Araceli POV
Suddenly, his cell phone vibrated.
He let go of me and said gently, "Wait for me on the roof."
After he said that, he took his cell phone and walked to a secluded area to answer it.
Raphael's voice was small, but I heard it anyway.
A little puzzled, he said, "Leyla?"
I stood still and didn't move, watching Raphael walk out the door as he made the call.
I didn't really care and headed for the roof.
It was a little windy tonight. I sat on the roof, unconsciously hugging my body tighter.
I looked out at the night scene in front of me. The night sky was dotted with stars that dotted the dark background like diamonds glittering faintly. The moon also loomed between the gaps in the clouds, shedding soft moonlight.
Suddenly, the balcony door was pushed open.
It was Melany.
"What did you want to talk to me about?"
I glanced at her and turned my head, looking out into the night. "Melany, have you slept well every night for the past five years?"
"There's no one here, so just say what you have to say and don't beat around the bush with me."
Melany sneered, "As I said before, I can give you everything you want as long as you leave New York."
"I finally understand why you're so afraid of me staying in New York."
I shook my wine glass and said indifferently, "As soon as I came back, you tried every means possible to get me out of here. I always thought that you were afraid that I would take your position as heir, but I realize now that it wasn't that at all..."
I turned my head and stared into Melany's eyes.
She was clearly a little uneasy.
After hesitating for a moment, Melany stared at me and said through clenched teeth, "Didn't you come back this time just to take away everything I have now? I won't back down..."
When I heard that, I just felt ridiculous and laughed.
I put my glass down and looked toward her without fear, choking her.
My voice was as cold as ice.
"Being an Eclipse heir is almost nothing compared to being Mr. Lancaster's wife.Melany, you're afraid that Mr. Lancaster is in love with me, aren't you?"
"You're crazy!"
Melany gritted her teeth. "Raphael is only interested in you, but he will never marry you. He'll always come back to me. I'm the biological mother of his two children, so he's bound to marry me..."
"Are you?"
I sneered, looking at her.
Melany shuddered slightly and didn't say another word. She gritted her teeth and said, word for word, "I am! "
I shook my head and stopped looking at her. "Melany, are Micah and Essel really your biological children?"
I said, word for word, slowly. Each word was like a sharp knife, plunging hard into Melany's heart.
Melany's breathing suddenly became rapid. She panicked and explained, "Of course they are my biological children! How dare you..."
I interrupted Melany without mercy.
"I'm curious as to what exactly you did to fool everyone at Royal Pack.Raphael is so smart to believe that you are Micah and Essel's mother. Was it that easy?"
Melany was shaking. She no longer hid her fear and insecurity, it's on full display for me to see.
I smiled contemptuously and looked at her.
Melany now finally realized that I already knew the whole truth.
The set-up she had been working so hard on for so many years had been unceremoniously exposed by me.
"Let me guess, you should have done a paternity test with my hair to convince Raphael of everything, right?"
My eyes filled with a sneer. "Melany, you were wrong from the start. Micah and Essel aren't your children, so no matter how perfectly you weave your lies, you won't be able to sever the connection between me and my children at the deepest level of blood.Essel recognized me as her real mother from the first time she saw me. Did you know that?"
Melany's face turned pale and she looked horrified.
"Araceli, if it wasn't for me, Micah and Essel would have died five years ago!"
Melany trembled and angrily pointed her finger in my face. "I saved them! That's what you owe me! Not only can't you get back at me, but you should repay me for saving your two children!"
I sneered. As soon as Raphael found out about this, Melany would be completely screwed.
Even Eclipse would be affected.
"Seeing as you saved my two children, I can let you off the hook for now."
I said coldly, "But what Raphael will do, I don't know..."
Melany's lips were pale, her eyes frightened and troubled.
She had never been afraid of anyone, except Raphael.
Raphael was cold, ruthless, and had no mercy for his enemies.
If he knew Melany had lied to him for so many years, I bet he would have killed Melany.
"Araceli, don't do this... I beg you..."
Melany grabbed my hand and begged in a low voice.
At this moment, Melany's dream of becoming Raphael's wife was shattered.
"Raphael doesn't know about this for now..."
I said calmly as I shook her hand away hard.
Melany breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as Raphael didn't know yet, there were still many possibilities.
Tentatively, I asked, "Who else knows about this, besides you?"
I knew exactly what Melany was thinking.
I sneered and said, "Are you trying to silence everyone who knows about this? Do you think you can keep this secret forever?"
Melany completely froze.
"I wrote an email a long time ago with a paternity report attached. As soon as something happens to me, that e-mail will automatically be sent to everyone's e-mail address at Royal Pack, including Raphael's."
I calmly said, "If you dare to kill me, your biggest secret will be exposed. Your reputation, your status, everything you own will be gone in an instant. And, guess how Raphael will kill you?"
Melany was shaking with anger.
I'd never seen her this angry and terrified before. I thought she must be so angry right now that she wanted to kill me on the spot.
However, I was certain she wouldn't dare do that.
"I can keep this secret for you for now, but I have one condition," I sneered, "I want you to stay away from my children. I will assure you that Raphael will never know about this anytime soon."
Melany slowly calmed down.
She looked at me and asked, "You think I'm going to believe you? Why don't you tell Raphael about this? If he knew you were Micah and Essel's real mother..."
"Do you think all women are as vain as you?"
I picked up my wine glass and took a drink, saying coldly, "I'm not interested in Raphael."
Melany's eyes narrow.
"You don't like Raphael?"
"If it wasn't for the kids, I wouldn't have had any dealings with him at all."
I said, "The reason I'm keeping this a secret is that I don't want to be targeted by Royal Pack for it. It just so happens that this will keep you off Raphael's radar for a while. It's a win-win, so I want you to mind your own business. Don't try to provoke me. Otherwise, the consequences will be severe."
Actually, I didn't want to expose this because I didn't want custody of Krish and Valeria to be taken away from Royal Pack.
I would never let Raphael know about this until I had figured out what to do.
Melany takes a sip of her wine and nods slightly.
It was rare that we agreed on this.
Melany knew that as long as this wasn't known to Raphael just yet, then she was still safe.
I would find a way, though.