The Perfect Mikaelson's

105|| Rafe 💵

Rafe

I can feel Avery withdrawing from me. Even now, as she lays curled up into my side, her soft snoring filling the silence of her house, I know it's all on borrowed time. She's planning her escape again and I'm not sure if I'll be able to let her leave again.

She's been back for three months now. When she came back, she said she was ready to give me more and while I was excited, that stupid voice in my head told me to play it smart. Of course I didn't listen and now I wish I did.

Something changed last week when we golfed with Topper and Kelce. I'm not sure what it was and when I tried talking to her about it, she said she had a lot on her mind. I pressed further, but she gave me the lame excuse of planning Sarah's birthday party.

Sarah's birthday is in June. It's August.

When I called her out on it, she acted surprised, saying she misspoke and meant Kie.

Kie's birthday is 5 days after Sarah's. Again.. It's August and she lied to me twice in a span of a 5 minute conversation. I dropped it after that, but I've noticed other things that continue to confirm my suspicion that this little dream of having Avery as mine, is just that.. a dream.

I feel like despite the three months we've been together, I don't know anything about her. I know what she's told me about Elijah and his family.. but I have no idea how they tie back to her. Are they her family? Does she have a family? Why don't they call or visit? Why doesn't she have pictures with them or anyone really?!

I carefully slid my arm out from under her head, laying perfectly still to make sure she didn't wake up. She's an extremely light sleeper, so light, I start to question if she's ever really sleeping.

Grabbing my sweat pants, I wait till I'm outside her room to put them on before heading downstairs.

Walking around her house and seeing how big it is or how expensive the decor is, it only leads me to believe Elijah is her family. A family with a lot of wealth.

It's another reason why I push for answers. I'm hoping to find the one lie to unravel this carefully illustrated illusion she's put together. Because if it's true, I'm going to have to force this and create something built off lies.

I don't want that.

I want to be with Avery for who she is and pray she wants me for me. Not for what my dad wants her to see me as.

Since Elijah wrote that check, he's been on me about getting closer to her, to 'welcome her into the family'. He wants me to marry her, so I can gain her wealth. He wants me to manipulate her until she says 'I do' and then we'll swoop in to have her fund his lifestyle and whatever else he wants.

Even when I told him that I wouldn't do that because Avery isn't the type to just hand out money, he pointed out what she's done just for JJ Maybank and the rest of the pogues. Including my sister.

I'm not proud to say that's the reason I agreed to date her when she came back.. but then I saw her and realized how fucked up it was to begin with.

I don't want to use Avery for her money.

I don't even care that she's giving it to those pogues.

But I can't let my dad down. He already thinks I'm a fuck up and can't do anything right. He thinks Sarah is still perfect as ever, even though she hangs out with the help. She practically renounced her title as a Kook, just to become one of them.. and yet.. I'm the disappointment.

Today is one of the days I have to prove myself. If I somehow fuck this up, my dad will kill me.

"Hey, you're up early." I turn at the sound of Avery's soft voice, all the anger and nervousness about today disappears when I see her standing there in my shirt, her soft full lips pulled into a sleepy smile.

"I was going to cook you breakfast. We both have a busy day." She hums, padding over to stand in front of me, wrapping her arms around my waist.

Moments like this, it's easy to forget how cold and distant she's been. Moments like this, I hate all the lies I've been forced to tell her, keeping her in the dark on why I've pushed to have this.

Pressing my lips to hers, I fight to keep my anger at bay and just try to push past all of it and keep us in this moment.

When she pulls away, she goes over to the fridge, pulling out everything she wants for breakfast. "I'm assuming Sarah and Kie are coming over here to get ready?" She nods, passing me a glass of orange juice.

"Yeah. They'll be here in a couple of hours." We both freeze when the front door opens, the sound of hushed voices and giggles makes me roll my eyes. "Or they coming over now. Want me to take over?" She motions to the pan on the stove, making me realize I now have to cook for everyone.

Another example of Sarah fucking up everything good in my life.

"It's fine. They can make their own if they want it." She slaps my arm in passing, but I'm quick to grab it before she can get too far. "I'm gonna go ahead and go. Text me when you're on your way." I press a quick kiss to her lips, ignoring my sister and Kie's fake gags and leave.

The last thing I want to do is be ignored all day and listen to them talk about their dresses or hair. I'd rather hangout in my room, hoping to avoid dad and Rose for as long as possible.

Of course he sees me as soon as I pull in the driveway. For some reason, Rose is having the caterers check-in here before going to the Country Club.

"Rafe," He offers me an easy smile, only because there are people around. It's all for show. Can't let people see the wealthiest family on the island as anything but perfect.

He throws his arm over my shoulder, squeezing. "Please tell me Avery will be joining us tonight?" I roll my eyes. "She's over there getting ready with Sarah and Kie right now." He squeezes tighter, leaning in more. "Anything else I need to know?" My jaw tightens. "We're going together. She's excited for her first Midsummers."

That's a lie. She really is excited to attend Midsummers, but she didn't say it. What she really said was, Why would they invite me, when I would be going as your plus one? Then she got pissed about not knowing how to RSVP, because it could affect the seating charts. I ended up fucking her on the counter, on top of said invitation. Felt like a giant fuck you to dad.

The real reason she was sent an invitation with an RSVP line is because Dad doesn't know we're dating. He'd be furious that I didn't tell him, especially when he finds out it's been since she's been back. I didn't even have to work for it.

If he knew, he'd start pressuring me to lay it on thick and rush things. I know that, because he's already talked to Rose about the timeline and if we were to follow it, then I'd be proposing in three months and married six months after that. Fucking ridiculous if you ask me. Avery's great and all that, but I'm in no rush to marry her. I'm twenty-one. Why would I ever want to get married that young?!

"Good. Good. Avery will be a nice addition this year." And to the family if you had your way. "Yeah." He ignores my dry reply, steering me inside the house. "You need to be on your best behavior and make sure she sees everything you could bring to the table."

"You mean the borderline bankruptcy?" I huff out a laugh, shaking my head. I'm about to head up to my room, when he pins me against the railing, his arm pressed against my throat. "Don't start your shit, Rafe! We all know the real reason you need to marry Avery. Maybe she'll be able to support your coke addiction." He hisses, shoving off of me.

"Avery offers this family more than you ever could. God, sometimes I wish I would've gotten a different son. Hell, even John B and that Maybank kid seem to be doing a better job at getting on her good side than you and I'm practically giving you everything you need TO WIN HER OVER!!" He shouts in my face.

He shakes his head and storms off. "Get your shit together, Rafe, or get the hell out." He calls over his shoulder, going back to the caterers. Flexing my fist, I make my way upstairs and slam the door. Fuck him and this fucking family. They think they can do better, then I'd like to see him try. Avery isn't some housewife he can charm or someone who worships at his feet. She's stubborn as hell and doesn't let people in. He'd have better luck getting Rose to quit drinking than getting Avery to fall for his tricks.

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