Chapter 8

Rafael tapped Eddy's office door with a key card when Emma got up from her desk and rushed to him.

"Oh, Mr. Carvalho. You didn't have to do it." She fidgeted with her fingers nervously and looked at the signed and stapled bunch of papers.

"I want you to make two copies of these and have them sent over to me." He handed her the contract.

"One copy for me too." Ruhi chimed in.

"Ignore her. She won't be getting a copy."

"Why n--" She swallowed the lump in her throat when Rafael glared at her the way his dad typically does—the kind of look that turns legs to jelly.

He gave Emma the key card back and grabbed Ruhi by the arm. He pulled her roughly out toward the elevator. Ruhi was shocked at his sudden change of demeanor.

"Rafael?!" She protested against his steely grip.

"Stop saying my name. And stop talking." He pushed the elevator button to reach the lobby.

"So you were just playing nice until---"

"I said shut the fuck up! You will not talk unless I allow you to." Rafael was a different man, not the arrogant jerk she met last night, or the condescending, patronizing douche she saw earlier. He was a terrifying domineering asshole she wanted to run away from. There was a coldness in his eyes which she always ignored until now because his gorgeous face and the oozing hotness clouded her senses.

He got what he wanted from her and knew she won't refuse to attend the press meet or the wedding. She won't dare to cross his dad, now that she met him. He did not want her to use the contract copy to blackmail him. He needed the paperwork to split up with her in a year.

A year was plenty for his dad to get the reins of the diamond market back in his hands. His dad would then not care what he did with Alisha or his automobile companies. Diamonds bored him as much as cars excited him. He didn't care about the everlasting, eternal nonsense concept that his dad wanted to sell to the world.

He tried to persuade his dad years ago not to involve him in his business or politics.

'It's just another stone; millennials and Gen Z care more about travel and investing in experiences, not splurge on status symbols unless the status symbol is a beastly car of course.' He tried to reason with his dad before starting college, after finishing college, and before pursuing his MBA.

His dad was adamant and would have it no other way. He called Rafael a fool for not wanting to take over a multi-billion empire that was being served on a gold platter all ready for him. He introduced Rafael to Alisha, who was also like Rafael; emotionally detached and a car fanatic. 

With the kids from both partners dating and marrying, he thought Rafael would automatically take on more responsibility. Rafael pretended to take on responsibility and did whatever he wanted by founding automobile companies and investing heavily in innovations in car design and technologies.

Antonio couldn't complain because his son's ventures were an immense success. He knew Rafael was a natural and would reign supreme even in the diamond business if he cared enough instead of just doing the bare minimum to keep him happy.

Ruhi followed Rafael as he walked toward the glass door to exit the building. His car was waiting outside for him and the two black cars of his bodyguards also lined up right behind his car.

"See you tomorrow. My driver will pick you up at 10 AM." He told her coldly and put on his sunglasses once he stepped out. The rain had stopped, and the sun was peeking out brilliantly before setting down in another thirty minutes.

Ruhi also took her sunglasses out from her purse and put them on as she walked through the revolving door. She understood Rafael would give her more shit if she tried to talk to him. 'Why would she want to talk to him anyway if he was such an ass?' She thought while checking Uber prices for going back to Dhruv's place. She stared at her phone blankly, unable to ignore Rafael's behavior. 

Rafael was relieved that she didn't create a scene and will leave so quietly. Her unnatural quietness made him curious because he expected her to put up a fight or call him names. He turned back to look at her before getting into his car when she slid down the steps near the entrance in the most ungraceful way and got up in an even more ungraceful manner. She was too busy on the phone to have noticed the steps until she tripped over. 

She brushed her scraped elbow through the torn sweater. He went to catch her sunglasses from falling off her face as she got up. She avoided looking at him and tried to take the sunglasses back from his hand.

"Tom Ford's?" He asked her, but she didn't reply. Her silence bothered him. He couldn't believe he would rather have her yap nonstop than be quiet and hurt.

"They are too big for your face?" He said, putting the cat-eye sunglasses back on her face. "Are they even real? Or did you get them from the dollar store?" He tried to provoke her.

Newspeople flooded the front entrance the very next second. Ruhi stepped down the stairs to ignore them and leave. She thought paparazzi shouldn't be her headache because they were after Rafael. He caught her by the wrist and stood closer as more people gathered around them.

"What is this? An impromptu press meet?" She asked Rafael in an annoyed voice. 

