CHAPTER 73: INVADING MY BED

"I... I," I said before I ended up hesitating.

"What’s wrong? Is there something that you want to tell me about?" my mother asked as she picked up on something being off.

I believe that if I brought up the issue, I could ease my mind; however, I also realized that it would come at the cost of burdening my mother with something that might just end up as some nonsense.

"It’s nothing. I guess I’m just feeling a little too excited about Raphael’s engagement tomorrow. After all, it’s such an important event for our family," I said before trying my best to smile.

"That’s right! I feel like attending these important events together makes us feel like a real family. I’m very happy that everyone is getting along. I have to say that I had my concerns at first that things might not work out, but it seems that everything is proceeding so smoothly," my mother said before breathing a sigh of relief.

I clamped my mouth shut at her words before I would let out anything that would shatter the illusion that she had that we were one perfect family. Putting the complication that I had with Raphael aside, if this family that she married us into was in fact a mafia syndicate, then we were far from being a perfect and normal family in every single sense of the word.

"It is getting a little late. You should go to sleep so that your skin will be glowing and perfect tomorrow," I said while trying to keep my tone light and cheerful.

"You too. Have a good night’s sleep, Sweetie," my mother said before she planted a soft kiss against my cheek.

I watched her back as she proceeded in the direction of her bedroom with a heavy feeling in my heart.

**Later that night**

I had no idea what time it was, but it was definitely late into the night when I heard a soft knocking sound on my bedroom door. My eyes immediately flew open only to be greeted by darkness of my own bedroom. At first, I thought that I might have just imagined it, but the fact that I was still wide awake only confirmed that sleep had evaded me all night long. Even after taking a long and relaxing bath, my mind was still too troubled for me to fall asleep. I spent hours just tossing and turning on my bed as feelings that I could not fully comprehend bubbled inside of my chest and made it feel tight and uncomfortable.

Raphael’s engagement is happening tomorrow. It was crazy how time seemed to move so slowly when you are looking forward to something, and also how time seemed to fly by so fast when you are fearing the arrival of something. It seemed that there was no way that we could avoid the arrival of Raphael’s engagement, and that reminded me that it was probably because that was how things were supposed to be since the very beginning. I told myself that the two of them have been engaged for years before I even met Raphael. The thought made my mood darken when I realized that I was comparing myself to Rosabella as if to see who had the right to claim Raphael as their own.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, while reminding myself sternly that even if Rosabella wasn’t in the picture, I had no right to be with Raphael. There was no way that I could have that kind of relationship with my own stepbrother and put the new family that my mother had worked so hard to put together at risk. I quickly closed my eyes while telling myself that I must have just misheard the soft knocking sounds on my bedroom door. Even though it would be close to impossible for me to fall asleep for real, I could at least conserve some energy by keeping my eyes closed as I laid still on the bed. I did not look forward to the arrival of dawn, but I knew that time would not stand still regardless of what I wanted. When morning arrives, we would all get dressed and ready for Raphael’s big day before making our way to Rosabella’s Mansion where their engagement event would take place.

Suddenly, I heard a clicking sound and then the sound of the door slowly opening. My heart skipped a beat in my chest and I started to panic when I realized that someone had just entered my bedroom. I thought that perhaps it was all inside of my head, when I heard the sound of someone knocking softly on my bedroom door earlier. My body froze in the bed as I wondered what I should do. Fear flooded my senses as I wondered who had just entered my room. The intruder did not make a sound as if being careful not to wake me from my slumber. I heard the sound of the door softly closing and then another clicking sound, and I realized that the intruder must have just locked the door. My breath quickened as I continued to feign sleep as my mind raced to figure out what I should do.

Security was always so tight around and also inside Bennett’s mansion, so how did an outsider get inside? What should I do? Should I scream and call for help?

I had never been in such a situation before and I wasn’t sure what would be my best next move. My heart raced fast in my chest as adrenaline pumped in my blood. My bedroom was too dark for me to see the intruder clearly, except for the outlines of his body. I could tell that he was tall and that he had already made his way to where I was lying on the bed. I couldn’t help but imagine the worst as I wondered what I had done wrong to deserve something like this.

I squeezed my eyes tightly shut as I began praying for my own safety.

–To be continued...