Chapter 3

"You, why didn't you take the canvas outta my way?"

He asked awkwardly

"You should watch your way before passing, this is sexual harassment by ab employee" Rachel who has never kissed before was upset, thinking her boss was trying to steal a kiss from her

"It's your fault, why are you trying to abuse me of sexual harassment now?" Raphael refuted the accusation instantly, not even caring that Rachel was a pretty lady. "she's still a novice" he commented on his heart

Well, he didn't care!

He cannot forget the memories of his late girlfriend who is also his first love. Laurel was a pretty lady and was loyal too. Raphael already vowed to her not to be tempted by any other girl and he is keeping that promise.

"Sir, you are the one who fell on me and also kissed me, was that my fault? I'm the victim in this situation, sir " Raphael said stubbornly, directly rejecting the accusation

"Great. The residual case of the accident is your not doing your job perfectly, the stool and the canvas are not supposed to be on my way so it's your fault " Raphael got upset too, he recited sharply and went to his study room without waiting Rachel's response

Rachel shut the door to his study room and sighed as he sat down in his chair

He rested his back and closed his eyes, the picture of the accident earlier reviewed in his vision, he could still feel the brief kiss with those thin and soft lips.

The picture of Rachel, refusing to accept the accusations, continues to play itself in his head without control.

He noticed the beauty of Rachel and her courage, somehow, he was attracted to her.

Since he had to Starling City, none of his workers ever refuted him.

Raphael touched his lips and remembered the warm feelings he felt when his lips touched the girl's lips. Obviously, the short kiss left a deep impression on Raphael.

He couldn't be blamed, for five years he's been alone, trying to keep his promise and heal his love wound.

Rapheal came back to his senses and he immediately stopped himself from thinking about the 'nonsense', he took a picture which had the same image of the lady he was trying to paint. His heart melted on seeing the picture and he went moody.

Rachel on the other hand was upset, she clenched her fist and frowned her face, staring at the door of the study room. Without care, she shifted the stool from the bedside to the walk, leaving a few inches distance between the bed and the stool

She decided to look at what her boss was painting and was surprised to see the beautiful lady's image. Of course the image of the lady is all around the walls of the room but the one that Raphael painted looked much more beautiful than the real picture.

As someone who knew a little about arts, she knew for a painting to be a masterpiece, it must be drawn out of affection.

Rachel stopped looking at the painting and left the room.

Rachel might not be too smart but she is very sensitive to all kinds of smells in this world, she loved to learn about plants and tried making a few potions on her own.

She sprayed one of her potions throughout Raphael's room, the essence of the potion is to clear someone's head, help in calming down and rest.

Later in the day, Rachel went to Raphael's study room to call him for lunch, she saw the picture of the same lady in the painting on the floor, she picked up the picture and put it on the table where it should be.

Rachel saw different files on the table, although she didn't understand them, she knew they must be from Raphael's company. Raphael is trying to do his homework but here he is, his head on the table with files scattered on the table.

Rachel has her own potion which she usually spray whenever she wants to work, this potion will energize her and keep her brain active.

She sprayed the potion in the study room, the scent of the potion woke Rapheal, he took a glance at the files before him and started treating them.

After eight hours of work, Rachel left for her house, she quickly rushed home to check how her mother was fairing with Velma and vice versa.

On getting home, everything was in good condition, with no worries, age, took a shower, ate and slept.

Rapheal on the other hand couldn't sleep, every minute, he changed his sleeping position from left to right and right to left still unable to get some sleep

Everytime he closed his eyes, he always remember how he fell and that made him felt like the turmoil of romance is reblooming

His body immediately reacted honestly and made him feel uncomfortable with all the feelings.

In his mind, the image of the petite body of Rachel, her smooth black hair, was still clear.

Her thun pink lips invited Raphael to come over and all of this made him crazy.

Raphael couldn't understand why he was seeing Raphael's face and not Laurel's.

Not long after, Raphael opened the drawer beside his bed and reached for a photo of Laurel, where she had a gentle smile on her face

But it was more frustrating and confusing for Raphael who couldn't get Rachel's image out of his head

What made Rapheal more desperate was the scent on Rachel, it was like the scent of fresh roses and he think that scent still lingers on his bed

He had never felt like this before, not even when Laurel was still alive.

It was also difficult for him to let go of the memories of Laurel, Laurel was a lady who was raised by his parents, she was an adopted daughter of his parents.

As they grew up together, they were attracted to each other.

Laurel used to be a very intelligent lady, she acted as Raphaels guide through his studies, helping him to be able to qualify to manage his family's company.

Laurel does not speak harshly, she takes her time and speaks to her heart with Rapheal, making him understand things more.

This time, Rachel's smoldering character made Rapheal get captivated by all the words that rushed out of her mouth no matter how they were.

It made Rachel smile while imagining all the events that happened with him and Rachel today.

This was the first time he saw a girl like that, he felt like he was bewitched by the lady's character.

Laurel would really laugh at him if she found out about his madness now, because Laurel , who he viewed as a perfectionist, would never allow herself to get attracted to any other guy except him.

Rapheal had really gone mas from a little kiss like a teenager going through puberty.

Raphael's first kiss with Laurel didn't even have that effect and it was Laurel who controlled all the rhythm of their kiss

Finally, when Rapheal couldn't sleep because of his kiss with Rachel and Rachel's beautiful image in his head, he felt like he had forgotten Laurel.

He put all the images of Laurel inside a box so that there are no more memories of Laurel in the house.

Rachel had already said goodbye to the elegant beauty that accompanied him for twenty five years in his life.

"Goodbye Laurel" Raphael said as he closed the box tightly.

…

"Raphael!"

A loud scream ranged in Raphael's ear.

The voice sounded familiar

"Laurel?"

Rapheal called out, trying to confirm if his guess was right.

"Raphael!!"

The loud voice ranged again. This time, Raphael jeered out of his sleeping position and ran out of his room to the main room.

He looked around the house and realized the house was deserted.

No workers, no securities…

Fear gripped him instantly and he started to get worried.

"Raphael!!!"

This time, the voice was loud enough for the screamer to hurt her throat.

"Laurel? Vic? Is anybody here?"

Rapheal screamed but he got no response, even the voice that was screaming didn't scream again

It looked unreal to Raphael, he wanted to go back to sleep but for security purposes, he decided to check all rooms in the house before going back to bed.

"Hmm, looks like they all went home tonight" He drew a conclusion after checking the house.

"Was I hallucinating?" He asked himself, thinking about the scream that ranged in his ears. He couldn't get answers so he walked back to his room. When he got to his room, he saw a figure lying on his bed. The lying position of the figure looked very familiar to him

"Laurel?"

He called with a low voice as he walked slowly to the figure.

"Laurel!"

He called again when he got to his bed. Since he had no response from the figure, he decided to take off the clothes covering the figure.

"Ah-Ah"

Seeing what was lying on his bed, he jumped backwards and a scream left his mouth.