Chapter 866: Again
Arabelle lay still on the couch, staring at the entrance to the kitchen. She hated how he had ruined it for her. Now, she couldn’t even step inside without thinking about what had happened there yesterday. The memories made her shudder, her body betraying her with a faint ache that wouldn’t go away. Damn it! Rafael Ignis was impossible. He had turned her life upside down in just a few hours.
Good thing she had sent him away so quickly. She couldn’t imagine what would have happened if she had let him stay the night. Her kitchen, her bathroom, even her bedroom—they all felt ruined now. She couldn’t be in those places without seeing flashes of him, of them, and everything they’d done. She could not even be in these place without imagining him and herself naked. And they had not even done anything in that bedroom... which was a shame really... She shook her head. Nope. Not going to digress there.
This was for the best, she told herself firmly. Letting things escalate with Rafael would only lead to disaster—for her career, and for her carefully constructed life. Rafael was a storm, unpredictable and consuming, and she couldn’t afford to be swept up in it. Not when some things from her own past could end up ruining him and her.
But no matter how many times she repeated those words, they didn’t make her feel better. Instead, her chest felt heavy, like something was missing.
She had felt something last night, something real and different. It wasn’t just about how amazing he was with her physically, though that part was unforgettable. No, it was deeper than that. He made her feel seen, like he understood a part of her that she tried to keep hidden. And that scared her. It had been so easy to let him in, to let her guard down around him. Too easy.
"Stop thinking about it," she muttered, running her hands through her hair. "You told him to leave. You told him to forget everything. Now you need to do the same."
Still, his voice stayed in her head, as if he were standing right behind her. She hated how much she missed it, how much she missed him, even though she barely knew him.
With a sigh, she stood up and began pacing the room. She had come to Petrovia for work, not for distractions. Rafael was a distraction, nothing more. She had a life to focus on, plans to make, and goals to reach. She couldn’t let herself get pulled off track because of one night—even if that night had been... incredible.
She paused, shaking her head as if to clear it. "This is ridiculous," she whispered. "I need to move on. I need to invite people over for the charity dinner, make plans, and focus on why I’m here."