Chapter 12 YOU'RE NOT LIKE FREDERICK.
12.
RAFAEL'S POV.
I made her insecure and it makes me feel damn guilty about it, I should have stood up to her the way she did when she saw Blaire coming.
God,it was so easy for her to get into character but why can't I? She made Blaire believe that we are a true couple so effortlessly.
I wanted to apologize to Kimberly before she took the stairs but not until she told me that she's planning to further her education which is a good thing but why do I feel like she's doing this to get out of my grasp and run away?
Because if Kimberly chooses to leave the marriage today, she won't go back to prison but she doesn't know that, I already had Eliana and used her weakness against her but telling her means she has the liberty of leaving.
"Are you doing this to run away?"
She scoffs in an incredulous manner, I just find a way to make her get frustrated at me every time.
"No, I can't even run away even if I want to."
"Good." I grunt, feeling relaxed a bit."We will talk about it fully tomorrow."
"I don't have anything to talk to you about, I will take a loan." She snaps back at me.
"Fuck it." I growl in annoyance and cross over to the stairs, grabbing her hand, I pull her to the deeper part of the living room.
I watch her chest heave in anger and pent up frustration and instead of it making me angry, my cock is the one responding.
"Kimberly, I don't know if you already know about this but I'm a hotshot in the business industry, my rivals will do anything to pull me to my knees, and if they find out that my darling wife is taking a loan to go to school when I have a foundation where i send more than hundred of students to university, they will have a fucking field day with this news."
"Are you trying to brag to me?" She scoffs, her lips pulling into a small smile but she's smart enough to mask it.
"No, I'm not, I'm just telling you who I am in case that's not clear."
"I can't let you pay my bills more than this."
"You don't have a choice here."
"I will get a job."
"Work for me in my company."
"No,Rafael,I..."
"I don't know if you check the contract terms well, I call the shot now, I'm the one in control, you don't get to dictate for me."
She smirks and glares down at my legs, I follow her eyes direction just to see my cock threatening to bulge out of the pants.
Fuck.
"Why not control your dick around me,Mr. Rafael. Huh?"She grins, shaking her head as she walks away from the room.
I curse under my tone, Jesus, I'm so full of shit, how did I get Kimberly to catch me twice today?
"Fuck you, Kimberly!"
"Again, I will do that, but you won't be my audience."
I watch her leave and chuckle, it's so fun joking around her and I'm glad the tension building up earlier has been quenched.
I resume working on my laptop after freshening up, four hours into it, I'm starting to crave for a smoke or coffee, probably.
I opt for coffee and return to the first floor in the kitchen to make myself a cup.
Surprisingly, Cora's there, a glass of water on the cabinet in front of her while she stares into space.
Leaning at the door, I stare at her for a moment, suddenly feeling pity for her, according to what I heard, she took the biggest brunt of my dad's torture, tending to him in bed and acting like the big sister to everyone.
It took her a lot of convincing to bring her here, she insisted on waiting for Kimberly even though Eliana was already harassing her.
A lone tear suddenly streams down her left eye, her frail shoulder trembles slightly, I quickly clear my throat to prevent the atmosphere from getting too emotional.
She turn to me immediately and hurriedly steps down from the chair.
"I just wanted to have some time alone for myself, I didn't..."
"I don't bite, I know I'm a Rollers but I'm not like my father."
She chuckles and shakes her head."Then, tell me why you forced Kim to marry you?"
I sigh, there's no way I'm going to start explaining myself to this woman, she would never understand me.
"Please sit." I mumble, the thirst for coffee suddenly gone but I grab a bottle of water in the fridge.
Hesitantly, she takes a seat in front of me, the table being the barrier between us.
"I'm not a saint, but trust me, I won't indulge Kimberly into something she doesn't want."
"But.."
"This is better than her going to prison. Don't you think?"
Slowly, Cora nods, I heave a sigh of relief, finally, someone agrees with me.
"What do you plan on doing? Or you've not figured anything out yet?"
She smiles."Of course, I did. I'm planning to go into the perfume business but I want to have a degree first, I don't want to do it here,I..."
"But you can't leave Kim alone because you feel responsible for her?" I complete the words hanging in her mouth.
Cora snaps her head in my direction in shock.
"How did you know?"
"Let's just say I did my findings, but trust me, Kim will be fine without you around her."
"How am I supposed to trust you with her? Or Eliana, what if..."
"Don't trust me, trust your instincts, you can decide to move to a nearby town so you won't be away from her, or live for yourself once."
"I really want to live for myself,I just..."
"Kim will understand,Cora. Trust me, she will, and she will be glad you chose yourself for once."
Tears pour from her eyes in torrent and she nods in agreement.
"Yeah, I will do that."
"Sure. Let me know your plans, I still have some connections in most parts of the continent."
"I can't take anything from you, Rafael. I..."
"Just think of this as your severance pay, it can never be enough for what you went through, but you can afford therapy with it."
She chokes out a laugh and nods immediately, I'm so glad she's easy to talk to unlike that Crackhead of a wife–Kimberly.
"Goodnight,Cora." I grin, walking out of the kitchen with the uncapped bottle in my hand.
"And, Rafael." She calls, I turn to her slowly.
"You're definitely not like your father."