Chapter 5: Chapter Five

By evening, they were watching TV when the doorbell rang. Meira went to answer the door and wasn’t surprised to see who had arrived.

“Mrs. Gilbert?” the lawyer asked.

“It’s Miss Daniels now,” she corrected him stiffly. “Are you Richard’s lawyer?”

“Yes. These are the new owners of the house,” he said, gesturing to the young couple beside him. They looked like newlyweds, smiling and clinging to each other. “Mr. and Mrs. Kingsley.”

“Nice to meet you. Please, come in,” she said, stepping aside to let them enter before closing the door behind them.

“This house is really nice,” the woman said, smiling at her husband. “I like it, Paul.”

“Me too,” Paul agreed. “And the furniture matches the colors of the house perfectly.”

“Are you packed already, ma’am?” the lawyer asked.

“Yes, we were actually waiting for you, but you’ll need to hold on a bit. My friend is on his way to pick us up,” Meira informed them. “Feel free to tour the house if you’d like.”

“We’ll do that,” the couple nodded before heading off.

Twenty minutes later, they heard the sound of Raine’s car horn outside, and the twins rushed out to greet him.

“Uncle Raine, hi!” Gabi exclaimed as she launched herself into his arms.

“Hey, princess,” he laughed, catching her and tossing her up into the air, causing her to squeal with delight. He turned to Gabe. “Hey there.”

“Hello, sir,” Gabe replied. “Mom is inside.”

“Are the new owners here?” Raine asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“Okay.” He nodded and followed Gabe inside.

They found Meira speaking with the couple and another man, who Raine assumed was the lawyer.

“Hey, Meira. All set?” he asked.

“Oh, hi, Raine.” She stood up and embraced him. “Yes, we’re ready to go.”

“Your friend is Raine Cruz?” the woman asked in awe.

“Yes,” Meira confirmed. “Raine, this is Lydia and Paul Kingsley.”

“Nice to meet you both.” Raine lifted a hand in greeting but quickly turned his attention back to Meira. “Where are your bags?”

“Upstairs,” Meira replied. “Excuse me.” She took his hand and led him up the stairs.

“Wow, so many bags,” Raine teased as he surveyed the luggage. “Let me guess… the pink ones belong to Gabi, right?”

“Yeah. She refused to leave her toys behind, even after I told her I’d replace them when I had the chance and the money,” she sighed. “You didn’t bring anyone to help? These are quite heavy.”

“I’ll manage,” he smiled. “Maybe Gabe can help with the smaller ones, though.”

“I’ll call him,” she said before heading downstairs.

Raine watched as she left, smiling at the sight of the bags. He was finally going to have Meira and her kids in his home, where he could take better care of them. He hoped they would soon become his family forever.

“Your departure is a blessing in disguise, Richard. Thank you for leaving,” Raine thought. “But I’ll make sure to make your life miserable for hurting my Meira, and that’s a promise.”

“He’s here,” Meira announced as she walked back into the room with Gabe.

“Hey, buddy, can you help me carry the small bags? They aren’t heavy,” Raine said.

“Sure!” Gabe beamed, eagerly going to work carrying the smaller bags downstairs.

“I’ll miss this place,” Meira murmured. “But this is for the best.”

Raine watched her as she took one last look around the bedroom and made a silent vow to make her so incredibly happy that she wouldn’t even remember who Richard was.

******

“You live here, Uncle Raine?” Gabi asked, her voice filled with awe. “Alone?” They stood by the car, staring up at the towering house as the maids carried their bags inside.

The house was a breathtaking two-storey structure, appearing almost as if it were made entirely of glass, though Meira knew that wasn’t really the case. Its design was so seamless that she couldn’t tell where it began or ended.

“I live here with my housekeeper, Hanna, and five maids. But they have their own quarters, so... yes, I live alone,” Raine replied.

“Your house is so cool, sir,” Gabe said, his eyes wide. “Do you have a swimming pool?”

“I have two,” Raine grinned.

“Nice!” Gabe laughed. “I can swim in them, right?”

“Of course,” Raine nodded. “The house is yours to enjoy however you like.”

“You didn’t just give them free rein to wreck your place, did you?” Meira teased.

Raine shrugged. “Who’s tired, hungry, and very, very sleepy?” he asked the twins.

“Tired and hungry, yes. Sleepy? Nope!” they shouted before running toward the house.

“You didn’t have to take us in, but you did. Thank you, Raine,” Meira said softly. “I used to think you were a world-class jerk, but you’re actually really nice.”

“I consider you my friend, Meira, and I help my friends when they need it,” Raine replied.

“Right, and I suppose that includes fantasizing about sleeping with them?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Just you,” he said with a mischievous grin.

Meira gasped and playfully smacked his arm, making him laugh.

“I’ll pretend that was a joke,” she said. “Unfortunately for you, all you’ll ever have are your fantasies. I have no plans to shack up with anyone anytime soon. Maybe never.”

"Once bitten, twice shy, and all that?” Raine made a face.

“Yeah.” Meira nodded, flashing him a sweet smile. “I’m going solo from now on.” She strutted toward the house and disappeared inside.

Raine shoved his hands into his jeans pockets, a smile playing on his lips. “We’ll see about that, Meira. I always get what I want.”

