CHAPTER 62: LOVE OR OBSESSION?
“Make sure that this news does not get to the media. They must not find any evidence.” Micheal instructed inside his office.
“Dad, what about Evelyn and Tom? As I have heard from others, she brought her son once to this company and many commented on the strange realistic features between Raphael and him. This can give the truth away.” Vegas said and Micheal sighed.
“Why does this boy love putting me into different troubles huh?”
“There won’t be any need for his unnecessary drama, after all, we have him under our wings…” Someone knocked on the door and entered after receiving permission.
“Sir, Miss Erica is here to see you.”
“Let her in,” Micheal ordered. Vegas stood up before Erica walked in wearing a strapless black gown. Her hair was let down to a side, she was wearing her long dangling silver earrings with a silver necklace. Her make-up was attractive and she looked stunning. She moved closer to the men with a smile and greeted them.
“Good morning, Uncle. Good morning, Vegas.”
“Hi, good morning.” Vegas did a little wave.
“Morning, my dear. Have your seat.”
“I will excuse myself then,” Vegas spoke and exited the office.
“I hope he isn’t leaving untimely because of me,” Erica asked and looked at the closed door for the last time.
“No, he has some important work to do. Would you like to take anything in? Coffee, chocolate, light breakfast?”
“No, I am fine, thank you.”
“You are welcome. So, I see that you and Raphael seemed to have gotten along that night of the auction.” Michael started talking and Erica nodded along.
“Since we aren’t strangers to each other then there is no need for us to pretend to be one,” Erica replied with a dazzling smile.
“Do you love Raphael so that you are ready to do anything just to be with him?” Michael asked, his eyes piercing through her soul for her answer. Erica rubbed her palms against each other as sudden coldness had eaten her up so she wanted to generate slight heat.
“Y…yes, I am… I am ready. I love Raphael, Uncle. I might not reach up to the perfect qualities of a wife but I am certain that I can measure up to the right qualities of a wife.” She replied truthfully.
Michael nodded. He leaned on his chair comfortably with a pen in his hand that he used in hitting the table gently once in a while.
“What if I tell you that he has a son, will you still love him?” He looked at her.
Erica’s lips curved downwards instantly. She was a bit diluted by Michael’s overbearing questions. What was he trying to say? She chuckled nervously and her butts dragged the face of the chair.
“I…I am lost, sir. What do you mean by he has a son? Does he?” She asked him.
“He has a son! A three-year-old one. I was as surprised as you are now yesterday when I came to know of this. I was confused, Erica, that I didn’t even know what to do. His assistant was an assistant indeed!” Erica’s ears perked up when she heard Evelyn’s duty.
“Is it that Evelyn you are talking about? His assistant?”
“Oh, you know her. That’s good, yes. She is the one I am talking about. I was opportune yesterday to know that my son has a hidden son of three years and is in a relationship with this woman. It came as a shock to me that I am yet to recover from…”
While Micheal kept on talking, Erica got into a trance. Her mind was blurry at first as she tried to digest the whole information given to her. Raphael had a son? How? When? Did that mean he was already cheating before things got out of hand or…? She was confused.
“Are you even listening to me, Erica?” Micheal stopped talking to ask her when he saw that she was distracted.
“Yes, I am. I am just finding it difficult to believe, that’s all.”
“I know and that was why I asked if you loved Raphael and would like to be with him. You match up to the standards of a good wife for him, my wife loves you and wouldn’t stop complimenting you. Only Raphael seems to have been blinded so I need you to work more on your claim over him.”
“But is it going to be possible anyway? He won’t listen to you, Uncle. He is quite stubborn.” Erica expressed her worry and Micheal smiled.
“I know he is but his stubbornness has somehow been tamed. All I need you to do is to find a way of exposing your relationship, and claim him as yours while I work on other things. I don’t regret what I am doing, it’s for his sake. I hope you understand what exactly you are supposed to do.” He said.
“Yes, I do, Uncle. I will work on that while you continue to support me.” Erica smiled.
Minutes later, Vegas saw Erica walk hurriedly out of the office. He raised his eyebrows and brought out his phone. Vegas went through his contact list and tapped on Shaft’s contact before dialing it.
“Hello, Mr. Shaft…I am good, thank you. I have very pretty interesting news for you.” He said his words slowly and afterward ended the call as his eyes were still glued to the walking Erica.
Things were just working for him without Vegas trying to plan anything too much. Raphael…the fool of a brother that he had would always get himself into trouble every time and this gave Vegas peace of mind as he knew that Micheal disliked Raphael so there was no way he would be a part of the inheritance. He was just a useless worker in the company just like every other person that was employed.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Erica entered the mansion swiftly, her head was raised high and she disregarded the greetings from the staff. It was something everyone in the family did. Vincent, who was sitting on a couch opposite the television, snapped his fingers to make Erica know that someone was there.
Erica paused in her steps and looked at her cousin.
“My dad wants to speak with you in the usual spot. Don’t keep him waiting.” He said without even looking at her. Erica didn’t respond and only continued walking upstairs. She went to her room first and changed into a nice dress before heading to the room situated on the inner side of the building. She knocked on the door.
“Come in.” Shaft spoke, his voice was dry and he had to clear his throat. Erica opened the door and entered before shutting it.
“You called for me, Uncle?”
“Yes, and I am going straight to the point. I believe we should drop the whole engagement thing with Raphael quickly.” He announced.
“What? Why?”
“Are you seriously asking me this? Are you pretending not to know the truth? When were you planning to tell me that Raphael has a son?” Shaft asked and Erica swallowed her saliva repeatedly.
“I wasn’t planning to hide it from you that long, Uncle. I just heard about it this morning and was called to Micheal’s office. We have talked things over and he has reassured me. He told me to work on my path and on my way to winning the upper hand. How did you even know?”
“You don’t need to be aware of that. I don’t know why you are obsessed with him. This is a business catch for me, Evelyn. The money you used in bidding hasn’t been returned yet, don’t you know how much it was? That was nearly half of my funding, you can easily get this and even what we want from the family as quickly as possible if you marry Vegas. It’s a win-win situation for both of us.”
“No, it isn’t. I love Raphael and I don’t care saying this how many times into your ears just to make you believe me. I will only lose, Uncle. I can get married to Raphael while you take whatever you want to. He is my important gain.” She refused.
Shaft groaned loudly and rubbed his whole head before looking at the young lady in front of him. She seemed not to be bothered with the way things had turned up.
“So what do you want to do?” He asked her.
“Very simple. It’s either fire or by force, he is going to be mine. His dad has the ultimate weapon that he won’t be able to fight back against, I assure you. I will work on the useless former assistant and her son in the meantime as well.” She explained to him.
“Just do it to get my money back, Erica. If this doesn’t work in the next few months, I will stop supporting you.”
“It will. Give me some time.” She replied and bit her lips.