Chapter 24: Chapter 24

"In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine."

-Maya Angelou-

***

They arrived at Shangri La hotel Paris, which was a former residence of Prince Roland Bonaparte. Clara had always imagined what it would be like to enter one of those extravagant building, she had been to several huge parties in Bordeaux, but none of the were as lavish as what she witnessed that night. as they entered the main hall, those who knew Raphael had their eyes fixated on Clara.

They began to wonder who the woman he brought along with him was. After all, it was known that Raphael had never brought any women with him to parties before. It was definitely going to be a hot topic in their circle the next day. Clara was well aware of the stares, there were a few times when she would feel uncomfortable with them, but after everything she has been through so far, it was the least of her concern.

The groom of the wedding was one of Raphael's close friend from college, Barnett Sauvage, the two were like opposite forces who somehow got along well, Barnett was a party animal who never turned down an invitation for college parties and he would forever be remembered as the man who held the best yacht party on the end of their college year.

After years of being the casanova of the group, he finally settled down with Coletta Monet, the college's martial art champion who could knock down two large sized men at once despite her small and thin figure. No one suspected they would be attracted to each other, but the beauty of Love came with its surprises.

They entered the wedding banquet and took a seat with their names on it. Clara put her purse beside the chair and found herself seated with other people. When someone caught her eyes. She saw a familiar looking dirty blonde hair seated across her. No Way. The hazel eyes were staring back at her with the same amount of stagger.

"Corentin?" A smile flashed Clara's face. How unexpected. He looked more proper than the last time she met him. This time he was wearing a gray suit with navy striped tie. His hair was combed back and he carried an aura of opulence.

Clara had not noticed it before but he was awfully more striking than she originally thought. Maybe because he was looking a bit rugged when she met him for the first time. He definitely looked better clean shaven. It enhanced his cheekbones and made him appear younger.

"Clara, what a coincidence." He returned her smile with an even larger smile. Raphael who was sitting beside her moved his eyes to Corentin, and back to her in suspicion, he raised his eyebrow and leaned closer to whisper at her ear.

"You two know each other?" Clara nodded and told Raphael the story of how he met Corentin.

"Yeah, he helped me when I was nearly robbed on the street. We had lunch together afterward, he is such a nice person and I owe him a lot." She spoke casually. There was a hint of pride in Corentin's eyes when Clara flattered him.

"No, I only did what I was supposed to do." he humbled himself. Everyone's attention shifted to the two of them. Of course, they paid no attention to those people, they were more excited that they got to meet each other again on coincidence. It was as if the goddess of fate just wanted them to meet each other.

"You look beautiful tonight." Corentin complimented her on her looks. He took her hands and kissed the back of it, the simple gesture annoyed Raphael, he expected a shocked or defensive expression from Clara, but instead, she was grinning and blushing like a little dove. To his shock, Clara actually returned the compliment.

What the hell? The sight stirred jealousy inside of Raphael. The sight of another man touching her made him go nuts. To make the matter worse, somehow, felt an unsettling vibe from the two of them. Clara had lived with Raphael for weeks but she had never showed him such a genuine and eager smile the way she did with him. When she spoke with Corentin, there was a glee in her tone.

An urge of possessiveness surrounded him, his eyes darkened slightly as he watched them talking. They seemed a bit too close for their own good. Worse, Clara appeared so comfortable around him, it's like her bright personality just shone through the surface.

Raphael himself had known with Corentin through Barnett. Corentin Leclair was the son of Harvey Leclair, a major investor in oil and wood industry from France. What a bloody coincidence that Clara got associated with a man on his level on her first day out alone at Paris. What pissed Raphael even more was the clear flirtation on Corentin's part. He did not seem to notice Raphael's deadly glare at him, or maybe he did, he just ignored them.

Couldn't he see she's with me?

Beside Corentin was his sister, Leone Leclair, who was a world class lawyer known for being particularly silent outside the courtroom, she was a beautiful natural blonde with a taste for finer things in life, she had been observing what was happening for a while now and she was no fool, she could see her brother's attraction toward Clara and the murderous face Raphael flashed toward Corentin.

She decided to cut off the tension a little bit by asking her brother to get a drink for them, thus stopping his conversation, but much to her luck, the waiter had approached their table and handed over the drinks.

Barnett and Coletta made their wedding kiss and a round of applause was heard. As soon as they were done with the wedding speech, a bright sound of saxophone was heard along with the orchestra and two lines of butlers entered the room with a large tray of food on their shoulder and scattered themselves across the room based on the number they had been assigned to.

The food was finally served on their table, each with their own servings, since every guests in the room were selected personally by the groom and bride, each meal had been customized to fit their own personal preference and needs based on the original menu. It was just a small part of the details. It was one of the most prestigious wedding ceremony of the year after all, it had to be perfect.

Clara found herself enjoying the night so far, with Corentin by her side she did not feel as awkward being surrounded by these people, but on the other side Raphael had been holding himself back from making a scene.m, after all he was a civilized man.

That night turned a little bit differently than what he had pictured in mind. It was supposed to be his social time with her, but it turned into a silent fierce competition between the two men, which Clara was oblivious. Raphael took a bit of the meat from his plate with a fork and pointed it in front of her mouth.

"Open up, Mon Amour." He emphasized on the darling call, and Clara willingly ate the food. He purposely moved the fork a little bit so there was a bit of sauce on the corner of her lips. With his thumb, he wiped it away and licked the sauce on his finger. He purposefully did that while Corentin was staring so he would know that Clara was his, and it worked, Corentin turned to Clara and asked her the question he should have asked in the first place.

"You two look so intimate, I saw you coming here with Raphael, what is your relationship with him?" Clara was about to answer when Raphael answered it for her.

"She is my fiancee." He declared. Everyone in the table were frozen. All eyes were on Clara. Corentin's eyes went down to her hand and he saw the engagement ring on Clara's hand and his face fell.

"What?" Corentin raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"Should I repeat it?" Raphael leaned in closer and wrapped his arms possessively around her in front of everyone. He kissed her neck briefly before turning his attention back to Corentin.

"She is MINE!"