Chapter 11

"All right, go to your room and take a rest." Michelle gently told her brother, Michael, after they entered their condo unit.

They just got back from the hospital for his chemotherapy. This is the second time her brother has had chemo and according to his doctor, Michael's body is responding to chemo and to the drugs he is taking which made her glad.

Michael's private nurse supported Michael since he has become very weak right after his chemotherapy. Even her, just looking at him being in pain has weakened her. She could see and she could feel the pain in its face.

She felt sorry for her brother because she knew that the pain he felt every time he goes into chemotherapy cannot even be explained. If only she could do something to lessen the pain Michael is feeling.

As Michael's doctor explained to her, her brother's lupus will not completely heal but it could be prevented from spreading throughout his other organs through chemotherapy.

Michelle was about to go to the kitchen to drink the water due to her sudden thirst and the weakness of her body after seeing Michael's suffering earlier in the hospital when Michael called her attention. He has not yet entered his room and his nurse is just beside him, waiting for him.

He turned his wheelchair to face her. He was wheelchaired after his chemotherapy due to his severe weakness.

"Did you fight with Rafael?" Michael asked. Tiredness, worry, and sadness are all in its face.

She forced herself to smile at her brother even though she felt like she would cry at any moment.

This is what she was saying. She knows her brother will be affected by whatever is happening between her and Rafael. Michael was longing for a brother and he found it in Rafael.

She walked over to her brother and knelt in front of him so that they could be equal. She slightly ruffled his hair then she pinched his cheeks.

"No, we didn't. What makes you think that we are fighting?" She gently asked while putting a fake smile on her lips.

"Then why isn't he visiting us anymore? It's been two weeks since the last time I talked to him. I miss him." Michael said with a sad voice and a sad face.

Even she misses Rafael as well. She has not seen him for two weeks since. She misses him but she is still annoyed at him especially when he does not even bother to follow her even though he knows she is mad.

Shouldn't he coax her? Didn't he say he loves her? Why is he not here when they need him?

Maybe he is with that woman.

She suddenly became frightened and felt jealous at that thought.

What if the two are together now? What if they are doing it? What if Rafael decided to stop our deal? What if----" but her thoughts stopped when they heard a knock on the door of their condo unit.

Her forehead furrowed. She is not expecting any visitors for today. Ronnie was busy with her part-time job so she knew that it's not her.

She got up from her knees and was still frowning when she opened the door. And her heart almost jumped in surprise when she saw Rafael. He is carrying a bouquet and chocolates.

Rafael gave her an awkward smile. Even though she is happy because he finally showed up, she still did not let it show on her face.

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms while looking at Rafael.

"What are you---"

"Rafael!" Michael suddenly said in pure glee when he saw Rafael causing her to stop talking.

In an instant, the sadness that had enveloped Michael's eyes had disappeared and it was replaced with happiness. And even if Michael could not fully stand up yet he still tried to stand up to approach Rafael. But before he could do that, Rafael himself had already walked towards him and approached him. He didn't even say hello to her and just passed her by.

"How are you kiddo?" He asked and his affection for her brother could be seen on his face.

Her brother's smile widened as he looked at Rafael. "I'm fine. You're already here!" Michael said and accompanied it with joyous laughter.

And it seemed like something had gently touched her heart when she saw how happy Michael is as he talked to Rafael.

Rafael put down the flowers and chocolates then he ruffled Michael's hair.

"Good to hear that. I'm sorry I was not able to visit you these past few days. Something important came up and I got so busy that I was not able to come here. But don't worry, I'll make it up to you and your sister." Rafael said while smiling.

"Really?" Michael asked while still smiling.

Rafael nodded. "Yes. But for now, you have to rest first and be strong again. You don't want your sister to worry about you, do you? So take some rest first and let's talk again later or tomorrow." Rafael gently told her brother.

Michael nodded repeatedly and his smile never left his lips.

Michael is only eleven years old but he acts too mature for his age whenever he is with her. Probably because he knows how hard life is for them. But whenever Rafael is around, that's when his childish behaviors would show up. He acts like a normal kid when he is around Rafael and that, somehow, makes Michelle happy.

Michael is still a kid and she'd like it if he acts like one.

When Michael and his private nurse have already entered its room, that's only when Rafael faced her.

She raised an eyebrow at him. Even though she misses him so much and she wants to hug him so tightly, she restrains herself. She didn't say anything and she just walked past him and took steps towards her room. She was about to close the door of her room when Rafael blocked the door from closing using his one foot.

He groaned in pain when his foot hit the wooden door but she ignored it and acted like she didn't hear anything.

"Get out." She said and kicked his foot but Rafael didn't even budge. She tried to push him away but Rafael just held her hand, gently pulled her to get her away from the door then he pushed the door to keep it open and went inside before he shut the door and locked it.

"Didn't you hear me? I told you to leave." She said it emphatically Rafael just ignored her and he slowly walked closer to her.

"In case you forgot my little angel, this condo unit is named after me so legally, this is mine. So you have no right to ask me to leave my property." He said and walked even closer to her while she was backing away until she was already on the dead end.

Rafael tossed the flower he was carrying on her bed then his hands went into each side of her head, cornering her. Rafael brought his face closer to her, causing her heartbeat to increase and her breathing to speed up. His natural scent invaded her nostrils and he brought his body closer to her causing her to feel the heat coming from his body. His lips traveled from her jaw to her ear and whispered, "I miss you, my little angel."

