جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 160

Ethan had paced the length of the balcony, his eyes set on the front door. For weeks, Olivia had gotten into the routine of slipping out late in the night to take "a walk," but tonight he was sure that he had seen that spark in her eyes before the excuse tumbled from her lips. There was more to it.He froze as the door creaked open, and Olivia stepped out, clasping her coat tightly to her. With no backward glance, she set off down the street at a brisk pace. Ethan grasped his jacket and followed at a distance so he wouldn't catch up with her fast."What the hell are you up to, Olivia?" he muttered, with his heart pounding in his chest.The chill air nipped at his skin, but he barely noticed. His head whirled, filtering back through every recent contact he'd had with Olivia, how distant she had become and secretive. He thought he knew her, what she was capable of doing. But now, he wasn't so sure.Olivia whipped around the corner into a dark alley; her pace quickened. Ethan hesitated,

“It just doesn't add up,” Rafael muttered, squinting while flipping through the latest report. His office, usually his citadel of control and neatness, felt oppressively tight tonight. The soft light from the desk lamp cast an orange glow across the mountain of files laid out before him, each filled with lost opportunities and misfiled papers, or security breaches-minor and safely treated in isolation, it turned his stomach upside down when put together.Somebody was setting him up, sabotaging him.He leaned back in his chair; the fingers of one hand began a staccato beat upon its armrest. "It's aninsider….” That hung in the air, a bitter thought, for the pattern, if it continued, seemed already too deliberate to be coincidence.It was the sharp knocking that brought him out of that mood. Without uttering one word, Gabriel appeared something out of his face now.“Sir, another problem," he said, laying a new file on the desk. "The deal with the investors from Milan-it fell through. Th

Rafael sat still in his chair, staring out the window into the blinking city lights. His confrontation with Alexander replayed itself in his mind, the words burrowing deeper into his chest with each passing moment-a fight he was prepared for, but not the venom in Alexander's tone, not the audacity of his threats.Rafael's jaw contracted at the memory. He had bitten his tongue and held back then. Now, in the cold silence of his office, he sat with just his thoughts for company, and he wished he hadn't. Alexander knew nothing about the weight Rafael carried or the sacrifices he had made for Bernice and the kids' sake, but Rafael wasn't ready to explain himself to someone who didn't have anything at stake in his life.His musings were cut short as he heard a knock on the door. Sharp. Purposeful."Come in," he growled out much sharper than he had meant to.Gabriel stepped inside with a brown package tucked under his arm. "This just came. From the investigator. He said it was urgent."Raf

Bernice rolled in her bed throughout the night, the encounter with Rafael replayed in her head. Then she thought of Alexander, she couldn't hurt him. She got up from her bed and walked directly to Rafael's office "Rafael, we need to talk."Bernice's voice sliced through the quiet in Rafael's office like a knife. She stood at his door, her frame stiff, her eyes a storm of feelings that she could no longer bottle up.Rafael looked up from his desk, his dark eyes gentling the second they fell upon her. "Bernice," he said low and carefully. "Come in."She hesitated a moment, then stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. The click of the lock resounded with an echo that spoke volumes about the tension building between them."I have made a decision," Bernice began, crossing her arms tightly across her chest. "I have accepted your apology, and I'll let you be part of our children's lives. I won't fight you in custody."A look of relief crossed Rafael's face as he stood up, and walked

"Pass the salt, mi amor," Rafael said in a low voice, never once taking his gaze off Bernice's face.It was this note that made Bernice blink. They sat opposite to each other at the wide, dining table-the candle flame leaping, squirming across its brilliant facets between them. But she said nothing, merely pushed the salt toward him with extended fingers, which touched his with glancing fingers, and, for an instant, all bitterness over, his eyes melted almost down; moved her so that she"Thanks, dear," he stammered, his curled lip twisting into a small warm smile.Madam, the head housekeeper, watched them across the room in silent pleasure. She had worked for the Fernandez family for years and had practically witnessed their rollercoaster love affair up and down. And for the first time in years, she saw them finally together again."I'm so happy to see you both like this," Madam whispered softly.Before Bernice could get a word out, one of the younger maids entered with a tray of win