SAVANNAH
My mouth fell open when I stared up at the breathtaking mansion. The enormous thing was illuminated by the bright lights. The fountain in the middle of the circle drive gave the environment a more luxurious feel.
I tried not to think about Rafe’s family wealth, not wanting that to be the reason for my attraction to him, but if there was ever a time to appreciate their fortune, this was it. The Reeds were rich, but even though I didn’t intend to compare them, I could understand now why Brett and Amara were too competitive.
“Whoa. This is not normal.”
Rafe laughed. “Come on.”
I stepped out of the car, utterly overwhelmed with the scent of the cool ocean air interlacing with the crisp and spicy wood smell. The front doors were opened almost instantly, as though someone from the inside had waited for our arrival. It turned out I was right. An elderly man with silver hair and a black suit greeted us.
“Good evening, Angus,” Rafe said, gliding his arm around my upper back. “This is my girlfriend, Savannah Gibson. Martin is my father’s head steward.”
“Good evening, Ms. Gibson,” Angus said, extending his hand to me. We briefly shook hands and spoke to Rafe. “I’ll set your things in your room, Mr. Sebastian.”
Rafe handed the head steward the keys to the car. “Is everyone resting?”
“No, sir. They are having a… a rather difficult evening in your father’s study.”
“Everyone? Including my mother?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What about?”
“I didn’t hear. But I believe they are expecting you.”
“Thank you, Angus.”
When Angus and two other attendants walked to the car, with Rafe’s hand still at the small of my back, he whispered to my ear. “He means debating… More like arguing.”
“At this hour?” I glanced at my wristwatch. It was past eleven in the evening. “Rafe, are you sure this is a good time? I can just wait for you. Where do I stay?”
“We should at least say hello. It’s a family norm, I’m afraid.”
Well, I wasn’t at all tired. I wouldn’t be able to stay in place while waiting for him. “Yeah, sure. We have the whole night.”
He smiled. “Yes. Come on. I can’t wait to have you alone, either.”
With this, I felt we were getting more intimate. Meeting your boyfriend’s parents was huge, given they could become my in-laws. It was a huge step every woman must face. As for me, I did it twice.
Rafe directed me to the long twin staircases in the middle of the hall, his arm still secured on my hip. Then, we turned east wing toward the end of the corridor, walking past tall and wide doors. The walls were white combined with a flat granite accent. Heck, these rooms must be larger than my brother’s apartment.
We found Carter coming out of the door at the end of the wing.
“When did you arrive?” he asked before Rafe could speak. “Hey, Savi.”
“Hey.” I greeted back with a small smile.
“Just now. What’s going on?” Rafe asked.
“Dad and Adam are having a heart-to-heart conversation.” He sighed, resting his hands on his waist.
“About what?”
“It’s best if you come in for diversion. Dad listens to you,” Carter advised.
Rafe smirked. “Since when? I thought that was Julian.”
“Yes, but bro hasn’t said anything.” Carter looked at me. “Sorry about this sudden family drama, Sav. But you’ll get used to it. We have moments like this once in a while.”
I exchanged gazes with Rafe. “It’s just that my timing is perfect,” I said.
He ran his hands at the back of his nape. “Oh, no. We invited you, so you’re welcome here. Go on, and good luck.”
“How about you?” Rafe asked.
“I’m excused. I have orders to call someone.” Carter patted his brother’s shoulder and marched the opposite way.
Rafe headed to the door, which I assumed was his father’s study. He had his hand on mine as we continued. He didn’t knock before entering.
“This is a scandal!” Rafe’s Dad’s roar was the first thing I heard.
I jerked in surprise, and my heartbeat sped up. Rafe shielded me with his strong arm.
The other two brothers were there, and their mom. They were all quiet. Adam’s head was down and standing like a statue in the living area in front of the fireplace. Julian and another beautiful young woman at his side were sitting on the sofa. Their mother, the birthday celebrant, was holding her husband’s arm. She had a sad expression on her face.
“It’s only a scandal if one of us takes this out to the public,” Julian said.
“I didn’t raise you to become like this, Adam,” Benjamin said, ignoring Julian’s comment. “Some kind of monster indulging in such a ghastly way of life. I’m so disappointed. What are you going to do about it now? I certainly will never support you being that way.”
“Why ask me when you’re just going to shove me your own beliefs?” Adam talked back.
“You scoundrel! Ungrateful brat!” Benjamin raised his hand and was about to hit him, but Rachel stepped in the middle to stop her husband.
“Stop!” Rachel cried. “Don’t do this, Ben. Don’t do something you will regret later. Please. For me, please. Adam has been good to us.”
“So you accept this? His… his… immorality that makes him less of a human?”
I thought my heart had just stopped beating. I squeezed my eyes shut.
“What did you just say?” Adam retaliated.
“Adam, don’t,” Julian warned.
“No. He doesn’t know a thing about us. Or anyone in this house, Jules. You’re the favorite and the perfect, so you might feel differently.” Adam turned his gaze back to their dad. “You just thought you knew about us, but you don’t.”
