Lahat ng Kabanata ng Affair With The Mafia: Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

"Oh my God, Rafael?! Why are you playing in the mud?!"10-year-old Rafael ignored Catalina's hysterical shouts as she stood at the edge of the fish pond. Even without seeing his mother's expression, Rafael knew that she must be staring at him with a slight head shake­­—trying to remain patient even as she saw her son playing in the mud pit."Smart boy, come out of the pond and go take a bath. I want you to transform into an angel, Rafael, just like your name!" Once again, his mother's voice rang out, this time instructing the servants to pull him out of the fish pond."Mom!" Rafael whined, looking at his mother in irritation. His body was still covered in mud, but his plan seemed to fail. It was just mud, not motor oil or cooking oil, that was hard to clean. Maybe he should consider taking an oil bath next time in his father's garage."Come on, handsome child," his mother reached out to touch Rafael's mud-covered head. “You have to take a bath,”"I don't want to! I want to play with m

The cold breeze made her skin shiver. The grapevines at night made the path to the house's yard look lush. Fallen leaves covered the path Rusty trotted on— making the path look perfect with the wind racing along with every step of Rusty. Cheryl urged Rusty to run faster. Passing the stable area, she headed towards the vineyard. Far behind her, Rafael rode a horse at a medium speed. He allowed Cheryl to lead their way—leaving everything behind without caring that the cold night air made her bones freeze. "Come on, Rusty!" Cheryl coaxed Rusty to run further. Faster. Cutting through the path as she ran away from her own thoughts. Cheryl never thought that the idea of riding a horse in the middle of the night could make her feel so calm. There was no one else except her and Rusty. The rhythmic thud of the horse's hooves sounded peaceful, instantly calming her mind. "You're amazing, Rusty!" Cheryl praised, hugging the horse's neck. Rusty was an intelligent horse. He recognized Cheryl

"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

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

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