Araceli POV
I rushed to Unilan bar, pushed open the door to the room and saw Reynaldo lying tied up on the floor.
A man in black was holding a woman who was sobbing.
"Araceli..."
Reynaldo tried to crawl over, but was kicked by a man in a suit.
That man in black, with a cigarette in his mouth, approached me. "Did you bring the money?"
I threw a check over. "50 thousand dollars."
He picked up the check from the floor and gave me a suspicious look. After he finished confirming it, he said, "Take him and get out."
He looked at Reynaldo and said indignantly, "Bastard, if you touch my woman again, I'll kill you."
I narrowed my eyes slightly and stared at Reynaldo. He shook his head frantically and had tears in his eyes.
After the ropes were untied from Reynaldo's body, I yanked him by the collar and headed out.
"Araceli, I was wrong! Don't be angry. It's not what you think. I..."
I threw him to the floor. "Reynaldo, screw you. If you call me the next time something like this happens, I won't come. What did you do to that woman?"
Reynaldo explained, "I was drunk. When I woke up, I was tied up. A woman was crying and saying I was sexually harassing her... I don't know what happened! But I remember I didn't do anything! You have to trust me!"
I glanced at him and said coldly, "Return the money to me as soon as you get back to France tonight."
I said and left.
Reynaldo stumbled to keep up with me and accidentally fell to the floor again.
I was simply furious.
I walked over to Reynaldo, stared at him, and said, "Get up!"
Reynaldo covered his knee and said, "Araceli, that hurts! I can't walk..."
I said coldly, "If you want to stay here, I'll leave you alone."
Then, I walked outside.
Suddenly, I felt someone was staring at me.
I frowned slightly and looked ahead.
It was Raphael.
I was thinking about what to do next when Reynaldo got up from the ground and took my arm.
"Araceli, don't leave me behind..."
His face was pale, and he looked really bad.
I didn't want anything bad to happen to him, so I had to sigh slightly, help him, and walk out the door.
I nodded at Raphael, smiled awkwardly, didn't say anything, and threw Reynaldo into the back seat of my car.
Just as I was about to open the driver's side door, my arm was pulled.
I turned my head and was a little shocked when I saw Raphael's face.
"Mr. Lancaster, please let go of your hand."
I opened the car door and was about to get in, but Raphael held my arm and didn't let go.
I froze for a second and frowned slightly.
Raphael said, "Is he your husband?"
I hesitated, not replying to Raphael. After a few seconds, I said, "Mr. Lancaster, this is my personal matter."
I stared at him, my eyes firm, without the slightest fear.
"Araceli, that hurts!" Reynaldo's howl came from the back seat.
Raphael let go of my hand and said nothing more. I didn't hesitate to get in the car and drive away.
Twenty minutes later, I took Reynaldo back to my house.
I threw Reynaldo on the couch and headed for the kitchen.
Luckily, I had asked Veronica to pick up the kids right after I got the call from Reynaldo. I opened my phone and saw a text message from Veronica. The kids were at Sliver Pack's villa.
I breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at Reynaldo lying in bed, and took a sip of water.
I suddenly thought of Reynaldo when I first met him. At that time, he was drunk at a party and begged me to take him back.
I didn't know what came over me then, but I actually took him back to my house and met my kids.
When I thought of that scene now, I just thought I was really bold and didn't fear that he was a bad person. That was probably because I felt that he wasn't a bad guy from the first moment I saw him.
Reynaldo suddenly whispered, "Araceli, water..."
I walked over to him and handed him a bottle of water. He took the bottle and took a sip, as if he had sobered up a bit.
His face was red from being drunk, and his eyes were all red-blooded. When he looked at me, there was impulsiveness and desire to possess in his eyes. I smelled the alcohol on his body and suddenly got a little upset.
"Araceli, I don't know how to explain everything that happened today. I just feel bad and want to go to the bar and have a drink."
Reynaldo lay back on the couch and spoke slowly.
I frowned slightly, a little impatient, but listened anyway.
"Okay. I don't blame you, but you need to be a little more careful in the future."
Reynaldo nodded and said, "Araceli, you actually do care about me, don't you? Otherwise you wouldn't have come."
I looked at him and didn't say anything.
He thought I had acquiesced and suddenly laughed, "I knew it! Araceli, will you come back to France with me? Take Krish and Valeria with you. We can live together..."
I interrupted him before he could finish.
I said, "Reynaldo, you're drunk. I'm not going back to France. I hope you won't say that again either."
Reynaldo's eyes were suddenly lost, like a thick cloud, hiding the flash of joy that had just passed.
He took a deep breath and said, "Araceli, I'm the one who ruined everything, right? When I first met you, you rejected me, but I just wouldn't give up..."
I sat down on the floor, wrapped my hands around my knees and leaned back on the couch.
He sniffled and continued, "Was that man just now the one we saw at the hospital? To be honest, I thought he was not bad looking, though a little worse than me... Araceli, do you like him?"
I frowned slightly and didn't say anything. After two seconds of silence, I answered him, "Mr. Lancaster is my partner and boss. He made a cooperation agreement with me today and will fund my AI research. Don't think too much. Nothing happened between me and him."
As if relieved, Reynaldo went on to say, "But I think he likes you. Otherwise, why does he always come to you these days? I just saw him standing in front of your car. He came looking for you, didn't he?"
I frowned slightly, suddenly thinking of that scene just now. Why would Raphael suddenly come looking for me?
No, how did he know I was there?