"One of them must have seen us at the mall parking and followed us here."

"Miss Ruhi Bakul, can you tell us a little more about yourself? How old are you? Where do you come from?"

"Twenty-five. India. What else do you want to know?" Her answers were curt while she struggled to keep calm and not run away. She was tempted to yell at Rafael for touching her and acting like everything was cool between them. She pushed his hand off her wrist when his grip loosened.

"Are you feeling overwhelmed by the good fortune? Not everyone gets to marry one of the most eligible bachelors in the country." One of the women pushed the microphone toward her after asking the question.

"By good fortune, if you mean being the wife of the CEO who's cold and aloof, treats women like a speck of dust---"

Rafael interrupted her in his smooth, confident voice. "Don't mind her. She's mad at me for not buying the ring she wanted. She prefers simple and practical, not what I got for her." He said, wrapping an arm around her waist and stroking her other arm with his free hand.

Her body oddly tingled up in response to the warm touch of his fingers as they traced down her body. She looked up at him to warn him not to get too cozy with her. Her breath hitched, and she took a small step back when she saw his eyes look at her with affection. His cold eyes were warm and smiling, transforming him into a genuinely nice man. He did most of the talking with the media when she just glared at him and kept quiet.

She was shocked at the transformation. 'How can someone be so good at pretending? And he said last night that Dhruv and I were used to lying and pretending. Such a player! He was a player with women until he found Alisha, and a player in business; a really manipulative person who somehow persuaded me to get in the car with him to sign the contract.'

"Ruhi..." He rubbed her shoulder and put her in a trance again. "They asked you a question."

"How long have you known Mr. Carvalho?"

"I met him thirteen years ago," she replied. Rafael thought she was kidding until she continued. "I accompanied my dad along with my mom and sister on his business trip to Coonoor. We stayed at a summer home Rafael's dad owned up in the mountains. Rafael visited India at that time to spend his summer holidays."

"How romantic! So did you stay in touch with each other since then?"

"No, I wanted to forget about him and I did until I saw his picture when my parents told me about him."

"How long ago was this?" One of the reporters asked to which Rafael replied before Ruhi could.

"Almost a year. We have been in touch to see if there was something more we wanted to explore."

"What about Alisha? Were you seeing two women at the same time? We assumed Alisha lasted the longest."

"She did. I wasn't seeing Ruhi. We just talked." He went on answering more questions for another fifteen minutes, and then the focus was on Ruhi again.

"So Ruhi, we know all about Rafael's hobbies, likes and dislikes, etc. We would like to do a quick Q&A with you before we let you go."

"First question: Something you are scared of?"

"Thunderstorms... can't sleep at night when I hear the sky roaring."

Favorite color...

Motto to live by...

Favorite cuisine...

Favorite holiday spot...

Any pets?

The questions went on while Rafael had his arm wrapped around her the entire time as if she would run away if he didn't hold her tight enough.

"Okay, last question. When you are away from Rafael, what reminds you of him?"

Ruhi looked at the Christmas tree that was still by the entrance where they were standing. She pointed to a twig.

"A twig reminds you of him? How?" Someone asked her in disbelief.

"It's dry and stiff, just like him." A burst of laughter erupted from them and one of them said, "You are hilarious. And great at deadpanning when joking."

"I'm not kidding. When you see this tree out in the cold, it's---"

"Ruhi, will you please stop?" Rafael leaned in and whispered to her, knowing very well she was going to call him more names and vent out about what he did earlier. She was reaching her breaking point even though she acted calm until then.

"Will you stop holding me so close? You disgust me, and I hate you!" He let her go when he saw a thin sheen of tears in her eyes.

A lump formed in her throat, and her voice croaked when she tried to talk to the media.

"Hey... We don't have to do this. Let's go." Rafael pressed her close to him.

"Leav---"

Her eyes widened and her body tensed up when he cupped her face and planted an urgent kiss on her lips. His hand found its way into her hair as he deepened the kiss. Her pulsed raced to an all-time high and her hands gripped his shirt.

Rafael meant it to be a quick kiss, but when he felt her body tremble against his at the intensity, he couldn't stop himself from ravaging her mouth. Her grip tightened on his shirt as he leaned forward to kiss the hell out of her, not able to get enough of her soft lips. Even when she pulled away to catch some air for just a second, he wanted to suck on those lips again and meet her tongue.

The surroundings slowly disappeared, and the world stopped. She forgot all about her anger as she melted into his arms.