Olivia waited for another two seconds after her second knock before she reached for the door handle, turned it and helped herself inside the warm room.

She could feel how her chest tightened with every step she took inside and how her palms had gotten sweaty all of a sudden. She had spent the entire time outside pacing in anxiety, wandering thoughts, and wondering if it was too early for her to suddenly be in his bedroom again.

The room was extremely quiet, more quiet than she had imagined. She couldn't find him anywhere as far as her eyes could cover. They settled on the bed and she fully turned to face it. Cliché but she couldn't explain how euphoric she suddenly became. She could feel cold chills pass through her body engulfing it with tiny bumps, goosebumps right around both arms. Just staying there, staring at the bed she once slept in made her body warm again, maybe a bit warmer than it usually was. She could feel how her insides suddenly started heating up as she bit gently on her lower lip while her memories of them started to wander back into her mind. Like a wild hallucination, she could remember their moments, all of them, all of those  intense memories right there. She liked the thought of it, she liked where her mind was taking her, she liked the tingling feeling on her skin each time she remembered how she used to be wrapped in his arms, of how she was on him and he was on her, making love to each other. How he always sought her pleasure first and every time.

Her breathing got louder as her fantasies got even stronger. She remembered it all, it was like her body was reacting to it from where she stood, like she was reliving those moments right there, in that room, with the tingling sensation between her thighs. Memories of his breath drawing warm tracks on her skin enveloped her mind, of how his lips somehow always sought her neckline and showered them with slow kisses. She could remember his low, and yet rough grunt as he whispered her name every time he thrusted inside her. She loved the way her body always trembled under his.

She scoffed.

"What on earth is wrong with you Olivia?"
She mumbled to herself, shushing her thoughts away so they didn't put her into more trouble than she was already was. It was like she had lost her mind.

Olivia raised her hand to her forehead and gave it a gentle rub right before she settled a finger below her nose so the rest of her fingers could cover her lips.

She had spent a lot of weeks convincing her body about how it didn't need him. She had pushed the thoughts of him away and blocked him out of her mind so she didn't randomly think about him that way and it only took her to be back in his room and all those thoughts came rushing back in.

Maybe it was the pregnancy, it had to be. That was the only way for her to convince herself that she had not lost her mind. She lowered her head in total embarrassment. What was she doing there anyway? Why was she there if she didn't even know how to behave? She wasn't sure she could do it, she wasn't sure she could trust herself enough to be in the same room with him.

She shook her head. It wasn't going to work. He owned her, literally, and she almost had no control under his touch. She knew one thing now, she knew she couldn't risk it. She had fought so hard to get over it, to get to that point and if she stayed one more minute, if she let her guards down the way her body craved for it, it was only going to take his touch to make her forget everything she was fighting for.

She turned to leave.

"Olivia?"

She froze immediately for about a few seconds, wondering if she had heard right. She raised her head the moment she had a confirmation in her spirit that he had called her and her hands dropped from her face right after. She turned abruptly to him without thinking.

Olivia widened her gaze at the sight of him in front of her.

Rafael's face had brightened even more after the shower he had. His bright eyes shimmered as they looked right into hers while she lowered her gaze on him slowly, taking in the sight of his perfect build. She liked how his skin radiated even better with the sun rays forcing its entire brightness through the little opening his curtains made in the window, and how his muscles visibly tensed in a good form around his chest area. She always loved the core on his stomach and it looked like it grew even stronger while she was away. Had he been working out?

She lowered her gaze even further to his waistline and swallowed hard the moment she realized just how low his trousers was sitting on him without his belt on.

"Oh god." She turned around immediately and shut her eyes the moment she did, placing a hand over them so she didn't see him anymore.

Why? What was it?

Rafael took a few more steps in, squinting his eyes like he was trying to have a good look at her to see if she was okay. He had no idea why she seemed so startled to see him.

"Are you alright?"

She pulled her arm back and stretched it to stop him from getting any closer while she left the other over her eyes.

"I'm fine."

Rafael stopped.

"Could you please put some clothes on?"
She asked him, not daring to turn back. Rafael lowered his gaze back on himself and in a minute he understood what it was she was shocked by. He let out a weak breath and turned to head back into his dressing room.

"Did something happen?"

