"Then, should I kidnap you again? Should I run down the aisle and kidnap the bride?"The last sentence Rafael uttered still made Cheryl's body tremble, even an hour later.Rafael might have been joking, but Cheryl swore she had wished he wasn't. She must be insane to wish for Rafael to kidnap her on her wedding day, right?"Fortunately, I brought my jacket. Otherwise," Rafael shook his head, "I'd have to bend over all afternoon so you could sit on my back."Cheryl blinked, staring at Rafael's jacket beneath her. He had even offered his jacket as a seat mat for her to sit on."Are we just going to sit here?" Trying to shift her attention away from Rafael, Cheryl chose to gaze at the expanse of grass around the lake."You wanted to watch the sunset, right?""Just the sunset?"Rafael tapped his finger against his head as if thinking, "Or do you want to swim?"Cheryl swore her eyes must have widened, looking at Rafael as if to say, "Are you kidding?""Once, I challenged Mateo to beat me i
"Her wound isn't serious," Beatrice softly closed Cheryl's room door, "She didn't faint either. She just closed her eyes—pretending. I think you don't need to worry about her."Rafael growled, struggling to control his emotions. In his mind, he kept replaying how Cheryl had looked at him. Hollow eyes filled with fear.Madness. He had revealed his identity to Cheryl. He had exposed his Princess to the darkness she shouldn't have seen."I'll kill them all," he muttered under his breath."I've taken care of the mess in the woods. It seems they were all sent by the same person. The attack had the same motive," Theodore chimed in.Rafael turned his head, glaring at Theodore with anger. In his eyes, he was no longer 'Rafael'; he was the leader of the Wagner clan."Why didn't you handle everything? Do I have to get involved myself?" he retorted with sarcasm."I will take care of them soon. You don't need to get involved. I promise you'll hear news within two or three days.""Too long!" Rafae
The sun had already set when Beatrice stood at the doorway of her room. She snorted briefly and shook her head lazily."Still not coming out? Want to turn into Rapunzel, who was locked up in the castle?" Beatrice asked with a sarcastic tone.Cheryl turned away, not wanting to respond to Beatrice's useless babbling.Since morning—or rather, since the night—Cheryl had stayed in her room. She wrapped herself in a blanket, paying no attention to the food that Beatrice had sent since morning."You're too weak to stand beside Rafael. That's why he's always hesitant whenever he sees you," Beatrice said with a bitter smile.Cheryl turned her head slightly, a little bit surprised by Beatrice's ambiguous statement."What do you mean?"Since morning, Rafael hadn't come to see her. He seemed to have deliberately left her alone, making her keep thinking about many unreasonable things ever since knowing his true identity."This is how our life is," Beatrice shrugged, "a spoiled princess from the Al
Cheryl felt frightened as Carlos dragged her into the grand mansion in the city center. Long hallways dominated by white walls welcomed her as she entered the building. The ceiling adorned with classical ornaments and a chandelier in the center made the mansion look even more magnificent.The Dominggos family mansion.There was no way out of this place. She was trapped in Carlos's grip. This time, she couldn't rely on Rafael's help, especially after she had openly rejected him—hurting his ego. Not only Rafael, she couldn't rely on Mateo and her Daddy either. They weren't Superman, who was able to come to her whenever she needed them. There was no phone or one to expect to rescue her from this cursed place.She is alone... and she has to face what she deserves to face."Carlos, stop..." Cheryl pleaded, trying to catch Carlos's attention as he dragged her like a madman.Dozens of maids standing at the end of the stairs on the second floor looked at her with concern. But, once again, Che
Days changed faintly. Now she was in Las Vegas—in her room at the Alejandro family mansion. No more Canada, or horse stables on the ranch, or the simple room overlooking the vineyard, or sunrises by the lake.Everything vanished all of a sudden...Cheryl never really noticed the passing of time. She felt empty as if she had just lost something precious in her life.She faintly heard the sound of the door being closed gently.As she opened her eyes, the room that was once dark and cold had transformed into bright and... warm. She could feel the thick blanket wrapping around her body. And the gentle stroke on her head."How was your sleep? Nice?"Cheryl looked up and found Mateo sitting at the edge of the bed, looking at her with concern as if she had just got a big problem.In reality, she was indeed caught in a big problem..."When did you arrive?" Cheryl shifted back, rising from her sleeping position and approaching Mateo to hug him."A few hours ago." Mateo kept running his fingers
Throughout her life, Cheryl admitted that she was not a person who was close to God. She rarely prayed, nor did she attend church. However, there were moments in her life that made her feel that someday she would find and return to the old path that she had left behind. Perhaps, there would be things that made her miss her old habits of coming to church to pray or just sitting for hours practicing the piano with the choir.Now, for the first time in years, she was back at the small church where she had spent her childhood in Las Vegas.This church was not the same as the last time she visited. There was still a large garden that greeted her in the courtyard, but the inside of the church had been remodeled to be bigger and grander. The piano she used to play has also changed. It had been changed to a new model, with better quality of course.Cheryl missed the time when she was a little girl who often played the piano in church.She instantly regretted that she rarely visited this churc
Her heart still skipped a beat whenever she recalled the brief conversation between Sister Esther and Mrs Catalina a few moments ago. It felt as if something was driving her to find out about something... that she had never realized before."What's wrong?" Mateo turned his head, looking at her with a frown on his forehead.Cheryl squeaked in surprise. She gave Mateo a quick glance, then shook her head slowly."You look like you've just seen a ghost. What's wrong?" Veronica asks almost the same question."I..." She looked around her at the churchyard where Mrs Catalina had just come out and walked into a black car guarded by four black bodyguards."What's wrong?" Mateo looked at her seriously. He followed the direction of her eyes, who was watching the window. However, just before Mateo looked out, Mrs Catalina’s car had already driven past them.Cheryl could see Veronica staring at the car that passed them. She seemed to recognize the black car with the RFW logo on it.Instantly Chery
"Mateo, please help me," Cheryl gave Mateo a pleading look, "I need to see Rafael. Tell me where and how I can meet him because… I've been calling him since a few hours ago, but he's not picking up my calls."Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mateo wince in surprise at the suddenness of the sentence she said while they were having dinner together.She spent the whole afternoon thinking about all this and only found the courage at dinner time. She knew that what she had asked Mateo was... shocking. However, this is what happened, and she couldn't stop the thousands of questions that had been running through her head since her meeting with Mrs. Catalina."Wait, what are you talking about?" Mateo raised one eyebrow, giving her a surprised look.Cheryl took a deep breath, knowing that his question showed how crazy her mind was at the moment. However, she didn't care. The only thing she wanted to do was to meet Rafael to ask him about what really happened.The thing she had believed in