“Are you going to show us the house, or do you plan to spend the night outside?” Meira called from the doorway. “I’m starving.”

“We’ll eat first,” Raine said, walking up to her. “Then I’ll give you the grand tour.”

“Before we go any further…” She paused, stopping him. “You don’t have a girlfriend abroad who might surprise us, right? Even if she did, she wouldn’t be upset that we’re living here with you, right?”

“Meira Hidelsie Daniels,” Raine muttered, stepping closer and placing his hands on her shoulders. “Do I seem like the kind of man who’d have a girlfriend and still want to sleep with you?”

“How do you know my middle name?” She frowned.

“Don’t change the subject,” he chided gently.

“No,” she replied.

“But?” he pressed.

“There’s no ‘but,’” she said, her brows furrowing.

“Isn’t there?” He drawled. “But?”

Meira sighed, narrowing her eyes at him, wondering how he could read her so easily.

“But... I don’t really know you,” she admitted. “I know your name, that you’re the wealthiest man in the world, and that you used to be Richard’s boss.”

“We haven’t spent any time together in the past eight years?” Raine frowned. “I know everything about you.”

“Of course you do,” she muttered, rolling her eyes.

“Well, I’ll tell you everything you want to know over coffee after dinner,” he offered.

“You drink coffee?” She looked surprised. “We don’t...” Her voice trailed off. He could’ve had it imported.

“I don’t like tea.”

“Oh,” she said. “Sure.”

“It’s a date.” He grinned and began walking away.

“No, it’s not,” she objected, running after him.

Later, after dinner and once the kids had been put to bed, Raine and Meira sat in silence on the balcony, gazing at the stars. Suddenly, Meira sighed and sniffled.

“Are you crying?” Raine asked, concerned.

“No,” she shook her head, quickly wiping away her tears. “Something got in my eyes.”

“Right,” he scoffed.

“Don’t make fun of me,” she glared at him.

“I’m not,” he said gently. “Don’t cry, Meira. Your tears are precious. Don’t waste them on that scumbag.”

“He’s dead to me,” she said with a frown.

“Then let him stay that way,” Raine replied. “He doesn’t deserve to steal your happiness.”

“I won’t let him,” she vowed.

Raine placed his hand on hers, rubbing it gently, offering silent comfort for all the pain Richard had caused her. She didn’t deserve to pay for something she had no part in.

“Tell me about you,” Meira said, turning fully to face Raine, her bright smile lighting up her face. “I’d like to know Raine Cruz… the man.”

Raine chuckled, letting out a sigh before taking a sip of his now-cold coffee. He grimaced, setting the cup down.

“I’m twenty-eight years old. I used to love playing basketball and sometimes soccer, but all that changed when I turned sixteen,” he said.

“What happened?”

“I was injured in an accident that killed my parents and my twin sister, Raina.” He paused. “Our private jet crashed.”

“What?” Meira’s voice rasped in disbelief.

“I was in a coma for six months, and by the time I woke up, my parents and sister were already buried. They’d probably turned to dust by then.” He gave a half-shrug, his expression distant. “I found myself all alone.”

“How did you cope? You had relatives, right?” she asked gently.

“My parents were both only children, so no aunts or uncles. But my grandparents were still alive, and they took care of me.” He smiled bitterly. “To this day, I still can’t remember how it happened. Every time I try to recall, I pass out.”

“I’m so sorry,” Meira whispered. “Are your grandparents still alive?”

“They died two years after the accident—on my eighteenth birthday.” His voice dropped. “It felt like my world had ended, and I didn’t want to live anymore, but Hanna wouldn’t let me hurt myself.”

“She was your nanny?”

“No, she was my grandma’s friend. She lived with us at the time,” he explained.

“What about your friends?” Meira asked. “Did they leave you all alone?”

“Friends,” Raine scoffed bitterly. “They’re both dead.”

“What do you mean?”

“My father had a lot of enemies. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t realize that my former best friend Talon’s father hated my dad. He used his son to get close to me.” Raine sighed heavily. “We were coming back from a wedding—one of my mom’s many friends—when the accident happened. It was caused by Talon’s dad.”

“Did you have him arrested?” Meira asked, her eyes wide.

“I didn’t do anything at the time,” Raine replied grimly. “I had just lost my family. It didn’t occur to me to act, but later... I got my revenge. I made sure of it.”

“Compared to that, my life story seems insignificant,” Meira said softly.

“It’s not,” Raine growled, his jaw clenched. “We were both betrayed by people we cared about. They didn’t care about us at all.” His voice darkened.

“As if losing my family wasn’t enough, Talon later conspired with our other friend Axel—son of a mob boss—and they had my grandparents killed. I made sure they suffered before they died.”

Meira hadn’t realized she was crying until Raine gently wiped her tears with his thumb.

“Why do good people suffer?” she whispered.

“Because bad people are jealous. They hurt the ones who have what they can’t,” Raine said.

“Why did you leave England?” Meira asked, her voice soft.

“There was nothing left for me there. It was too painful to stay, so after I recovered, I went to Italy.” He paused, a small smirk playing on his lips. “Did you know I’m Italian?”

“Are you?” She raised an eyebrow skeptically. “You have an English name.”

“My real name is actually Emeliano Giovanni Brillantes,” he revealed. “And... this isn’t my real face.”