Olivia felt less tensed when she recognized how far he was from the sound of his voice. She slowly let her hand down and pulled it back to her side, widening her fingers of the other hand covering her face, and turning slightly to see through the spaces. She dropped them the moment she saw he wasn't there and let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry I startled you, I didn't hear you knock." He went on as she slowly turned to the direction of the dressing room.

"No, it's totally fine." She said as loudly as she could just so he could hear her. "I should have knocked louder. I didn't know you were in the bath-"
Olivia could feel the tone in her voice drop as she said the rest of her words "room" while she watched him walk back into the room. He was fully dressed now and had his white shirt tucked perfectly in his beige trousers.

"Yeah, bathroom is sound proof, remember?" He raised his head to her.

Olivia swallowed hard,
Oh yes she remembered, of course she remembered, it was one of their favorite places to do it, one of her favorite things about it. Of course she remembered, she was just thinking about it a moment ago.

Rafael exhaled, the moment he realized how unreceptive she was.

"Do you need something?"

She widened her eyes.

"Huh?" She asked in shock. He raised both brows and it was then she realized just how crazy she was acting.

Get yourself together Olivia!

"No, not at all," she shook her head, then rubbed her arms to keep herself warm. "I just stopped by to say thank you"

Rafael frowned.

"For what?" He asked stretching out his tie in front of him so he could fix it well before he placed it around his collar.

Olivia shrugged her shoulders.

"I didn't really get the chance to thank you for saving me and Grace back at Amy's." She started. "I don't want to think of what would have happened if you hadn't showed up. I also wanted to thank you for taking Grace and I to the hospital, and for staying with me till the end."

Rafael exhaled. He started to take few steps towards her.

"There's really nothing to thank me for Olivia, I was just doing what I always would, I was looking out for you and Grace."

She nodded.
She knew, she had never for one moment doubted his intentions towards her and Grace. She had never for one moment considered that he was never going to protect them.

"But still, I would like you to know how much it meant to me, means to me, to us, the way you care for Grace like she was your own."

"Come on, of course I would don't be silly. She's practically my child as well."

Olivia exhaled and lowered her gaze to her joined hands, he exhaled too and then took a few steps to her until he was right in front of her. He gently reached for her arms and it passed very cold tingles down her arm. She slowly turned to look at it just as he caressed her.

"Come here." He said as he pulled her to sit on the bed. He sat down right beside her and placed a finger under her chin. With it, he pulled her chin up just so she could look into his eyes.

"You and Grace are my family and there is nothing in this world that I would not do for you both." He told her.
"I know things haven't gone exactly as we both had hoped they would, I know that everything going on right now is a lot to take in, especially since the situation with my father-"

"Rafael."

"Just hold on." He told her so she didn't say anything to interrupt him.

Olivia exhaled.

"I'm going to make things right Olivia." He continued, letting his bright eyes stare right into hers. "Whatever it takes, whatever I have to do, I am going to do right by you and try to become a man that's deserving of you and our family. Now I know that I can't possibly take back what my family did to you, but I am going to make sure my father never does what he did to you and all those people from the village to anyone else."

Olivia held her breath. She really didn't know what to say. She wish she did but she wasn't sure she had the right words. She thought about it every day and in all honesty, she hated the kind of responsibilities Rafael was putting on himself. She felt guilty, too guilty at the thought of what was going on as it was, hearing him confirm it just- she didn't know how to process it.

She turned back to the bed in an attempt to lighten the mood. She could feel how a smile tried to push its way to her lips.

"It has not been slept in."

Rafael pushed himself closer to her taking a minute to understand what she was talking about.

"Huh?"

She turned to him and smiled, caressing the bedsheet slowly and shook her head.

"I just remembered how you always let me take the other side of the bed even when it was your favorite place to sleep in. It doesn't look like it's your favorite anymore seeing how you didn't sleep in it all night. Anyone would think you didn't because you were hoping someone else did, waiting for someone else to,"

She laughed at the thought of it, keeping her eyes glued to him as she did, while he just watched her like he didn't get the joke. Olivia could see the look in his eyes, she could read him. She could tell how his frown even worsened after her joke. Talk about telling bad jokes at the wrong time.

Was she right? Did he really not sleep in the other side of the bed because of her? Because he he didn't want to get too comfortable in it before she was back to being in it? Was back to being with him again?

