CHAPTER 96: POSSESSIVE INTERROGATION

"I didn’t expect you to come pick me up. Are our parents worried?" I asked, trying to keep my tone playful and relaxed.

"I was passing by and thought that I could give you a ride home. If you’re done, shall we head back?" Raphael asked as if it was an offer, but I knew better. Before I could respond, Raphael was already holding my elbow and pulling me away.

"I guess this is the end of our date for today. I’ll keep in touch and let’s go on another date soon," Daniel said with a pleasant smile on his face. If Raphael’s sudden appearance disturbed him in any way, Daniel did not express it openly. If anything, I could feel that he was genuinely looking forward to our next date, and that made my heart feel heavy. I managed to flash Daniel a smile before waving my hand to say goodbye, but I couldn’t bring myself to make a commitment that we would go on another date anytime soon.

...

"I thought we were going home?" I asked curiously when Raphael did not lead me to the parking lot of the hotel.

Instead, he led me to the elevator, and soon we were riding upwards. Raphael’s firm grip on my arm and the way he refused to say a word gave me more than enough clue that he wasn’t in the best of moods.

"What are you doing here? I honestly did not expect you to turn up so suddenly like this. How did you find out I was having my date here?" I asked him all the questions that popped up in my mind.

Raphael never commented on my date with Daniel before, so I had no idea what his thoughts were on the topic. I thought he didn’t care about the fact that our parents encouraged and arranged for me to go on a date with Daniel. If anything, I thought he was in support of it because he did nothing to prevent it from happening. Even when he had the chance to speak up against our parents’ decision or to persuade them otherwise, all he did was maintain his silence. The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. We had arrived at one of the higher floors in the hotel, and without a word, Raphael pulled me out of the elevator.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked as I tried to pull back my arm.

Although we were in a very popular hotel in the heart of the city, the floor felt so deserted as if we were the only ones there. Raphael dragged me into a hotel room, and I found my insides clench when my eyes landed on the large king-size bed.

"I thought you were going to take me home," I said as I turned to face him.

"Did you enjoy your little date?" Raphael asked as he cornered me against the wall.

"It was fine," I replied stiffly, wondering what he truly wanted. I definitely did not expect Raphael to appear out of nowhere to disturb my date like that. Despite my initial shock, I felt slightly thankful that he appeared and helped me turn down Daniel, although I wished he could have done it in a nicer way.

"Do you like guys like him?" Raphael asked as he brought his face closer to mine.

Honestly, I thought that Daniel was an amazing guy. The way he talked and listened attentively told me that he truly cared about what I had to say and my opinions. He seemed respectful, and we seemed to get along decently well with each other. Daniel also looked very pleasing to the eyes, and his family background and wealth would normally place him way out of my reach. I was certain that without Bennett’s goodwill and intervention in setting up a date for us, there was no way that I was going to run into Daniel in my everyday life. However, despite all of that, I just didn’t feel that click between us, and I wasn’t attracted to Daniel in that way.

"I think Daniel is a nice guy, but I don’t like him like that," I replied softly.

"Really? Because it looked like you were really having a good time with him," Raphael said as he brought his face closer to mine. I could feel his intense gaze staring at me, and it made me unable to meet his eyes. I had no idea why he made it sound like it was my fault when it was our parents that practically forced me to go on a date with Daniel. Of course, it was troublesome to go on a date that I didn’t want to, but it was just as troublesome to deal with both Bennett and my mother’s pressing. I thought that if I went on a date with Daniel once, I could tell them that I didn’t like the guy and we could all move on from the issue.

"Listen, you know as well as I do that I only came on this date because our parents set me up for it. I didn’t meet him out of my pure free will," I said defensively as I felt something very similar to anger bubbling up inside of me.

"Really? I thought you were looking forward to it. Just as you said, Daniel is a pretty nice and decent guy," Raphael said as he increased the pressure of his hand on my arm. I felt so trapped between him and the wall, like a cornered prey at his mercy.

"What do you want from me? I don’t even know why I’m explaining myself to you when you never believe a word that I say," I said while starting to raise my voice slightly.

"You say that you didn’t want to go on a date with that guy, but you were about to go off with him instead of going home," Raphael snapped at me accusingly.

–To be continued...