FIFTY - SIX

FIFTY - SIX
CELESTIA

I woke up with his arms tightly wrapped around my hips, holding me firmly against his body. The embrace spoke of strength and protectiveness as I basked in them with every moment in this house. Since when did the place become a sanctuary instead of a prison?
I did not know.
There was a time I had dreamt of running away, being free of this so-called golden cage, and eventually, the villa was becoming a home.
A home I have been looking for all my life.
A place I could call my own, feel at home, and be grateful for the people surrounding me.
Kyla did give me the safety and luxury many people in the world could not even afford, and in that way, I was thankful to her. But there was no life in it. It was hollow and clinical, like a possession without meaning.
On the other hand, it was Raffaele who stole me away and gave me the freedom I have been looking for all my life without even realizing it. Until him, I did not know that the world out there was so beautiful and vibrant with elements I have never explored.
Humming with satisfaction, I pressed myself against his body and absorbed the wealth of warmth radiating off him. Raffaele probably thought that I was asleep as he lightly traced a long finger along the side of my face, and I had to resist the urge to moan in his touch. Next, I felt the soft stuff against my cheek and his lips over mine as he brushed them almost chastely. I did not know how he did that; despite having such an overbearing aura around him, he still managed to be gentle and kind when he wanted to be. Beneath that harsh exterior, a treasure of softness lay hidden.
It was beyond my grasp how he made my body ache with pleasure, delivered body splitting orgasm, and yet managed to hold me like a delicate newborn bird. Every day I have spent with him, I discovered a facet of his personality that made me fall for him and hard.
Once Raffaele left for the day, I rushed to the kitchen to look for Lila. I have been planning to do something for him, just like he made me smile as this while and thought would bake a cake of his choice.
And who could be a better person to help me out other than Lila?
It was a tedious process, and despite all the fun and laughter we had, Lila and I still managed to bake a decent cake. The icing was yet to be done when staff appeared and informed that I was summoned.
"I will be back in a jiffy," I told Lila, discarding the flour-dusted apron.
When I entered the living room, my heart stopped beating for a long second and suddenly catapults into action. Frantic drumming wreaked havoc, almost cutting the oxygen supply to my brain. As a result, every coherent thought came to a halt.
There was Raffaele, Amadeo, Cesar (in a far corner, though I could easily register his brooding presence) and last of all—my mother. Unlike the other times, she stood proud, tall, and cold. Typical her.
My eyes bounced around the room erratically and stopped on Raffaele. "What is going on?" I whispered.
Instead of him, my mother rushed forward. "It is time to come home, Celestia," she declared haughtily. "Home; where you belong."
I still could not tear my eyes off him. "But...I…"
Dammit Raffaele, say something. Anything. My eyes begged, pleaded, and glared. But nothing worked. He stood there like a statue carved out of a single stone.
"I have told you this before that I would come and take you away. Your mother is not a liar, Celestia, surely you know that" my mother said as I finally regarded her presence.
"I did not mean that," I croaked, trying to keep the pain at bay. "I was just surprised…"
"You sure were," she interjected. "Now, let's not waste any more time than it has already been gone."
Like a magnet, my gaze flew to Raffaele once again where he stood his ground. It was like a symbolism that he no longer needed me. He harshly stripped me of his life just as he claimed me.
"He has nothing to say Celestia, and you won't have to worry about him anymore," my mother's clipped baritone sliced through my haze. "His debt has been paid him in full."
Was that all I was worth, Raffaele? Fifteen million? Then so be it.
Taking in a sharp breath, I finally found the courage to nod.
"Give me a moment," I said quietly, swallowing the lump in my throat.
Kyla immediately jumped in. "Why do you need a moment? We are getting late."
"It has been a long time, mother, surely you can wait five more minutes." Newfound courage boomed out of defence. The old Celestia would have never dared, but I was not the same person anymore. If I have to accept that, my mother needs to do it as well. "I need to see Lila before I leave."
The way her nose flared, it was evident she did not like it one bit but acquiesced nonetheless. "I suppose it is fitting, given you are never to come back here again."
Without sparing a glance, I spun around and rushed out, afraid that if I had stayed one more second, I would start to break down and cry. And I would never give him that satisfaction to see me broken.
I ran as fast as my legs would carry me and dashed to Lila to pull her into a hug. There was a strange sisterhood I shared with her, and in the same way, she understood that something was wrong.
"Celestia, what happened?" She asked with a cloud of worry in her pretty green eyes.
"My mother. She came," I barely formed the words, heaving a catch a breath.
"What? That means you have to go," she ominously whispered my deepest, darker fear. "Do you absolutely have to leave?"
I sniffed. "I guess so. He gave me away, Lila."
She captured my hands and gave a squeeze. "You have a choice, Celestia. Tell him, tell them you don't want to go."
At this point, I was crying. I was no longer strong enough to hold back the tears that flurried down my cheeks. "You are not listening to me, Lila," my voice. "He gave me away. Raffaele brokered the deal, took the money he wanted, and gave me away. All of them were standing right there in the room and did not utter a word. Raffaele did not even have the decency to look me in the eyes."
"I can request him," she implored.
"No, I will not beg." I shook my head in a vehement protest. I might have a broken heart but not a broken spirit. "And I will not let you do that for me."
Lila held my hands for a long time before sighing hard. "So that is it then? We will never see each other?"
Similar sadness panged through me. "I will find a way, trust me," I promised. "There must be a phone number or anything. I will get hold of it and talk to you. Okay?"
Lila nodded and gave me a wry smile. "You are finally free."
Was I really free?
"Wait here," she said and let go of my hands. "I will get you a bag."
I compiled with a nod and propped myself against the wall, having no other way out of this situation.
Raffaele cast me away in the world he promised he'd rescue me from. His world was becoming my world, and instead of living up to his unspoken promise, he harshly ostracised me.
And with that knowledge, I left the Roselli Villa.

RAFFAELE

If I had a heart, I never realized it until the point it broke. It shattered into a million pieces and lay at my feet. While I was growing up, every impossible circumstance was thrown at me to test my perseverance and power to overcome it. And I excelled in all of them.
Naturally, I was arrogant about it.
I did not know how to lose until someone barged into my home and tried to snatch the only thing it ever mattered to me. Celestia.
I could throw my entire wealth and still would not be able to find the worth. She wasn't unique—she was one in a fucking trillion.
Celestia appeared in the living room with red blotched eyes and Lila behind her. A few feet away was Cesar. Even the look he emitted told me of his displeasure. In weeks of her stay here, Celestia has changed the entire dynamic of my house. Actually, it felt like home.
"Let's go," Kyla's annoying voice snapped. "What is it you are holding?" she inquired, pointing at Celestia's hand.
"Bag. My things are in here," she said hoarsely.
"Things? I don't recall you packing an overnight bag before you came here. Those are not your things, Celestia," she said cuttingly, making me want to snap her neck.
"But…"
"Please put them down and return it back. Sweetheart, I had to move heaven and hell to rescue you from here, so you would not put yourself in a situation that could cost me dearly once again," she said in her bitter-sweet voice.
Amadeo hissed from beside. "Funny, for a woman who embezzled money and conned so many people, you sure have one hell of integrity." Then he looked at Celestia, addressing her. "Celestia, take the bag with you. You know, we have no hard feelings."
Over the passage of time, both of them developed a platonic bond. It was evident how acutely it affected Amadeo as well.
The vicious woman snatched the bag from Celestia's hand and dropped it on the floor as she wrapped her claw around her hand, tugging it on the wake. "I have wasted enough of my valuable time. C'mon."


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