Olivia could feel how the smile on her face slowly disappeared just as Rafael cleared his throat and looked away, she looked away too, totally embarrassed at how she had been thinking and saying a lot of rubbish since she got in. She sighed and turned back to him quickly. She was about to change the topic again. She had to.

"About what happened at Amy's the other day," Rafael turned to her too. "The women, the ones that attacked me."

He nodded.

"What about them?"

"I uh-" she scoffed, she wasn't sure that what she was about to say didn't sound disappointing, she was extremely nervous to tell him too.
"I don't want to press charges against them."

Rafael let out a weak scoff as he turned away from her. Olivia straightened her back.

"It's just that I don't think sending them to jail is necessary. I understand why they acted that way, if what they said is really true, then it means that I have put them in a tight spot due to my decision to get on with the trial-"

"Olivia-"

"Anyone would do the same thing, think about it, those women, they probably don't have anything else after this, they are just as much as victims like I am. Anyone in their shoes would be that upset and frustrated-"

"It was a lie."

Silence.....

Olivia stared at him for about three seconds after he said what he said. She could see how he rubbed his hands around each other, as he settled his elbows on his spread thighs, keeping his gaze on them. He was nervous, she could see it.

"What?"

Rafael got up immediately and turned, he scratched his forehead gently. He didn't know how to say it, he didn't know what to say. Olivia watched him, oblivious of what was going on.

"What was a lie Rafael?" She drawled. She was getting really scared now. She watched how Rafael turned to her and sighed, dropping his hand from his head.

"There's something you need to know Olivia."

She didn't understand why the tone in his voice had suddenly changed and why the air in the room had changed either but she could sense it. Something was definitely not right.

"Rafael," her voice trembled. "Your scaring me?"

"Randoil isn't bankrupted." He told her.

She paused for a second, it was like she had stopped breathing.

"I don't-" she shook her head. "I don't understand."

"It was just a rumor Randal started in order to get the attention of the public and justification to lay off staff. It's all a part of his plan to scare you into dropping the case. He leaked your address to the press too. Those women? The ones that attacked you and Grace? He also sent them to startle you."

"What?"

"Their stories were all lies."

Olivia could feel her hands tremble on her thighs. Everything was happening so fast, too fast that she was having a hard time processing all that information at once. Was it really true? Did Randal leak her address to the press and also send those women to attack her and Grace? Olivia could feel how her eyes suddenly became glossy as tears filled them instantly.

"I don't- I don't understand." Her voice trembled as she wrung her fingers around each other anxiously.

"Why would he-" then she remembered, it was useless ever looking for justification as to why Randal ever did what he did. She knew there were no limits as to how low he could go to get what he wanted but the thought that he could actually get that low, low enough to put her and Grace in danger made her restless and short of breath and words.

"Hey," Rafael hurried back to her and sat right beside her. "It's okay-"

She raised her head to him, giving him a few seconds to take in the sight of her almost letting the tears fall from her eyes.

"It's not okay Rafael." She told him. "He leaked our address and sent people to humiliate and harass me. He put Grace and Amy in danger, he put our baby in danger. I almost lost our child." A drop of tear finally fell from her eyes.

"I can't. I lost a child once before, I couldn't even get to hold her one time, before she was taken away from me. I can't let them take another child from me before it could learn to walk Rafael. I just cant-"

"You won't okay." He took her hands into his immediately and squeezed them just as she looked away from him, she was in too much shock to let him see her that way. "Hey," he squeezed her hands again and she raised her head to him.

"He's never going to come after you, Grace or the baby ever again. I won't ever let him put any of you in danger again, I promise."

I promise.

Those words were the confirmation she needed to hear, she felt soothed just hearing him say those words to her. She pushed her hands away from his and pulled them to his back just so she could hold him.  She slowly pushed herself to him while he took her into his embrace.

He kissed her head softly and settled his jaw on it.
Rafael drew a deep breath and shut his eyes. He had made yet another promise, a promise he was scared he might not be able to keep. A promise that was taking a long time to fulfill, a promise he was scared that he might never be able to see to fulfillment.

He had made yet another promise, and this time, he knew he had to do all he could to make sure he fulfilled it, or die trying.