His hot breathing made her body shiver. The heat it delivers to her body is so strong and she feels the throbbing of her femininity. The sexual tension between them is too much to handle so before she can finally give in to the heat of her body, she put her hands to his chest then pushed him hard, having a distance between them.

She crossed her arms again then laughed sarcastically. "Wow! Do you miss me? Really? So you haven't shown up to me these past few days even though you know mad I am at you? You didn't even call or even sent me a message to say where you are and why you haven't shown up?" She shook her head and smiled. "You missed me, huh?"

Rafael heaved a deep sigh and was about to approach her again but she raised her right hand, stopping him.

Rafael did not move but his eyes remained fixed on her. "I can explain." He said.

"I am not asking you to explain. It is not necessary because, in the first place, I meant nothing to you, I am not even your girlfriend so you don't have to---"

"Be my girlfriend then."

She was shocked by what Rafael said.

What did he just say?

Her mouth was hanging as she looked at Rafael and she saw an emotion that dominated its eyes which again quickened her heartbeat.

"I am no longer satisfied that I only have your body. I don't like it anymore. That it's only your body I own." Rafael stepped once closer to her but she did not even move. "I want more than the sex, Michelle. Yes, I love the sex. I want your body and I won't deny that but do you know what I have always wanted more than your body?" Rafael took another step, "I want your heart. I want your love, Michelle. I want you to love me like the way I love you. I want you to be officially mine, be my girlfriend, Michelle. Be mine."

Michelle felt like she was floating in the air. Her heartbeat tripled as if she was racing someone and she felt butterflies on her stomach. This is not the first time Rafael has told her how he feels but her heart is still not used to it especially at how intense his stares are that she can already see herself in his eyes.

She felt his overflowing love for her and his sincerity but she still has one question. It is a question that she will need him to answer for her to finally decide what to do.

Without breaking their contact, she stepped closer to Rafael and kept the blank expression on her face. She will not show him how she feels. Not until she has already answered his question.

"That woman that kissed you, who is she? Is she your girlfriend? Fiancee? Fuck buddy? Answer me, tell me the truth, be honest with me because I can't afford to ruin a relationship, Rafael so just tell me while it's still early. Who is that woman and what kind of relationship do you have with her?" She asked one question after another.

Though nervous about the possible answers she could get from him, she remained calm. Her face remained stoic as she waited for Rafael's answer.

Rafael paused for a few minutes as if weighing his answers until he finally spoke. "Her name is Siarra and she is my best friend and my ex-girlfriend." He said without even blinking.

She already has the hunch that the answer she would get would cause pain in her heart and she thought that she was ready but she was wrong. Because she's not ready at all. She is not ready to hear the truth from him and it hurts her so much.

She felt like Rafael had betrayed her. He said he was loving her for seven years now then why did he have an ex-girlfriend? And if she is his ex, why is she still able to kiss him on the lips? And he did not do anything about it! She just let him kiss her!

You don't have the right to be mad at him Michelle. You are not his girlfriend. You are just his bed warmer. So stop acting like a jealous girlfriend because it's not right.

That's what she kept on telling herself in silence.

Yes. She knew she should not be made with him but she still could not stop feeling annoyed and feeling jealous. When she's with Stevens, even though she is not doing anything, Rafael already gets mad. Just seeing her with Stevens already makes his blood boil and he starts overthinking things when it's him who is flirting with another woman! And she even caught him in the act of kissing that woman!

Yes. He had not yet admitted to her how he feels towards her when that incident happened. But after she knew that he had been secretly loving her for seven years, that's when everything turned upside down.

He says he loves her but he kisses his ex-girlfriend and best friend? Then all of a sudden, he tells her that he wants her to be his girlfriend!

Ha! She is not a fool to just agree to him even though she is very indebted to him. She won't risk her heart especially now that her feelings for him are deepening. She has to protect her heart at all costs.

"Ex-girlfriend huh? So that's the kind of man you are. You like kissing your ex-girlfriends. And when you saw me, even though you knew I was hurt by how your BEST FRIEND, who is also your EX insulted me, you didn't even do anything. You did not even defend me. And when I left, that's when you chased after me and suddenly kissed me as if you had done nothing wrong! "

She even stressed the word 'best friend' and 'ex' to make him feel that she is not happy with what he said.

"But I still followed you. I chose you, Michelle, and I regretted that I did nothing when Siarra insulted you. I was just too mad at that time because I saw you and Stevens---"

"That's not an excuse for you to look for another woman! Just because of that? Just because I made friends with my classmate? You used my body all night and when you were satisfied, you left without even waking me up, you left without saying anything to me and just ordered Delia and your driver to take me home. You did all those things without saying anything, making me feel like I am nothing but a whore to you! And then what? You did not show up, making me fucking worried about you. I was not even able to sleep because all I did was worry about you, thinking about what happened to you, where you are, and why you didn't even call. But what did I say? What did I get after worrying about you? I saw you kissing another woman and was having fun while talking to her! You didn't even think about how I would feel! You did all of that because of your possessiveness and your jealousy that is not even reasonable enough. You were able to hurt me just because of your pathetic possessiveness!"

"That's why I'm here---"

"And now you're saying that you want my heart?", She stepped closer to Rafael and looked at his eyes. "You want my heart? Then tell me, how can I entrust my heart to you when I have not even given it to you yet but you have already managed to hurt me, tearing my heart into pieces."