CHAPTER 26: TRY TO MAKE IT WORK.
Raphael managed to calm her down in the meantime. Evelyn continued trembling, nevertheless, she was still clinging to him.
“What is it, Evelyn? Did you have a bad dream?” He asked softly while she nodded in response.
“Do you want to tell me what it is all about?” He continued asking. Evelyn looked up at him from the corner of his body that she had hidden her face in. Was this appropriate in the first place? But right now, she just wanted to bear her mind to someone. Evelyn sniffed and proceeded in answering the question.
“I had a dream about someone snatching my son from me. It was so scary and it…it isn’t my first time dreaming about this. Ever since I arrived back here, I have been having multiple scary dreams about my son and I am scared, Raphael…I am really scared…I can’t live without my son…he is my life, I just can’t.” She said and burst into tears again.
Raphael wondered what type of luck he had this time around. On one hand, he was trying so hard to approach her and Tom and on the other hand, she was having these dreams that might somehow push her away from his grasp.
“It’s fine, no one is taking Tom away from you, okay? It’s just a dream, don’t put too much importance on it. Calm down and don’t stress yourself out. It’s just a dream and it will pass away. Try seeing the bright side of things.” He advised as he patted her hair. Evelyn nodded.
He checked her temperature again and felt the need not to call a doctor anymore since it was now a mild one. The drugs were working fine for her.
Evelyn shifted away from Raphael realizing how close they were.
“But why are you here?” She asked
“To take good care of you.” He responded.
“Do you take care of your workers this way whenever they fall sick?” Evelyn asked with doubt.
“No.”
“So why…”
“You are sick and according to the doctor’s advice, it will be more appropriate for you to sleep so you can regain your lost energy to work further in the next few days,” Raphael replied with a shrug that did not dispute the fact in Evelyn’s mind that her boss was her BOSS indeed. She crawled back into her shell with all the probing questions in her mind.
“Thank you.” She appreciated his care after a little bit of silence. Raphael glanced at her but didn’t say anything in return. That was when Jeremy’s message came in. After reading the message, he typed ‘Continue’ to him and then locked his phone before making himself more comfortable on Evelyn’s bed…beside her. He closed his eyes and soon dozed off.
_______
“Get down from the cab, Tom,” Kira ordered with a strenuous tone. She was so eager to get the ‘sudden hulk’ back to his mother. Tom came out carrying a whole load of plastic toys and then with his silly cute smile.
“I love my godmother.” He chanted as he walked towards the door while the supposed godmother paid the transport fare. She joined him in entering the house quickly before the landlady could stop them to start a world lecture about herself and her family.
Not far from the building was a car parked beside the lane. The driver watched Kira and Tom enter before blowing out gum. He took out his phone and texted a message to someone mysterious.
“She has a friend and the location is certain.”
He rolled up the window after this and ignited the engine before driving away at full speed.
“Where is your mom? This place is so silent.” She asked as she dropped his bag and a few things that she brought onto the bed. Tom headed towards his mum’s room with Kira behind him. As soon as he opened the door, his cute eyes blinked consecutively, not understanding what type of sleeping posture he found his mum in[ please note that Evelyn is just in Raphael’s embrace so they are not in a +18 posture].
“Daddy?” Tom called.
Kira got there too and almost screamed but covered her mouth when Raphael’s eyes met hers immediately after they opened due to the noise. Her eyes were as wide as a pumpkin. Kira was stupefied to see Raphael Theophilus in her best friend’s room. What info had she been missing for the past few days? Quickly she smiled and nodded apologetically before excusing the two in the room.
“Godmother, that’s my mummy and that’s daddy in a room, right?” Tom questioned her and Kira gave him a puzzled look.
“Why are you referring to a stranger as your daddy?”
“Because he looks strong and capable of being anyone’s daddy just like my friends.” He answered and Kira bumped his forehead lightly before taking her seat.
“Silly. That’s your mum’s boss, not your daddy so refer to him as Mr. Raphael or…” The sudden realization hit her and she had a mischievous grin on her face.
“Do you want to make him your daddy forever?”
Tom nodded eagerly.
“Then let’s start a mission then, my favorite godson.”
Back in the room, Raphael picked up his phone and took a few pictures of both of them on the bed at the right angle. He seemed pleased seeing them and kissed her forehead before getting up from the bed in a manner that wouldn’t wake her up.
