Araceli POV
Carina smiled, with hypocrisy in her eyes.
"Araceli, Melany was concerned about you, and that's why she went to inquire about you. If it weren't for Melany, we wouldn't have known that you had two children. I heard Melany say that the father of those two children is the chairman of the Fleming Group, Mr. Ramon Fleming..."
I raised my eyes sharply.
No wonder Ramon suddenly approached me!
It turned out that Melany had revealed to him about me...
I sneered, "Carina, listen, my two children have nothing to do with anyone!"
"Nothing to do with anyone?" Carina smiled arrogantly, "Mr. Fleming has contacted us. He said he wants custody of your two children back. We are family, aren't we? Let's talk this over..."
"I don't want to talk about it."
I said, my voice chilling.
"Araceli, if Mr. Fleming is really the father of your two children, we do have to talk this over," Hailie sighed, "You gave birth to them alone and worked so hard to raise them. We don't want that man to just take them away either."
"My children have nothing to do with anyone!"
My voice was firm.
I was getting a little impatient at the mention of it, even when I was facing Hailie.
Carina said, "Araceli, Mr. Fleming said he would find a way to divorce his current wife. After that, he will take you and the two children over. You will be the wife of the chairman of the Fleming Group. What's wrong with that?"
Carina continued, "The Fleming family also has a lot of business in New York. By the way, Araceli, you were in France, weren't you? Mr. Fleming said he would like to settle there with you! What man would do such a thing for you? Since Mr. Fleming likes you, you should really marry him. After you marry him, who will dare to look down on you in the future?"
Zackary snorted coldly and said, "After you marry into the Fleming family, you can develop Eclipse Group's market in France. It's two birds with one stone. You'd better do as we say..."
I shuddered with anger.
They called me back for dinner tonight to force me to marry Ramon...
I pushed back my chair, stood up, and said word by word, "If you like Mr. Fleming so much, why don't you marry Melany to him? I believe Mr. Fleming will not refuse. Anyway, he just wants a lover, not a wife."
As soon as I said that, Carina's expression changed.
I didn't want to talk to them anymore and turned around to leave.
"How can you say that? You and your mother are the same kind of woman!"
Zackary yelled, slapping the table in anger.
"Araceli, you really let us down..."
Carina sighed.
"Why did Araceli refuse? Does she want to be single for the rest of her life? We're all doing it for her own good!"
"That's enough!"
Hailie said, "I just don't want to make it so hard for Araceli, and that's why I came back to discuss this with you guys. Both of you are going too far! Why didn't you guys tell me that Mr. Fleming has a family? I would never have approved of Araceli marrying him! You guys are crazy!"
I shook my head, not wanting to listen to their argument anymore, and quickly walked out.
...
I drove to the Royal Pack's villa to pick up Krish and Valeria, and soon I arrived.
I stood at the door and saw a heartwarming image.
Valeria and Krish were asleep on the couch in the living room.
Valeria was sleeping in Raphael's arms, and Krish was sleeping beside them.
Raphael was holding Valeria carefully.
An electric current seemed to flow through my heart.
I slowly walked over.
Raphael heard my footsteps and looked at the door. When he saw me, he let out a small sigh of relief and said, "You're finally back."
"Thank you, Mr. Lancaster."
I whispered my thanks.
I thought Maddox would take care of Valeria and Krish, but I didn't expect Raphael to be the one taking care of them.
He was always indifferent to everything, but he actually took care of the children.
It was unbelievable...
I gently walked over, bent down, and picked Valeria up.
The moment I bent over, the collar of my shirt fell downward. I couldn't cover it in time, so I had to hurry and pick up Valeria.
When I looked up, I saw Raphael hastily avert his eyes.
I didn't think much of it and carried Valeria outside.
Suddenly, both my eyes went black.
A wave of spinning sensation came over me, as if it was going to engulf me.
I had worked too hard today and had gone to deal with my father and stepmother.
I just felt out of breath and unsteady on my feet. I couldn't even scream.
I couldn't make a sound from my throat.
The next second, my whole body fell backwards.
Instinctively, I held the baby in my arms and closed my eyes.
To my surprise, the pain did not come. Instead, it was a warm, sturdy chest.
I breathed a small sigh of relief.
I opened my eyes and met Raphael's eyes.
In the dim light, his eyes were filled with mixed feelings.
I don't know how to describe the way he looked at me, all I know is that my face was turning red fast.
Suddenly, an ethereal voice came from my brain.
"Araceli, it's him. That night..."
It was my wolf, Eve's voice.
Before I could realize what it meant, Raphael helped me up.
I looked back up and said, embarrassed, "Thank you, Mr. Lancaster."
My voice was inexplicably a little muffled.
I adjusted my breathing and sat down on the couch.
"I'll drive you guys back."
Raphael held Valeria into his arms and headed for the door.
I looked at his back and suddenly felt the urge to be close to him.
I pursed my lips and pushed the strange emotion down.
I turned slightly sideways and picked Krish up.
Krish opened his eyes slightly. He saw it was me, closed his eyes, and slept reassuringly.
I carried him out the door and saw that Raphael had already put Valeria in the child seat in the car.
I put Krish in the other child seat.
Raphael stood in front of the car, as if he had something else to say to me.
I said gently, "Mr. Lancaster, thank you for taking care of Krish and Valeria tonight."
"That's the third time you've said 'thank you'."
Raphael's eyes fell on me.
He pursed his lips, as if he wanted to say something.
I stared at him, wondering what he was thinking.
There was something I had to tell him.