Wed or Dead

XV

Eliana was hoping that a moment in the garden would be enough for her to clear her mind and calm her down enough to get some sleep.  She couldn't imagine Raphael tending the garden, and yet the flowers, shrubs and trees looked well cared for. She assumed that they hired an experienced gardener on the property. Eliana sat on the white bench and stared into space just trying to relax. 

"Why are you awake?" Raphael asked in a cold voice. Eliana flinched as she was being brutally pulled out of her meditative state. What was he doing here? He appeared like a ghost, she didn't even hear the sound of his footsteps. 

"I had a nap after we got here, so I'm not sleepy. Hope you don't mind being out in the garden. "he replied as she calmed down a bit. 

"Not at all but it's a bit cold in here," he said, and then he covered her naked arms with his heavy jacket, it was still warm from the heat of his body.  Eliana looked at Rafael and smiled slightly, touched by this gesture. When she saw his expression, she realised that she was not wearing makeup.

Shit.

She tried to quickly turn her head away, but his hand held her chin in place, stopping her from hiding her pitiful-looking face. Eliana was forced to watch how Rafael's eyes darken. Was he angry? Why? He must have been used to violence. 

"Who did this to you?" 

"My cousin," she replied. She had no reason to lie.

"Your cousin hit you?" 

"More than once. His father gave him an order" 

"You said Harvey wanted to kill you. Not that he tried" 

"He didn't try. It was to scare me, which he sort of succeeded in doing. He wanted me to give up her property out of fear, instead, I offered you a deal" 

"Because you care about inheritance?" 

"I want to go to college one day. Pay for Casey's college. I want to be able to afford the apartment on the nice side of the city. I don't even need all the money my parents left me, but if Harvey was willing to talk, I believe we would be able to settle it. But he just wants to take it all"

"I admit I don't understand your uncle and cousin's motives. Family should always come first"

"Replace family with money, and you have an answer. Harvey is greedy and cold. On the surface, he seems like a very nice person, caring, someone, you can trust. I think he fooled a lot of people with this mask of his" 

"And you?" 

"I was stupid enough to think of him as my kind and loving uncle. I believed that after my parents die, he will take care of me. He got permission to run my parent's business, so he should feel responsible for me as well, right? But he didn't call, he didn't write, he didn't want to have anything to do with me" 

They just sat next to each other for a while and were silent. She appreciated the silence. It did not arouse tension, on the contrary, it gave some such peace and a sense of security. Rafael broke it, which she did not expect. 

"Come with me," Rafael stood up and pulled her hand.  When they went through the main entrance, Eliana thought she should go straight to her room, but felt a pull in the opposite direction. As Eliana followed him, all she could see was his back.Rafael led her to the kitchen.

She put her hand over her mouth as she looked at how effortlessly he lifted her up so she can sit on the countertop. He turned towards the cupboard above the stove. From there he pulled out some cream, unscrewed the tube and put a little of it on his finger. 

"Works great on bruises," he explained when he saw her looking at him questioningly and then got dangerously close and began to apply the cream to her cheek with a gentleness she would never accuse him of. 

"Thank you" He nodded, completely focused on what he was doing. Eliana was silent for a moment, and then I decided to say "Not only for the ointment but also for agreeing to help me."

"Our agreement is mutually beneficial, that's all. What is between us is the exchange of something for something. Neither of us does it selflessly " 

"So I have to somehow pay back for this ointment?" 

"Don't be ridiculous. I have to look after my reputation. What would people think if they saw my fiancée with that face? " 

"Don't worry about it, I am good at covering everything with makeup"

"You will have nothing to cover from now on" 

Their faces were incredibly close and there was a lot of tension between them. 

"Go to sleep," he said firmly and she did not dare to argue with him.