Chapter 86 PUMPKIN.

Chapter 86 PUMPKIN.
KIMBERLY.

My lips went dry as I let those words slip out of my mouth but Rafael's reaction was more unsettling than I'd thought.
He looked rather unabated, like he already knew or he was just trying to play cool.
"Did you know about–"
"God no."He choked out a dry laugh, pushing a cup of water back and forth in front of him.
"Why are you not angry?"
"Do I have a reason to be?"He shrugged, folding his arms.
"But–"
"I just don't want to worry about the trivial things, Kim."He inhaled deeply, rearing his hips towards me so that his was brushing mine lightly.
The nerves ravaging through my skin stilled a little, knowing he wasn't angry at me."I lied to you."I paused briefly, licking my lips shakily."You didn't deserve that."
"Why?"His voice came out in a whisper, causing me to gaze at him keenly.
"I was so desperate not to go back to prison, and knowing that you were so displeased about the fact that we're getting married–"
"There was never a point in time I was displeased, Kim."Rafael corrected me firmly.
I scoffed lightly, gaping at him."What do you–"
He rolled his eyes tiredly and muttered what seemed to be a curse under his breath."Yes, the marriage was unexpected but there was never a time I would have gladly tossed you away."
My mind drifted to the night he ended things between us, I wanted to remind him of that but I kicked against it for no reason.
"Oh."I mumbled, grazing my nails against the edges of the island."Still, I'm sorry."
"Hope Rita didn't bully you into–"
"No, she didn't. She treated me like a human that night, I was happy."I admitted, unable to keep the smile off my face.
"I was an asshole that night."Rafael mumbled with an edge in his tone.
"Yeah, you were."I butt in a little too fast, earning a chuckle from him.
We didn't say anything until Rafael was done making breakfast which he dished out mine.
My brain kept roaming aimlessly at the thought of Rita Williams being Rafael Aunty, never in my life would I have thought of that.
A slow gasp rolled out of me as a realization hit my brain hard.
My cutleries slipped from my fingers, causing Rafael to look up at me.
"Are you okay?"He asked, his brows furrowing at me.
"You slept with Blaire."I gasped again, clasping my hands over my mouth.
A frown worked on his face slowly as he stared at me further."Why are we talking about–"
"That means you slept with your cousin."I pointed out, my chest racking faster."Is that not an incest?"
Rafael didn't say a word, instead, his eyes pressed at me keenly, suddenly, he burst into a hearty laughter, shaking his head like he was amused."You think I didn't think about that?"
"What do you–"
"Blaire was adopted by Rita."
"Same difference."I shrugged, picking my fork up again, I dug it hard into the bacon which suddenly tasted like chalk in my mouth.
He let out a tired groan."It's not the same–"
"You know what? Never–"
"I'm not having this conversation with you, Kim."He deadpanned, twisting his lips before getting off the chair.
"Are you embarrassed?"I rushed out before I could stop the words from leaving my lips.
Rafael spun at me and surprisingly, he wasn't pissed, rather, his face was flushed with embarrassment.
"Embarrassed?"
"I mean–"I trailed off, shrugging."You don't have any reason to be."
"You know why I'm not talking about this with you?"He questioned, taking confident steps towards me until he was standing a fraction too close in front of me that our breaths were fanning each other's faces.
The words got stuck in my lips."I mean, I–"
"You're someone I never planned to have a platonic relationship with, Kim."He confessed, his gaze not unwavering.
My breath caught in my chest as the admission stormed past his lips.
I waited for a few seconds, waiting for him to debunk what he just said but he didn't, instead, anticipation latched his features, like his was waiting for my reply.
"Rafael, I–"I fumbled my words, my eyes darting around on everything except him.
"So, if you want us to talk about Blaire? Fine, just know that there's no way we will be doing that without making me feel like a fucking weirdo."He said dismissively, before I could gather myself back, Rafael's behind was already facing me, walking out of the kitchen.
I gulped down nothing and finally let out the breath I was holding."Oh God."I muttered, returning to my food which had already gone lukewarm because I was busy feasting my eyes on him except the food he made efforts to prepare for me.
What the hell just happened?
Did he want to build something on what happened last night?
Shaking the thoughts off my body, hoping it would leave my body but it didn't so I had no choice than to go back to my food.
My phone started buzzing right beside my plate, I picked it up, hoping it was Cora but it was an unknown number.
At first, I thought it was the sneaky reporters trying to cut through corners but the call became more persistent and it felt rather unsettling as well.
Taking a deep breath, I swiped to the green icon and placed it on my ear.
For a minute, the person didn't say anything and the call was still very much on too.
"Hello?"I stuttered, checking the ID again, the number didn't look familiar at all.
"Pumpkin."A soft voice plunged through the speaker, gripping my insides instantly.
Pumpkin. A word so familiar, yet strange. Because it's been so long, so damn long I heard that to remember how it felt to be called.
Chills ran down my spine, knowing who the person could be, but I didn't know a suitable word to address the person as.
"Pumpkin, are you–"
"Mom?"