Chapter 47: Chapter 47

"There are three things all wise man fears. The sea in storm, a night with no moon and the anger of a gentleman."

-Patrick Rothfuss-

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He was furious that someone dared to try and lay a hand on his loved one. Raphael was not one to easily lose his temper but when it came down to Clara he could unleash the devil within who was not scared of hurting anyone for her.

"What do you think you are doing?" his deep voice sounded angry. Giselle had no idea what it was about him, but she found herself scared of the man, of course she would not let it show through. At the same time, another sound of footsteps echoed in the air. Corentin arrived and found Raphael holding Giselle's hand mid -air, he knew right away what was going on. He hurriedly stood by Clara's side, checking her to make sure she was not hurt, and when he confirmed she was fine, he turned to Giselle. Corentin was equally as furious as Raphael, yet somehow managed to keep a calm expression.

"Raphael, let her go."  Clara stated calmly, although he could sense authority in her voice. He raised his eyebrow as if questioning her but did as she commanded. He immediately went to her side and held her shoulder gently, checking her face and embraced her.

Clara returned his embrace and closed her eyes. He always came on the right time did not he? With Raphael, she felt a strange sense of security rushing through her vein.

The scene started to look like a romantic drama poster, a woman in the middle of two men, one holding her protectively, the other was standing by her side, silently watching over her.

Giselle was speechless when she realized that Clara was deeply protected by these two tycoons, and at that moment, she felt slightly intimidated.

Of course, no actions ever come without any consequence.

"Giselle, you are fired."  Corentin declared sternly, and Giselle was at lost for words. She thought it must have been a joke, she was losing a job she had only entered for months because of Clara. It did not make any sense. A tiny part of her wanted to murder Clara for always being everyone's favorite. Truthfully it was the result of her own envy. Of course, she was too blind to notice.

She wanted to protest but she then got fully aware the Clara standing in front of her was no longer the weak Clara from half a year ago. She had two powerful men by her side, both equally protective of her. Even Marcel could do nothing as they humiliated her.

"It's your Karma, Giselle. I am done with you. Now get out of my life forever. Before I completely destroy you."

There was no way she was going back inside the room, and Giselle was officially uninvited as well from coming back inside. Corentin and Raphael brought Clara outside. It was not good for her to breath in the same air as the wicked wench and they did not want their little private matter become a public's show.

When they were finally away from people's eyes, they stopped walking. While having her shoulder held by Raphael, she turned to Corentin to properly thank him.

"Thank you Corentin. I... I don't know what else to say, Is this really okay?" Clara felt slightly guilty for making Corentin fire one of his employee cause as much as she hated Giselle, he had no tie with her. Instead of a putting on a stern face, he smiled and patted her shoulder gently.

"You are my friend. I would do everything for you."  Raphael who had been leaning close to Clara this whole time watched as they exchanged words. He saw it tonight that Corentin was not as bad as he thought he was. Yes, it was obvious that Corentin had a crush on Clara, but at the same time he seemed to respect the fact that she was taken. Having someone outside protecting her might not be a terrible idea after all.

"I will be driving her home." Raphael broke the conversation between the two. He still had that protective gesture over her, wrapping his arms around her shoulder. Corentin nodded.

"It would be for the best."

Corentin gave Clara one last glance before getting back inside. He was worried about her, but at least he knew she was in the safe hand.

She entered the car with Raphael, pushing her butt into the passenger's seat. They barely spent two hours inside but for one reason or another, the night felt awfully long. At the same time, she felt a liberating emotion in her head. For once she could finally breath in relief.

It was strange.

Clara was upset, if it was up to her she would encourage far worse things to happen to her, but Giselle had been humiliated enough, if she was the one who did things to her, it could end up worse, had she was not holding herself back, Clara was seldom angry, she preferred to feel positive emotions, but once she did, all hell ties broke loose. The circumstance was not helping either. To put it simply, she did not want to cause more commotion that what had been done.

She rested her head on the side of the window while gazing outside. It was starting to rain, droplets of water were visible on the screen. Her free hand was tracing the droplets as it felt down. Her chest still felt heavy. She did not know what she did to deserve that night. She just wanted some peace and quiet but people like Giselle always seemed to trace their way back to her life.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, suddenly she felt a tight hold on her hand, yet she did not have to turn her head around to know who it was. Her hands were still shaking from anger, it might not be shown on her face, but inside she was still mad.  It always took a while to ease her anger, and when her eyes did met Raphael's, she felt a genuine sense of comfort from him. Whenever she was alone with Raphael, she felt safe and protected. The look on his eyes had told her "It would all be okay" and maybe that was what she needed, someone telling her those words while holding her.

Her heart felt warm. For a brief second she knew she could just let go of everything and be in the present. All the drama, all the chaos. She was totally over with them. Though she could not say she was satisfied just yet, she felt no need to pursue the matter further because she had found her sanctuary of peace. She was going to start a new life. It was not wise to drag the dirt from the past into her new one.

It was all because of Raphael.