CHAPTER 86: OUR NIGHT TOGETHER

“Raphael, don’t you think that this band is so good?” Rosabella asked as she clung to his arm to pull him closer. I quickly turned on my heels and walked away without saying another word.

Without anywhere to go and no one to spend my time with, it felt only natural for me to return to the sanctuary of my bedroom in the suite. It was already quite late in the evening by the time I returned. I felt quite relieved to get away from my role as a third wheel in Raphael’s and Rosabella’s relationship. I closed my eyes and let out a sigh while I wondered why I had to get swept up and caught in a situation like this. I quickly took a shower before lying on the bed as I waited for sleep to overtake me. After such a physically and emotionally exhausting day, I truly expected to fall asleep without any problems. To my distressing surprise, sleep evaded me, and I found myself feeling extremely restless as I lay on the bed with only the soft light leaking in from the window.

"Stop thinking about him," I mumbled to myself before squeezing my eyes tightly shut.

Ever since parting from Raphael at the bar, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about what he was up to now and what he was doing with Rosabella. Raphael seemed very stiff and didn’t appear to be enjoying his date with Rosabella, but perhaps that was because I was around and he couldn’t relax with me there. I wondered if they were having a good time now that I was out of the picture. The more I told myself that I should stop thinking about him, the more I ended up wondering how his night was going. The suite was silent, and I was clearly the only one present, which naturally should be the case considering that the two of them were still out partying with each other. I told myself that I should fall asleep so that I wouldn’t have to hear them coming back when they returned from their date.

"I wish this cruise will be over soon," I whispered my wish into the darkness of my bedroom.

...

**Knock Knock Knock**

I would have thought that the soft knocking sound that I heard on my bedroom door was nothing but a part of my dream had I been fast asleep; however, although I had my eyes closed, I was far from being asleep. I had no idea how many hours I had lain there on the bed, trying my best to fall asleep without much success. That was why when I heard soft knocking sounds on my door, I realized that someone was standing on the other side. My heart raced in my chest as I bolted up from the bed and headed for the door. Just when I reached my hand towards the handle, I stopped myself just in time.

What if someone dangerous is standing on the opposite side of the door?

I hesitated when I realized that I had already started hoping that Raphael would be the one standing on the other side of the door. For a moment, I didn’t dare make a sound as I held my breath. I had to admit to myself that I wanted to see him, and I started hating myself for it. Perhaps I should just ignore him and head back to bed; that way, he would just leave. Although I wasn’t even sure about the identity of the person knocking on my door, I had somehow decided that it must be Raphael.

**Knock Knock Knock**

The person knocked on my door again a couple more times, this time louder than before. While my heart beat so fast in my chest that I could hear it thumping in my ears, my mind raced to figure out whether or not I should open the door.

"It’s me," I heard Raphael’s familiar voice from the other side of the door even before I could ask him for his identity.

"Open the door, Gail," Raphael said with a hint of warning in his voice that made me feel like he might kick down the door if I refused him entrance.

I was torn between what to do because deep down inside I wanted to see him, but it didn’t make sense for him to be standing on the other side of my door when he was supposed to be enjoying his date night with Rosabella at the bar.

"Open the door, Gail. I know that you’re in there," he said with a hint of warning in his tone. Slowly, I turned the doorknob and opened the door a crack. Light from the living room outside poured into my bedroom, and I found myself feeling slightly stunned at seeing Raphael’s silhouette standing right in front of my door, although I already knew that it couldn’t be anyone else apart from him.

"Is there something that you need?" I asked hesitantly. Our eyes met, and I could sense that Raphael wasn’t in the best of moods as he stared down at me. I thought that he was supposed to be having a good time with Rosabella during their date at the party, and I even went out of my way to leave the two of them alone, so I couldn’t comprehend the reason why he looked so ticked off.

"You," Raphael replied in short. As my mind struggled to understand what he even meant, Raphael pushed the door open wider before grabbing my arm and pulling me into the bedroom along with him. The door closed behind us, and I heard the distinctive click of the lock.

"Wait! What are you...?" I asked before I had to let out a small cry of surprise when he suddenly flung me down onto the bed.

"Have you gone mad? What are you doing here?" I asked as I started to panic. Without replying to me, Raphael quickly climbed onto the bed.

–To be continued...