CHAPTER 80: THIRD WHEELER

Just when I was about to tell her that I wasn’t a big fan of parties and politely turn down her offer, Rosabella took my hands into hers. "You remember the other day, right? You promised that you’re going to help me get even closer to Raphael," Rosabella reminded me in a soft whisper so that no one else would overhear.

"Well, I guess..." I murmured hesitated. I guess at the end of the day I only agreed to help her because I couldn’t find a way out at that moment. The truth was, I didn’t want to get involved in their relationship at all.

"Raphael and I are going to attend a party on a cruise, and I’ve already suggested that you come along with us," she said before her smile widened even further.

"And what did he say?" I asked before I could stop myself. I thought there was no way Raphael would want me to come along with them on their first trip together right after their engagement, and that gave me hope that he might provide a way out for me.

"He said that it was entirely up to me and that he wouldn’t mind if you came along with us. Then he mentioned that your parents just went on a cruise trip for their honeymoon so it might be good for you to go on a cruise trip too. Isn’t he so understanding and supportive?" Rosabella said before letting out a giggle.

My smile died on my lips, and I was at a loss for words. "Is that so," I managed to mumble.

"Well, I guess the more the merrier, right? The cruise party is next weekend, and everyone who is someone is going to be there. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. I heard that you’re still single, if you want I can introduce you to some very eligible bachelors," Rosabella said with a firm nod of her head, and I could tell that she was already looking forward to it.

"Right..." I mumbled as I felt my face turn numb. Before I could think of an excuse to turn down her invitation, someone called Rosabella’s name and caught her attention. After briefly waving her hand at me and smiling, Rosabella turned and walked off.

...

**The Day of the Cruise**

"I want to say that I hope the three of you will have fun, but I’m already sure that this cruise and the party are going to be a blast!" my mother said excitedly before smiling at the three of us. It felt like we were about to go on a disastrous school trip to an overcrowded zoo, and I wasn’t looking forward to what was about to unfold. Just standing there along with Raphael and Rosabella made me feel extremely awkward. For the life of me, I wasn’t even sure how my presence could ever contribute to bringing the two of them closer.

"I’d like to thank you for inviting Abigail as well. I’m sure this is a great opportunity for Abigail to meet some new people," Bennett added with a nod of his head. It seemed like everybody thought it was a great idea for me to attend the cruise party, and that made me feel like fate and the whole world were against me.

"Thank you. I’ll try to have fun," I replied while trying to suppress the urge to sound sarcastic.

"Make sure that you take care of both Rosabella and Abigail well," Bennett said to his son. Raphael smiled as if he was looking forward to the trip before promising his father that he would take care of everything.

With every passing second that the three of us spent in the car, the more awkward the atmosphere became. Raphael was driving with Rosabella sitting next to him in the front while I sat alone in the back, wondering what the hell I was doing there.

"Many of our friends are going to be there, some of them you haven’t met in a while. Paul and George are going to be there as well. I think they’re looking forward to seeing you too," Rosabella said cheerfully before she flashed Raphael a smile.

"I guess I haven’t seen them in a while," Raphael replied passively.

"It’s definitely been too long since the last time we partied together. Well, I guess it does make sense since Paul was out of the country for a couple of years and George has been so tied up with his family business," Rosabella said before going even deeper into the details of a few of their mutual friends’ lives.

I listened to the conversation passively, just to realize that I had no idea who or what they were talking about. That only added to my sense of isolation, and I had to say that I wished that I was somewhere else. It didn’t help that they did not bother to fill me in on any information. On top of that, no effort was made to include me as part of their conversation. I sat at the back of the car in silence, wondering why Rosabella wanted to drag me along when it seemed like she was already getting along with Raphael so fabulously well.

"Abigail, did you bring a bikini? The pool party is supposed to be very awesome," Rosabella finally turned to ask me as if she had just remembered that I also existed in the car.

Sadly for her, I had already tuned out from their conversation and had closed my eyes to pretend that I was fast asleep. Pretending to be asleep felt like the safest and surest way to escape from it all.

"Oh, Abigail is sleeping. Maybe she’s tired," Rosabella whispered to Raphael.

Although I could hear everything that went on, I decided to keep my eyes firmly shut while continuing to use sleep as my escape route.

...

The weather was perfect and the sky was a clear blue when we arrived at the harbor where the cruise was docked. Although Rosabella had practically advertised to me the greatness and all the amazing things about the cruise we were going on, the reality of what I saw in front of me still amazed me regardless.

–To be continued...