Chapter 14: Chapter 14

"A lot of men are very possessive and they want to control you. But as you grow older, you attract people who are on your wavelength and who understand who you are."

-Marisa Berenson-

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She put down her luggage and sat down on the bed. Touching it for the first time, the cotton had felt soft against her skin. It really tempted her to lay down and just sleep away all of her exhaustion, but Clara knew she needed to unpack her belongings first. She laid everything on the floor and as Raphael had suggested her, she did not bring that much with her, it was probably enough for a week. The rest of her belongings would take several days to arrive and she had to deal with what she had.

Or so she thought,

When Clara opened the closet to put down her clothes, she quickly realized there have been several pieces of clothes inside along with a few pairs of shoes in her size and handbags, some were high street but most were designers. She remembered his words then, I will take care of everything.

And everything did he take care of

Clara began to wonder just how much money this man had, thinking about it terrified her, she was well aware he came from the high society and had millions on his bank account, but judging from what she had seen so far, he had far more than what she had imagined.

On the other side of the wall, Raphael was leisurely sitting at his bed, he unpacked his belongings as well and separated his stuff, the housekeeper would take care of the dirty laundry and he needed to rest. As he laid on his bed, his mind wandered back to Clara. He was a bit worried   about her since she looked really tired. From what she had been through, she did spend several nights without sleep.

He wanted to do something to her. What little things could he possibly do to comfort her and made her felt better? Getting up from his bed, he came down to the kitchen and pulled out a beautiful floral tea cup he had never used in his entire life (which was the reason why it was shoved to the very back) and brewed some relaxing chamomile tea. He knocked on her door and he hoped she had not gotten to be yet. He heard a click from inside, which was soon followed by Clara in pajamas.

"This is for you." He handed it over to her and she thanked him briefly. Raphael examined her face and she appeared a bit troubled. He wanted to ask her what was the problem but decided it might be better if he had waited until the next day.

As expected, both of them soon fell asleep after the short encounter and they had only woken up from their nap when the sun began to set. He asked the cook to prepare something special that night, it would be her first meal at his home and he wanted it to be something special. He wanted to bring the taste of her hometown into her new home, the main dish for the night was entrecôte sauce Au vin.

Based to his knowledge, it was one of her favorite dish. Clara had gotten out of her room just in time for dinner, she had taken a shower and exchanged her clothes to a silver silk kimono type robe she found inside her closet, from the stairs alone she could already smell a delicious scent in the air and when she saw what he had prepared for her, her heart thumped loudly.

How does he know?

He invited her to her seat and poured over two glasses of wine. She looked at him in wonder, she could not contain her smile, and ended up covering up her face with her palm. She was touched, but at the same time, she felt scared. For someone who she barely knew, he was too nice, he was too good to be true. As if he was giving her a perfect gentleman facade and it scared her, because Marcel was also kind and attentive in the beginning. Her wound was still fresh, she did not wish to inflict more of it.

It was then when she decided. She would not fall for him just yet, not the way she did with Marcel in the beginning. Raphael loved her tremendously and it terrified her, because such amount of love given at such short period of time might run out faster than what she expected

What if he only gave her hope, brought her over to the cloud, only to drop her and watch her shatter into a million pieces. She needed to guard her heart toward him. She could not trust him yet. Although at one point in her life she did like him, it was not a strong enough reason for her to love him entirely.

Just before dinner started, he pulled out a classic Cartier red box from his pocket. He opened it to reveal a platinum engagement ring with a large tear drop cut diamond on the center and clusters of diamonds surrounding the band. She was speechless, she had no idea when he even bought it. There was only one possible reasonable answer, he had planned everything since the beginning and she unknowingly followed his plan perfectly.

He placed it on the table and took her hand in his own, he took the ring and slowly inserted it to her ring finger. It fitted just perfect, and the white crystal lighting from above only enhanced the sparkle of the ring. He smiled proudly. It looked absolutely stunning around her finger. He brought her hand close to his lips and kissed it briefly. For Clara, Raphael was completely different from men like Marcel. He was a lot more formal, his gestures were full of chivalry, and she found him unbelievable.

"You know Clara, you are the first woman I have ever loved and I could guarantee you would be my last. I have waited for so long to hold this hand, you have no idea how happy I am right now. You and I will be together forever." His words sounded sincere yet for her, it sounded a bit, off.

"Raphael, this ring is beautiful, but it's too much for me." She hesitated. What she said was the truth, although her father was fairly wealthy, he raised her with full humility, she was never spoilt with diamonds or gold, he spent more money on her education and character development more than anything else. The way he treated her was too much for her to handle in a good sense.

"No, Clara, don't ever say something like that again, you are my woman, you deserve the best things the world has to offer." He reached out his hand to tuck back a piece of stray hair on her face. He sighed a sigh of relief and stared deeply at her.

"My beautiful Clara, you are so beautiful, it's unbelievable." Clara stared back at him, her eyes had shown uncertainty. The way he looked at her was unexplainable. His eyes were filled with... tender possessiveness.

"Clara, you are mine. Always remember that."