He took his few things out of his room and arrived at the sitting room. Tom ran to hug him.
“Daddy!!!”
Raphael chuckled and carried him up, “How is my superhero doing?” He asked playfully.
Kira opened her mouth again for the second time seeing the resemblance between Tom and Raphael. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Raphael caught a glimpse of her weird look at him and finally accepted that Kira might not be dumb.
“Hello there.” He greeted and Kira’s brain snapped. She was so embarrassed that she had to look away from him for a few seconds.
“Good day, Mr. Raphael. Thank you for…Uhm…coming here to take care of Evelyn.”
“You are welcome. I bought some drugs for her and the prescription is well-explanatory enough in
it. Make sure she uses it regularly for a speedy recovery.”
“Of course, Mr. Raphael. Thank you once again.” Kira bowed a bit and he handed Tom over to her while he prepared to leave finally.
When he was gone, Kira kept standing unconsciously until she was pulled by Tom.
“I am hungry.”
“Then feed yourself while I check on your mother,” Kira replied and left for Evelyn’s room. Tom looked around before scratching his head. He walked to the refrigerator and brought out the cereals he could find to eat.
__________
By the time Raphael got back to his office, he met Zeke there. He was playing a puzzle game all by himself with a dull look until he arrived, and his mood brightened up a bit.
“Do you know how long I have been waiting for you?” He asked.
“Hey,” Raphael replied and sat on his chair before sighing in relief.
“Why were you waiting for me? We have no business together, do we?” Raphael asked.
“Well, I came to pay you a visit so at least be thankful.” Raphael rolled his eyes before picking up a file to begin the day’s work.
“Where are you coming from? You usually don’t leave your work behind and there isn’t any meeting to attend.” Zeke questioned.
He and Raphael had been friends for a long time so he certainly knew what he was capable of doing or not even close to being capable of.
“Evelyn is sick so I went to pay her a visit,” Raphael answered. Zeke chuckled and brought out a packet of cigarettes, he was about to light a stick but the glare he received from Raphael kept him in check so he smiled before putting it back on the table.
“You and your ladybug. Your love story isn’t progressing at all.” Zeke commented.
“You don’t know anything about her as I do. She is very feeble at heart and easily gets scared. Evelyn is facing certain issues that are making her feel withdrawn from her shell even though she wants to be out. I don’t want to put pressure on her, I just want to win her heart and be by her side.”
“And how will you be able to accomplish this in a month?” Zeke teased.
“Easy. I will do that by getting the attention of my son. It won’t take that long because he seems to like me a lot and he is already referring to me as ‘daddy.’ ” Raphael replied dreamily that Zeke had to hit his forehead at his friend’s cheesiness.
“Do you love her or are you just doing this because she has your son?”
Raphael was speechless and looked away. Did he love her?
“I don’t know, Zeke. All I know is that I like her and I am attracted to her. If I had known three years ago, I would have collected her number or maybe anything that can make me look for her quickly before leaving abruptly that morning. Just that one look of her that morning, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I like her.”
“Raphael, you need to know that this is a reality so you should stop dreaming if you are . I need you to think things through and plan your steps carefully, especially with your son in the middle. They both need protection and you should be able to guarantee them that. You once said that Evelyn didn’t like getting all public but once the news of Raphael Theophilus having a son by an unknown woman blows up, it’s going to ruin things more than you imagine.
You are going to lose on both sides. You won’t be able to win Evelyn’s heart and your reputation will get tainted not to even talk about your family, especially your dad.” Zeke explained.
It was understandable that Raphael wanted to please his father but Zeke, he felt like it was getting too much.
Raphael’s relationship with his father wasn’t strong for the past few years and he felt like he owed his father everything that he had become in life. That was why he was finding it difficult to move away from his father’s control and build his empire even when he was capable of doing so.
After discovering about Evelyn, he seemed to have been taking that chance up but still wanted to give his father the privilege of seeing him as a more hardworking son than Vegas before it became too late.
“Hmm, you don’t have to worry about that. I have the situation under control. I don’t want to rush things but I will try to make it work.” Raphael replied with a hard look.
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AUTHOR’S NOTE.
Please, remember that it’s a slow-burn book so I am trying my best to develop the characters;-)
Thank you for reading.
TBC…