I didn’t know much about Adam. When I first saw him, I thought he seemed approachable. What did he do that drove his dad to say those to his own son? Why did I have to witness this now? Good Lord. I should’ve waited outside.
Benjamin finally landed a hit on his son’s face. “Lies! I don’t know you. You are not the Adam I know.”
“Benjamin!” Rachel screamed and immediately attended to her son. “How could you?”
“That’s not my son, Rache.” He pointed his finger at him. “Get him out of my face this instant before I fucking punch him in the gut.”
“Oh my God.” I clamped my mouth in shock at the pressure resonating all the way to me. Was this how their father was? Poor Adam.
“I didn’t know it was serious,” Rafe whispered. “I’m so sorry, Savi. Give me a moment.”
I nodded.
“That’s enough!” Rafe called out, marching toward his family, leaving me standing by the door, feeling overwhelmed. “You don’t get the right to hit anyone. Not anymore.”
Anymore? Had their father done this before too? To whom? To Rafe? Oh, God. I couldn’t even imagine anyone hurting him.
Adam laughed humorlessly, wiping the blood on his busted lip. “See? Even Rafe thinks you’re being too entitled. Hurry up and take his throne because he will kill us all.”
“I said that’s enough, Adam,” Rafe said. His voice was low and calculated, but there was an authority. “We’ll talk about this later.”
Adam nodded and stepped aside.
“Nah. This is what happens when you tolerate your brothers at their whims.” Benjamin waved his hand at Rafe in dismissal. “This isn’t what you should do to your family, Rafael. You should focus more on being the head of this family. We don’t tolerate immoral doings. I told you this.”
Rafe shoved his fingers through his hair. “It’s a lifestyle, Dad. Whatever he does, it’s his privacy. That doesn’t make him less of a human. Adam is the most capable here.” Whatever they were talking about, it seemed Rafe knew about it.
Benjamin grunted. “You’re too soft. This isn’t what I thought of you. We are a family. It is my right to correct nasty things my sons do. We only learn from the good things and throw what is wicked, son. We only do things honorable. We are born to become role models to society. But what Adam does, isn’t. It’s evil. Sinful. Dark.”
“Maybe he’s tired of it!” Rafe snapped, and that sentence caught everyone’s attention as if he had only said those for the first time. I was surprised too. I never saw him this agitated. “He’s tired of following everything you want, but nothing is still good enough. You keep lecturing us, and we oblige, but nothing will ever satisfy you. I just realized that now.”
“Oh, Rafe…” Rachel reached out to her son. “Not you, too.”
“No, mother. Enough is enough,” Rafe urged.
Benjamin pivoted and faced the burning wood in the fireplace. “You’re right, son. Nothing satisfied me, so I still thought you were not ready to inherit my legacy.”
Rafe chuckled mirthlessly. He lifted his head and took a deep breath before speaking again, “You know I used to be so afraid of you. No, I still fear you. Because who knows what you will do to get what you want, right? To Adam, at least.” He glanced at each of his family’s faces.
Their voices turned muted when someone suddenly appeared next to me.
“Hello.” It was the beautiful young woman next to Julian. Boy, she was gorgeous as hell, and pregnant. Her belly was still small, but she already had a visible baby bump. She had a pair of big round eyes, a small nose, and pouty pink lips. How old was she? She only looked like in her mid-twenties.
But how did she get here? I didn’t notice her.
“Hi.”
She smiled. “I’m Anya. I’m Julian’s wife. You must be Rafe’s girlfriend.”
“I’m Savi. Yes, nice to meet you.”
I smiled back and we shook hands. “I’m sorry about this.”
“Are they always like that?”
She shook her head. “There were bad days, but not as loud as this. This was the first time I saw Benjamin so angry. He is a good father, I think, but he’s really very old-fashioned.”
“What did Adam do—oh, no. I’m sorry.” I chuckled nervously. “Don’t answer that. It’s not my business.”
She nodded, still smiling. “You can ask Rafe. I’m glad to know you’re real. And you’re very beautiful.”
I didn’t know why or how, but the thorn in my chest slowly faded, looking at Anya’s smile. “Thank you. But why do you think I’m not?”
“No, not me. I never doubted Rafe. He’s uptight, but he’s always sincere. It’s just… Benjamin thought Rafe’s making up stories. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not surprised.” I glanced back at the scene. “Rafe told me a bit about him.”
“But don’t worry. Tomorrow it will be as if nothing happened. We have a party to look forward to, anyway. It’s really a pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Thanks. It’s my pleasure, too.”
I shifted my attention back to my man and his father.
“We don’t care about this bullshit,” Rafe shouted. “By the way, I only came here for Mom’s birthday, and I brought my girlfriend with me to say hello. So, hello, Dad.” He faced his mother again and kissed her cheek. “Good night, Mom.”
He rushed back to me and then grabbed my wrist. “Come.”
“But we just got—”
Rafe dragged me out of the room without getting to formally meet everyone.