FIFTY - FOUR

FIFTY - FOUR
RAFFAELE

The sight of her did some things to me I could not translate into words even though I was fluent in ten languages and spoke three more. And it wouldn’t just be words; an entire fucking saga would fall short of describing her beauty and grace.
To see her smile like that, blush at every compliment, it was breathtaking. She was breathtaking. I felt a sharp pain in my heart that made me physically wince.
“Dance with me,” I blurted out, and Celestia looked at me like her eyes would pop out of the sockets.
“What?” She huffed a nervous laugh. I could easily read her like a book and say that she has never done this, like all the other surprises I have planned for her this evening.
“I said dance with me,” I repeated, taking her hand and helping to stand before she could refuse or back out.
“Raffaele…” she looked around tensely. “I am wearing heels.”
Snaking an arm tighter around her waist, I pulled her impossibly close to mine and whispered in her ear, “It’s a good thing.”
“It is a terrible thing.” She glared at me and threw a sidelong glance. “One, I never danced. And two, I could step on you or fall down and embarrass you.”
I nodded at the man behind Celestia, who promptly disappeared and a soothing tune chimed. Surprised, Celestia turned out to look, and I grabbed the moment to spin her around with ease.
“Oh my—” I cut her off with a kiss on her lips.
“See, you can dance too.”
She laughed, finally settling into the carefree moment as we merely swayed to the beats. At one point, she simply rested her head on my chest and closed her eyes. And even though we are still swaying a little, our feet moving in small steps, it didn’t matter because the rest of the world has simply vanished.
It was just us — Celestia and I.
The two people from two different worlds who were lost in an unknown tune and danced under illuminated lights.
A thought crossed my mind at that precise moment.
Celestia was mine.
We did not need to vocalize it anymore.
She knew it. I knew it.
She was mine.



The entire car ride back to the villa, she was quiet—eerie quiet. For a minute, I doubted if she was okay, but when I looked at her face, a soft smile pasted on her lips and refused to diminish—a tender caress in long silence and infinite gratitude.
The house was mostly quiet when we returned, and Celestia looked tired even though she would not deny it. By the time I had helped her out of the dress and urged her into the shower, it took every ounce of my restraint not to take her against the bathroom wall.
She was fucking perfection, with and without clothes.
I stared at her for a long second, savouring at the moment and turned on the water. Soaping every curve and crevice of her body, and as she did the same to mine, we washed off in record time. As much as Celestia wanted to contradict her sheer exhaustion, the second her body fell against plush bedding, her bambi eyes shut on its own. Leaning down, I planted a kiss on the side of her face and headed downstairs.
I had spent days trying to get her off my mind, but nothing worked. Every time I thought I’d stay away, and I had only gravitated closer. It was the best fucking day of my life when I simply woke up and accepted the fact that I would not be running away from her anymore.
Grabbing the decanter and glass, I poured myself a drink and enjoyed it in solace because this was the only luxury I could afford when she was fast asleep. Apparently, nowadays, my cock does not agree with anything other than her. Nothing in the world compared to the way she sinfully looked at me and let me have her in ways a man would take a woman he has given his heart. Dammit, I cursed. How many cold showers could a person take before their balls turn blue and fall off?
“The last time I saw you smiling like this was when you took over that German conglomerate and turned into one of the biggest manufacturing division,” Amadeo’s voice cut through the stillness of the open bar as I looked up from my drink and frowned. Even though the dimmed lights and shadowed face, I could read the smirk on his face. Asshole.
“I really don’t give you enough work now, do I?” Grabbing another glass, I poured him one as he dragged a stool and took a seat beside mine.
“Of course you do, I just don’t do them,” he smirked, bringing the glass to his lips. The liquid made past his throat as he put down the glass. “Are you going to spill the beans or do I have to make up stories in my head how you and Celestia got down and dirty in the—”
“Fuck off and get you mind out of the gutter,” I cut in. “It was just dinner. Celestia has never been to a restaurant, so I thought I’d take her.” I shrugged making it look casual despite the fact that it was nothing of that sort.
She was happy, grinning-like-a-mad person and I made her smile.
Amadeo chuckled under his breath. “I don’t know which is sadder — the fact that she has never been to a restaurant or the fact that you were the first one to take her.”
I scowled. Why can’t I have one moment in peace and happiness? “Are you done?”
“Not unless you tell me what is going on in that head of yours. You look happy and not happy at the same time.” I opened my mouth, but Amadeo beat me to it and raised a finger. “And before you deny anything, I can call mom and ask her to have a chat with you.”
“Snitching out to mother?” I scoffed and took a large swig out of my glass. “Your threats are getting boring day by day.”
“Boring or not, it works.” He winked.
Sighing, I kneaded the back of my neck, working out the kinks. “I was thinking of ending this whole thing with Kyla Donovan,” I revealed.
“Okay.” He nodded, and I was expecting some kind of surprise element there. “I am sensing there is a bit missing in that sentence,” he prompted.
“But if I do that, I am afraid the problems would triple. And if I don’t, whatever I have done for Celestia till now would go down the drain. So I am stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea.”
Complications like these have been eating me inside out and were fast becoming a hindrance. I could let Celestia get a whiff of it because it would explain why I hate her mother so much. But little did she know that my hate for Kyla was not bigger than the feelings I have for her.
“You are afraid Kyla would sense it,” Amadeo voiced my fear.
“Kyla is a sly, conniving woman who would see it coming from a mile away,” I reasoned. “She has already tried to wedge a log between us, and I have a feeling that she would not stop doing it.”
The jested atmosphere gave in to the grave matters. It seems like every happiness came with a price tag I had to bargain.
After a stretched silence, Amadeo met my gaze. “Then we have to make sure that we have more leverage on her than before. Bargaining from a position of weakness is a foolish thing to do, as dad would have said.”
I raked a hand through my damp hair. Honestly, I was getting tired of this Kyla Donovan. Had she not been Celestia’s mother, I would have gotten rid of her and how.
“Finding dirt on that woman would be challenging, now that she is cautious of every step. Kyla knows she is being watched.”
“Maybe,” he agreed momentarily. “But she is not invincible. We will just have to wait for her to make a mistake.”
“This sounds like a plan.” I smiled up finally. “Besides, as long as Celestia stays here and without that useless woman as a mother, it is better.” I’d say it’s a win-win.
“There is one little problem though,” Amadeo interjected. “The money. What do we do with the fifteen million? Accepting the rest of the money in exchange for the woman you like sounds cheap. Celestia might be naive, but she has a spine of steel.”
Arching him a look, I only smirked. “Leave that to me.”
Celestia was priceless, and there wasn’t an amount in the world that could match her worth. I have already found a way to wire the amount into a bank account on her name, so the money would still be hers without the interference of her mother.


I have a surprise chapter planned today - again - so it will be a back-to-back update day! Who is excited for this?