed his arms over his chest. Tension filled the air, and my mother and I knew that we should not intervene and that holding our tongue was the right option in that situation.

"Let’s talk about the engagement soon in more detail. We should have a meeting with the two of them to discuss things. We should all go together, since we’re going to become a real family soon," Bennett said before he smiled warmly at my mother and me. The sudden shift in the atmosphere was so fast that I wasn’t sure how to react. I was still struggling to wrap my head around the fact that Raphael was already engaged and that they were about to make it formal soon.

I tried to keep a smile on my face as I tried to deal with the conflicting emotions raging war inside of my chest. Admittedly, I had very mixed feelings about Raphael’s engagement. On one hand, I knew that I should feel glad because this might just be the solution to all of my problems.

–To be continued...