Twice Between The Sheets (2 Nights A Week)

Chapter 6: Two Nights, Too Many

Arabella slammed her bedroom door shut with such force that the old hinges groaned in protest, and for a moment, she almost wished the door would give way. The sound of it reverberated through the silence of the house like a thunderclap. She pressed her back against it, taking deep breaths, willing her heart to stop racing. Her hand flew to her cheek, swiping away a tear that had betrayed her. The audacity of him! she thought, her mind still reeling from Rafael's smirk, that smug, infuriating grin as he'd walked away, leaving her a wreck of raw emotion and humiliation in his wake.

Two nights a week? She shook her head in disbelief. The audacity! As though she would allow herself to be manipulated so easily. As though she would trade herself like some kind of commodity. No, Rafael had miscalculated. He wasn't going to have the satisfaction of owning her, not for a second, not ever.

But even as she vowed to fight him, something tugged at her insides. A strange, gnawing feeling that she could not quite identify. Was it the memory of the way his eyes had sparkled when he'd spoken those cruel words, or was it the shock of her own body's involuntary response to his proximity? She hated how he made her feel—distracted, flustered, and alive in a way she hadn't felt in a long time. But that was irrelevant. He was a monster, an opportunist, nothing more. She wouldn't play his games. She would make sure of it.

Her thoughts, though clouded with rage, turned then, with a dark twist, to Dante. That revolting, lying piece of trash. What a fool I've been, she thought bitterly, pacing the room. For months, she'd allowed him to string her along, playing at romance, while hiding his real self behind carefully crafted lies. She had suspected something, of course—how could she not? His constant evasiveness, the late-night phone calls that stopped when she entered the room, his frequent business trips that always seemed to coincide with her unspoken doubts. But now, all those whispers of instinct had been confirmed. Dante was no saint. No, he was far worse—a man so far into the muck of criminality, it had consumed him whole.

She could feel the bile rise in her throat, but it wasn't disgust that tightened her chest. It was the relief. The clarity.

Dante had always been a shadow on her life, but now, thanks to Rafael—of all people—Arabella could see the truth. She had been right to question him. She had been right to wonder what he was hiding. He would rot in jail for the rest of his life, and she would make sure of it. A satisfied smile tugged at the corner of her lips. She would be the one to expose him. She would be the one to make him pay for all the women he had exploited. That was a promise.

But Rafael? No, he was no savior. As much as she hated Dante for what he was, she hated Rafael more for what he had done to her—exposing Dante's lies only to hold her own future over her head like a sword. Manipulative, controlling, and ruthless. He had taken the opportunity to dig his claws into her, seeing her fear and her vulnerability as his chance to capitalize on both. What kind of man did that? She could see him so clearly now, in all his dark, smoldering glory—a predator wearing a charming smile, luring his prey into a trap.

A sudden ache spread through her chest, and Arabella squeezed her eyes shut. No. Stop. She could not allow herself to feel anything for him. His motives were clear. He wanted to watch her squirm. He wanted to make her submit to his terms and when she did—if she did—he would control her every move, every breath. She would never allow that. No. She wouldn't.

Arabella's gaze fell to the phone she had been clutching, her fingers tightening around it. The weight of it, so solid and real in her hand, grounded her. There was only one person she could trust right now. One person who had been there for her when the world had seemed like a cruel, dark place.

She tapped the screen quickly, her fingers flying over the letters as her breath steadied.

Levi, I need you to come over.