CHAPTER 85: THE UNWANTED

"What time is the party starting this evening?" Raphael asked out of the blue. The surprise on Rosabella’s face must have mirrored mine at Raphael’s unexpected question. For a moment, it truly sounded like he was interested in attending the party, even though I had not said anything about it.

"It starts at 8:00 p.m., but I was thinking that we could have dinner before attending. There’s no reason for us to appear right on time," Rosabella quickly replied, and I could tell that she was extremely happy that Raphael was finally coming around.

"Sounds good," Raphael replied in agreement. My eyes widened even further, and it took all my effort not to gasp in surprise at Raphael’s agreeable attitude. I wondered what had happened to bring about such a change, but I had to admit that it did make things easier for me. Rosabella quickly went on to advertise how great the party was going to be and just how much we were going to enjoy ourselves while Raphael listened to her patiently, making relevant comments here and there. After Raphael excused himself, Rosabella turned to me and mouthed the words "thank you" with a bright smile on her face.

I returned her smile without telling her that I hadn’t actually done anything. At that time, I counted myself lucky that Raphael was suddenly acting cooperative. Perhaps his relationship with Rosabella wasn’t as strained as I thought it was.

...

By the time that dinner came around, I already felt so exhausted and wasn’t at all looking forward to the party. If anything, I wanted to shut myself inside my bedroom and enjoy some quiet privacy for the night. Instead, I found myself sitting right next to Raphael at the dining table with Rosabella sitting opposite us. I didn’t think that the atmosphere at dinner would be so awkward, and it was to blame on Raphael’s strict instruction for me to sit next to him.

“Sit here next to me, Abigail,” he instructed before pulling out the chair next to him. I could sense Rosabella glaring at me from across the dining table, but I couldn’t come up with a relevant excuse to refuse his offer.

“Thank you,” I thanked him with a small smile before seating myself down next to him.

All throughout dinner, Rosabella tried her best to make small talk and start up a conversation with Raphael, but I had to say that her efforts seemed quite futile. Raphael had returned to his taciturn, cold self, as if he had bipolar disorder.

“When do you think I should move in?” Rosabella asked suddenly. I honestly hadn’t been paying too much attention to Rosabella’s small talk until that question suddenly popped up. I felt a twinge inside my stomach as I waited impatiently for Raphael’s answer to her forward question. It was true that the two of them were engaged, and eventually they would get married, so it wasn’t completely unusual for Rosabella to be asking about when she should move in to live with Raphael. However, I still wished that she didn’t have to start this conversation or discussion when I was present.

“There’s no rush. You can wait until after the wedding,” Raphael replied flatly.

“I guess that does make sense, but would it be okay if I were to visit so that I could see if we should redo some of the interior?” Rosabella inquired with intense interest.

“Do whatever you want,” Raphael replied dismissively as his eyes seemed to scan the restaurant.

“Shall we move on to the party? It seems like we’re all done eating,” Rosabella said invitingly as she stood up from her seat.

As I watched the two of them leave the restaurant to head over to the bar where the party was going to be held, I couldn’t help but recall the short exchange that I had with Rosabella before coming to dinner.

‘I don’t think Raphael would like it if you skipped out on the party, but I trust that you’ll give us enough alone time, right?’ Rosabella asked, although I knew that it was more of a command than a question. Naturally, she wanted to spend time alone with Raphael without having me as the third wheel.

‘Of course,’ I replied.

I knew that I had to find a way to leave the two of them alone sooner or later. There was no reason for me to be there and I was already tired of playing the unwanted role of the thirdwheeler in their date.

The bar where the party was being held was already quite busy and crowded by the time we arrived. I could tell that the party was in full swing as I swept my eyes over the crowd of people who had begun dancing on the dance floor. The music was getting louder and it became difficult to converse over the loud noise. Rosabella had everything figured out and had a table reserved for us. My mind was too busy thinking of an excuse to excuse myself as I planted myself down onto my seat.

“What would you like for a drink?” Rosabella asked both of us with a bright smile.

“I’ll order for us,” Raphael replied in my state.

The music was so loud and I felt so out of place as I said at the table with Raphael and Rosabella. The way that she kept on glancing at me while trying to start a conversation but Raphael told me that she wanted me gone as soon as possible. I let out of silent sigh as I tried to make myself scarce.

“Where are you going?” Raphael practically yelled at me from across the table when he saw me stand up for my seat.

The toilet, I replied with the lamest excuse that I could come up with.

Asking for a toilet break seemed like the most natural excuse that wouldn’t lead to any further questions from Raphael. Although he narrowed his eyes at me momentarily, Raphael decided to let it slide without asking me any questions.

–To be continued...