Chapter 25: Chapter 25

"Whatever spiteful fools may say, each jealous ranting yelper. No women ever went astray without a man to help her."

-Abraham Lincoln-

***

Everyone on the table had their eyes on Clara for an obvious reason. It came as a shock to nearly everyone who was personally familiar with Raphael, even Corentin who never bothered much with people's lives was aware of Raphael's clean reputation regarding women. His eyes went down to her hand and he saw the engagement ring on Clara's hand. He was a bit unsure why but he was not truly pleased with the truth.

"Is that true? Congratulations, I am happy for you two." Corentin spoke with a hint of sarcasm.  For whatever reason it might be, he felt a bit disappointed, he had hoped she was single and available, but something inside of him simply could not let her go despite Raphael's declaration. Yes, he had only met her once before that but that short encounter was all he needed to figure out that she was someone he wanted to know better. Clara was just too interesting to be ignored, he had to admit his attraction to her.

Yet something inside of him did not want to give up just yet and it shocked him a bit, there was a little voice in his head which told him to pursue her in the term of friendship, because if he could not have her heart, then at least he could still linger around her as a friend, then perhaps if one day, god forbid (although Corentin would be very happy in case the day ever come) Raphael and Clara ever split under any circumstances, he would have his chance with her.

Clara looked down in embarrassment after the public declaration. She never thought she would be introduced to his society through someone else's wedding. The embarrassment had gotten too deep in her head that she was not paying too much attention to her motors and accidentally swallowed a huge piece of lobster meat, choking herself. Raphael had to release his arms around her so she could move her hand.

She reached for the water and took a few lights sips to get rid of the meat from her throat. Raphael tapped her  back gently, and the warmth from his fingers sent shiver down her spine. She had forgotten she was wearing a backless dress. He might not realize it but the way he was touching her was slightly sensual. It was not that she was sexually innocent, it was just, they were in public and everyone was watching.

"Are you okay?" He asked with a concerned face. He did not even bother to notice others who were staring for his attention was purely devoted on his dearest Clara. After finishing the entire glass of water, she placed it on the table and nodded her head as her fingers picked up the handkerchief but before she could wipe her lips, Raphael had picked his up and gently tapped it on her lips.

It was a bit unsure whether he was intentionally doing it for the sake of proving to others how affectionate he was to her or what, but Clara did appreciate it despite the little attraction he had caused. People had stopped looking their direction as the MC tried to regain control over the room by asking the wedding musician to play some music and before long everyone was back to their own business.

On the other side, Jovanna Devergie happened to attend the same event as they did, as her father was on a good term with The Sauvage, yet he could not attend the party that night for he had to be elsewhere, so she came on his place, alongside her was one of her close male friend, Laurent Masotti, he was a charming man with an even temper and likable attitude, an ambivert who was famous for his love for horse riding. He had competed in several horse riding competitions and have won them several times.

Despite that, he always remained humble and down to earth. Physically, he was not the most attractive man in comparison to others in the room, but he was still good looking with his light brown hair and soft blue eyes, he stood at 5'9" tall with a charm of a prince. Yet despite that, he had never been seen by Jovanna as anything more than a friend, despite him showing obvious signs for his liking toward her. Yet, Jovanna kept her eyes still on Raphael the entire time.

She did not expect to meet Raphael or witnessed the show that night, she had a rather low expectation of how the night was going to turn out, since she was not able to get their comprehensive guest list despite being a rather close friend of Colette so when her eyes landed on him in the middle of the dinner, she was delighted, yet the excitement did not last long because soon after that, she found Clara beside him. Since she was seated on the table right across them, she witnessed what had happened since the beginning when Raphael and Clara took a seat.

Watching the two of them together was enough to arouse jealousy from her heart. Thus the love gesture he showed Clara was an absolute pain. She crunched her napkin until it was all wrinkly. Laurent who was seated right beside her could sense there was something bothering her, he turned to take a look at the direction she was looking at, and immediately, he understood why.

"Jovanna, would you like to switch seats with me, that way you won't be able to see them."  He offered. Laurent had known about her feelings for him and truly it was hurting him as a man who had a deep affection and care for her. Some people might consider him a fool, but one could not decide who they fell for. He thought he should do what he could to ease her anger, however much to his guess, she refused, since switching seats will not help ease her anger due to the fact that he was still touching her.

Jovanna had decided since she was in high school that Raphael would be the one for her. But he barely noticed her, let alone showed any signs of attention. Yet she still held on to her hope because she loved him that much, but she had no idea that you could never force love. The irony of life, no amount of money could buy the love of someone who could never love you.

She opened her bag to pull out some mint, as if it was going to help. Spoiler alert, it did not. The next thing she knew, Clara rose from her seat and headed to the restroom. Jovanna was silent for a moment, she was debating whether or not she should confront the woman, because although she personally had no issue with her, she could not sit still watching her being close to Raphael. Though socially, it would be a rather childish move but we all know how love could cause people to do even the most socially unacceptable things.

At the end, she puffed and left her seat as well. Just when she stood up, she felt a hand on her wrist.

"Where are you going?" Laurent grabbed her hand, he stared up at her with a concerned gaze, she threw him an annoyed expression which made him weakened his grip on her, she shook his hand off and walked away.