CHAPTER 136: OVERHEARING SECRETS

**A few days later**

That night, the atmosphere in the house felt different. It was too quiet and too still, as if the entire mansion had suddenly become lifeless. The chandeliers glowed softly overhead, casting haunting shadows in the hallways. I tried my best to silence my footsteps as I made my way along the hallway.

I had told myself that I wouldn’t wander, but staying shut up in my room made my thoughts run wild. I just wanted to take a walk and take some time to think. But suddenly, I heard hushed voices. Immediately, I froze, too scared to take another step forward.

It didn’t take me long to figure out that it was Raphael’s voice. His voice was clipped, as if he was using a lot of effort to keep his emotions under control. Then I heard Bennett’s voice-deeper and calmer-carrying an unmistakable sense of authority.

"The meeting wasn’t just business," Raphael said.

"That didn’t mean that you had to escalate it the way that it did," Bennett quickly replied.

"What do you expect me to do? They came armed and it was clear that they wanted blood. If anything, I would say that it was just self-defense on our part," Raphael quickly defended himself.

I pressed my back against the wall as my breath caught in my throat.

"It’s good that you and most of our men escaped without harm, but the damage has been done with the business side," his father replied calmly.

"We left more than enough of them breathing so they can send a message to their boss. Trust me, we did the best that we could to preserve the peace, but it’s not entirely up to us-as you know all too well," Bennett said sternly.

My legs suddenly went weak and I slid down the wall until I was crouched down on the carpet. My eyes were void of life as I stared at the nothingness on the floor while my hands trembled.

I was sure that I didn’t mishear, and Raphael’s mention of blood and people getting hurt rang clearly in my ears.

This wasn’t just whispers of shady dealings or illegal businesses-this was outright violence. People got hurt, and who knew if any of them died. In the back of my mind, I could see Bennett and my mother smiling at me from across the dining table before he would turn and kiss her on the back of her hand as if she was some kind of queen. I knew that they were wildly in love with each other, but that didn’t change the fact that Bennett was extremely dangerous. On top of that, Raphael was a part of it.

I hugged my knees to my chest as I tried to silence the scream that came crawling up my throat. How could I ever keep this a secret from my mother? How was I supposed to sit at the same dining table as them tomorrow and pretend that I didn’t hear Bennett and Raphael talking about bloodshed?

After the last discussion that I had with Raphael, I had to admit that my will had faltered and I didn’t want to leave him. Raphael probably knew my weakness-as long as I was in love with him, I could never truly leave him. For days I began fooling myself that we could live a life in peace and that Raphael would keep us safe. However, the conversation that I had just overheard brought my dream world crashing down all around me as I returned to the world of reality.

I pressed my hand over my mouth, afraid that I would let out any sound. A part of me wanted to run upstairs to grab my mother’s hand and take her away. I wanted to scream the words I had held in for so long. I wanted to tell her that he’s not who you think he is. And nothing is what it seems. We’ve been living inside a lie-and a very dangerous one at that. We need to leave now!

But another part of me wasn’t as courageous. There was a selfish part that held me back because I feared that if the truth broke out, my mother would not look at me the same way. I would lose Raphael’s love, and what if Bennett started seeing me as a threat? Perhaps telling my mother would put us in even more danger than ever before.

I slowly crept away and returned to go back up the stairs. However, before I could get far, I heard the door opening behind me. I immediately froze in my tracks.

"Abigail," Raphael called my name softly. It was clear that he was surprised to see me standing there.

I had been caught red-handed and I didn’t have an excuse for myself.

"I was just..." I began blabbering.

"You heard," Raphael said softly, but it wasn’t a question.

I simply nodded because I felt like it was useless to deny it. My body stiffened as my eyes darted around, anywhere where I didn’t have to meet his intense gaze.

"This is why I told you not to run. This world isn’t a place where you can just waltz in and then simply walk away unscathed. It’ll follow you everywhere," Raphael whispered, and I knew that he was just stating the facts instead of threatening me not to leave him.

"It’s worse than I thought. You hurt people," I whispered as my voice trembled.

"We protect our family-that’s what we do and have always done," Raphael replied emotionlessly.

"Why does it have to be this way?" I asked as I tried to stop myself from crying.

"This is not a burden for you to carry, Abigail. You should not worry yourself about it. Go back to bed," Raphael advised.

I quickly turned and walked away from him as fast as I could towards the stairs that would lead me up to the second floor of the mansion. The conversation that I had just overheard still felt so raw and fresh in my mind, and I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to process it.