"You don't have to, really. I'd rather-"

"Would you prefer Alicia to prepare food at home?"

"Don't wake her up now for nothing," I mumbled.

I got out of bed and headed towards the walk-in closet, paused for a moment, and looked at Rafael.

Then I caught the glimpse of my alarm clock and paused.

"Nothing will be open at this hour"

"They will be open for us, you don't need to worry"

What did he mean by that?

"Fine" I relented not wanting to fight with him. "What should I wear?"

"Wear the dress I bought for you"

Is this was his way of announcing that he bought me a gift?

"You bought a dress for me?" I asked confused.

He nodded "When I went shopping with Casey"

"You and Casey. Shopping?" I repeated even more weirded out"

He looked at me with amusement. "Eliana. I was an ass to her for the past several weeks it was the least I could do"

"That's the impressive level of self-awareness Mr. Vincenti" I responded finding it funny. He was probably the only person that would dare to refer to him in this way.

"Why it's good to know I can impress you, Mrs. Vincenti"

Mrs. Vincenti... I don't know if I can ever get used to the last name change. I wanted to keep my old surname "Snow" but Rafael said that this was uncommon thing in his world for women to keep their maiden name and we wanted to make our relationship to look realistic. So I was now Eliana Vincenti... Vincenti... like him. For now. I will have to change it back to Snow after our deal ends.

"If you knew you're acting like an ass why you kept doing it?" I asked curiously.

"I can be very nice if people do as I say. But I have no trouble with their life harder if they choose to misbehave" he said simply.

"Good to know" I said drily and in return I received honest, sincere smile.

"I am satisfied with Casey's recent behavior, that's all. She finally learned some respect and if you hadn't notice as of late she made zero escape attempts. So to put it simply if I need to be an ass to get what I want I gladly take the role if I don't need to be the one that's also fine"

"So you like to use positive reinforcement. Noted. And what did I do to deserve a gift from you?" I asked referring to the beautiful silky dress that was now in my hands.

"Nothing. I just wanted to see you in this"

I blushed at this honest and I wanted to be happy but butterflies with my stomach were crushed when I reminded to myself what's actually in my fucking stomach.

I couldn't even smile. When I thought about it I felt like throwing up. I need to remove it as soon as possible.

The dress Rafael bought for me was indeed beautiful and I wondered when did it happened? When did he started to care enough to buy me such gifts?

The dress was long and had a navy blue color. It had stars made from golden thread embroidered on the thick, dark material. Rafael was in a suit black suit with a bow tie and he looked too good to be true.

We ended up in very elegant restaurant in the city center. The restaurant was indeed open for us.

Only for us. There was no one else there. The interior looked fancy, too fancy if you'd ask me. It was a little overwhelming.

Neatly dressed waiter led us to a table and began by offering us something to drink.

Shit, I can't drink alcohol right now.

"No wine. I'll just have water," I said quickly and handed over a drink menu to the waiter. Rafael gave me questioning look, but ultimately didn't comment on my decision.

Eventually I opted for a tomato salad with ricotta cheese & balsamic vinegar. Rafael ordered cannelloni for himself.

When the waiter left us we were sitting in silence for moment but then we filled the void with a brief discussion about the progress of the custody case. Soon I will be assigned as Casey permanent guardian. At least in this area I succeeded.

Then, unfortunately he changed a topic.

"Why do you lack appetite? Are you feeling unwell?" Rafael asked, trying to understand why I haven't ate dinner today.

"Not at all, I'm perfectly fine. I just wasn't hungry. It's simple," I replied evasively and took a bite of my salad.

"I see. Now care to tell me why haven't you've been picking up my calls?"

"What, are you my mother?" I asked irritated. Now, this question was sudden and I wasn't prepared. I can't tell him where I was.

"Mind your tone with me, Eliana" Rafael warned his eyes darkened. I was immediately embarrassed of snapping at him and intimidated by his burning gaze.

I was angry at myself and I was taking it out on him. I mean, that was part of his fault, actually. So I had a right to be angry and rude a little bit. I wanted to exercise this right, disregarding the consequences.

"Don't try to control my tone" I slammed my hand on the table which surprised even me. I looked at the hand that made this loud act that made the whole table tremble. Unfortunately, I had to look up and look at Raphael who, didn't appreciate my attitude.

He stood up and I almost did so too. But I'm paralyzed state with morbid fascination I watched how he comes closer to me, so now he stands behind my back. His hands were now resting on top of my shoulders it felt heavy but his touch was surprisingly gentle. He leaned towards me so now I could feel the smell of his cologne and he whispered into my ear.

"Why are you trying my patience today? Is there any good reason for that?"

"Why are you so close?"

"To make sure you behave"

"Wait. Stop, please I can't focus" I moaned when he bit my ear. "Ouch"

"Will you continue acting like a brat or calm down?"

"I-I will calm down" I said obediently. And then he left. I could breathe again. Shit, this man had too much effect on me.

"Eat," he ordered just as the waiter arrived with my salad.

He didn't have to remind me twice. Just to do something, to move from an awkwardness, to calm my quickly beating heart I started stuffing myself with a salad.

The silence was killing me. Rafael didn't seem to mind. He was sitting them calm and collected, looking perfect and slowly consuming his meal. His table manners was perfect.

But I had to fill the silence with something so of course I started the worst topic possible because of my

"Rafael?"

"Yes?"

"What do you think about kids?" I asked without thinking.

I'm so fucking stupid.

❤️❤️❤️

Dear Readers,

Leave for Eliana your thoughts and prayers she's gonna need it 😂

Also I hope you know that without your comments this chapter wouldn't show up so soon? Your feedback really keeps me motivated and puts a smile on my face so thank you and I hope you will let me know what you think about this chapter.❤️