POV: Victoria
“I’m sorry, Ralph, I should have come to you first. But he tricked me, he made me believe he still had her and I stupidly fell for it!” I told him sadly. I sat down next to him, telling him about the key and my deal with his brother. I finally got through to my sister and mom. Turns out that Claire’s phone was hacked by Dad, and that is how they found their location. My father aided Nathan in hurting Mom and Claire.
I’m sure they would have killed my mom if Nathan didn’t need her alive to threaten me. Raphael had them moved to his house in a private estate and he took away their old gadgets and had the whole place checked for bugs or anything harmful. I felt so sad that I didn’t trust him enough, I had no idea that he would pay so much attention to my family, treating them as his.
He was so pissed when I showed him the videos and told him about Nathan’s request. He refused to look me in the eye and I felt guilty for disregarding his instructions and selling him out to his brother. But the treasury belongs to the family, right?
Stealing a few diamonds wouldn’t hurt, would it?
“I wasn’t thinking straight, I thought you would be too busy to care. Besides, you can always get it back from him anytime you want it,” I explained, trying to ease his outrage.
“That’s not the point, Victoria!
If I hadn’t found out about it, would you have told me after giving him the key to my Treasury?
How do I trust you after this, how the hell do I know if you’ll get pissed and screw me over once again. If I let my guard down and let you out of my sight, Would you have told me that you were prepared to stab me in the back as long as you got what wanted?” He asks me furiously.
“Would you have told me if you had screwed Charlotte?” I retorted furiously. He’s beginning to piss me off with his tone. It’s not my fault that he chose to hang out with his bestie when I really needed him, is it?
“This is not my fault, Ralph, don’t put it on me. I came downstairs to look for you, remember?
When I found out I came down to tell you about it, but you left me down there and followed Miss Blondie to her room. So don’t sit there and call me names because I did not betray you!” I yelled in anger, making him glare at me even harder.
“You are unbelievable!
I can’t believe I’m stuck with someone so stupid, why did I ever meet someone so dumb!
You must think that this is just one big joke and I’m nothing but a paranoid bastard, don’t you?
You have no idea how dangerous these people are, do you?
They will use you, and when they are done, they will kill you. That’s what they’ll do!” he yelled in my face.
“So what am I supposed to do now?” I asked.
“Do nothing!
Just act normal and let me take it from here. He won’t get away from it, trust me.” he asserted firmly.
“And Victoria.” He called out to me, requesting I look up, requesting I look up at him.
“I know I’ve said this before, but now I want to make it clearer and sound it as a warning. The next time you make this kind of mistake again, I’ll make you regret it. Go against me one more time and you’ll see that I’m worse than my brother!” He warned me sternly, walking out on me. He knows the met is already with Nathan, yet he asked me to keep up the pretense and keep playing along with Nathan.
I did as I was told and I pretended to be on Nathan’s side. I even thanked him for releasing Claire and not hurting my mom. Cindy glared at me when I spoke to her man, but I ignored her because she had no idea what she had gotten herself into. She has no idea that she is dating a narcissist, a fucking predator.
“You can’t take your eyes off him, can you?” Gramps asked me, startling me from my thoughts.
“Opa…
I got carried away with the game, I’m sorry. I hope I wasn’t staring too much?” I laughed, making him laugh along with me. We were riding horses in the landscape overlooking the beach. Grandpa invited Raphael and I to ride with him because this was Raphael’s favorite sport.
I watched him riding his horse like a pro while I struggled to get mine to stay still and walk slowly. His grandfather rode slowly to chat with me and put me through, but Raphael couldn’t care less if I fell down from the horse or not. I didn’t even realize that I was watching him and smiling to myself until his grandfather spoke up to startle me.
“You can stare as much as you want, after all, he is your boyfriend, right?” he asked me, staring deep into my eyes. I know we have been lying to everyone before, but staring into the old man’s eyes made me feel so guilty that I couldn’t utter a word. I just gazed into his eyes, lost for words. Faced with this question, I could only look at the old man like a moron, scared of what he might do to me if the truth comes out.
“Errrm…. Errrr…. I mean, I… You see… I mean… Errrmmm…” I stammered like a damn fool.
“Save it, Victoria. I know about your deal with him.” He lets out firmly, his voice sounding so stern, carrying weight. I bowed my bead in shame, scared to look into his eyes.
“He told you about that? I asked him, earning a scoff.
“Of course, he didn’t. They think I’m too old and dumb to find out what is going on in my household. But I know everything, nothing escapes my watchful eyes. I only keep quiet about some things because I want everyone to be happy.” He confessed sadly. I could see the sadness in his eyes, it’s obvious that he knows about the feud among his grandsons and he’s sad about it because he doesn’t know how to end it.
“I’m sorry I went along with it to deceive you and everyone. I would end it tonight Opa, I will,”
“You will do nothing!” he let out firmly, using that same fierce tone that makes me shiver in fear. I kept mute and looked at him as he turned to look at Raphael. His anger disappeared and all he had on his face was pity and sadness.
“You must never tell him that I know of this, I want him to keep being the smart, thoughtful man that he is. I placed a high burden on him when I willed my entire wealth on him. It’s a miracle that the stress and dangers of his position have not turned him into a tyrant like his brothers. They would kill him to possess the power and authority he has over them, but they fail to realize that with power comes great responsibility. They can never wield such power without turning into monsters. If they succeed in killing him, or means I have failed,” he lets out sadly, his eyes filled with tears.
“I know this started as an arrangement, a simple business deal. But I have seen how you look at him when he isn’t looking and I can see that you care for him. You had every chance to lie to me when I asked about your relationship with him, but you couldn’t because you have a pure heart, just like him.
He needs a girl like you to steer him in the right direction and keep him happy. He needs you in his life more than you can ever imagine. You will keep him sane and remind him that there are still good people around him who truly care about him. Are you willing to be his confidante, will you be his peace?” He asked me as if this was an interview.
“I would love to be the woman by his side, Opa. But our contract would end one day and he would send me away. He doesn’t think I’m fit to be by his side, he doesn’t see me as a lover.” I responded sadly. The old man laughed and shook his head pitifully.
“You kids are just so dumb and stupid!
It baffles me how you call us old and dumb when the reverse is true case. You see, my dear, Raphael may not be ready to let his emotions show, but one thing I’m sure of is that he sees something in you, and that is why he considered you fit enough to present to me. You are the first girl he has introduced to me, what does that tell you, sweetheart?” he asked me, a beautiful smile playing on his face.