Merging Hearts (Smitten Hearts #1)

Chapter Forty-three

Rain

Joe pulls into the Dacosta grand estate, the decorative lights casting glows on the mansion. One thing about my Mom’s annual event is the fullness; it’s always attended by the who’s who of high society.

I pull a stiff and reluctant Hazel out of the car—which is ironic, considering she muttered ‘I can do it’ one million times before we left home, and the paparazzi swarm erupt into a frenzy of flashing cameras, yelling questions at us.

“ Rain Dacosta, did you really marry Hazel Wilmer for love? ”

“ Hazel Wilmer, how has this affected you so far? ”

Rain Dacosta this. Hazel Wilmer that.

Hazel tightens her hand around mine that it almost hurts, and I pull her closer, wrapping a protective arm around her waist.

“Tonight is my mother’s event. I’m sure that’s what you’re here for, so let’s focus on that,” I say firmly as I keep walking with Hazel, only to stop after a few steps. “And that’s Mrs. Hazel Dacosta to you.”

A few of them swoon, clicking photos that I know will make headlines tomorrow, hopefully solidifying the story in the public eye.

We step into the main mansion, the sound of jazz music and loud guests invading our ears. The room fills with expensive jewelry and designer clothes, the creme de la creme of society vying for attention. Hazel scoots closer to me, her hands shaking as she scans the sea of unfamiliar faces.

“My legs are trembling so much. I think I’m going to die.”

I pull her closer and press my lips on her temple, fully aware of the lingering eyes on us. Nothing can beat the word of mouth from people who witness it themselves. You can’t argue with eyewitness testimony, and that’s what I’m trying to do while comforting my wife. A win-win situation.

“You’re not going to die.”

“Rain, I don’t belong here,” she whines further and I frown.

“You belong anywhere you step your foot in. I’m a Dacosta, and I’ve once vanished from standing beside you. It has happened before, it’ll happen again because you command attention. Just stay close, okay? I don’t care what I’m doing or who I’m talking with. If you need me, you call me. Hm?” Hazel nods and I drop a kiss on her lips.

My eyes scan the room for my parents, and I see them talking with some of the guests. Hazel and I walk over. My Mom sees us first, smiling at our intertwined hands. She pulls Hazel into a hug first, then kisses both her cheeks. “Darling, I’m so happy to see you. This dress is beaming on you.”

“Thank you, Mom.”

My Mom brushes her hand on my suit and smiles at me. “You look amazing.”

My Dad also pulls Hazel in a hug, before turning to the guest for introduction. Hazel grabs my hand again. I watch her swallow, indicating her nervousness, and I hold her tighter, letting her know I’m still by her side.

“Hazel, this is Mr. and Mrs. Smith. He’s a senator, and she owns a beauty line. This is Hazel—”

“This is my wife, and the daughter-in-law of the Dacosta family.”

“It’s so nice to meet you both,” Hazel greets.

“The pleasure is all mine. I’ve been so eager to meet you, and you’re stunning.” Indigo Smith responds. Bliss Smith stretches his hand for a shake and attempts to place his lips on Hazel’s hand. My muscles flex, but Indigo Smith clears her throat before I can take any step to stop the action.

Thank you, woman.

“Go on, Rain.” Dad says. “Introduce Hazel to the guests.” I nod and lead Hazel away from them.

My heart swells and I watch as my wife effortlessly charms business moguls and social elites, stealing their hearts like she stole mine. Her beauty commands attention, and I can’t help but feel proud.

I exchange pleasantries with business partners that I’ve worked with in the past, discussing everything from art to philanthropy to donations. What will never not happen at events like this, is people getting together to brag about how much they’ve donated to animal freedom or countries at war. It’s never about the intention, it’s about the attention.

The room pulses with music, the air thick with perfumes and champagne. I still haven’t seen any of the boys around, not even Renzo, although I can recognize some of his designs around the room.

A trio of women glide up to us, and I recognize one of them—Sophia Davis, the escort I brought last year to this very event.

“Hi,” she faces Hazel, her voice heavily laced with pretense. “Your dress is beautiful. Do you want to sit with us?”

Her smile is as fake as the interest on my face as Alexandre Nicolas rants on about his nephew’s latest obsession with women’s hair clips.

We were talking about the new queen of Wall Street in New York City, when his ADHD kicked in, triggering a tangent about the correlation between the new market trends and his nephew’s new interest in hair clips. He gestures with erratic hand gestures and a new profound enthusiasm that wasn’t present during the main discussion.

“Sophia Davis,” I acknowledge her with a nod, my voice neutral.

Her eyes lock on Hazel, a hint of curiosity in them, and my grip on Hazel’s hand tightens. I should not let her talk to this circle. It’ll be a surprise if they don’t bully her, but they might make her so nervous that she blurts out things she isn’t supposed to.

“Excuse me,” I say to Alexandre Nicolas. “I have to introduce my wife to the other guests.”

Sophia Davis scoffs at my direct admission, but I ignore her true colors that are starting to peek, walking away with Hazel instead.

“Rain, why don’t you want me to sit with them? I might be more comfortable around women.”

“Not those women. They’re not as nice as they seem.”

“You know them?”

“The one in pink was my escort last year.”

All she says is ‘Oh’.

I see actress Anne Martinez with another unfamiliar female guest, and I walk over to them. Anne Martinez’s parents are family friends, and she attended the same high school as Renzo and I.

She insisted she and Renzo dated for fifteen days in tenth grade, but the latter said otherwise. She had to go to acting school a few years later, so she’s not a close friend anymore.

“Hi, you’ve arrived. I asked Renzo about you.” Her eyes slide over to Hazel whose jaw hangs. She must recognize Anne Martinez from the popular blockbuster movies she starred in. “And this must be her.”

“Yes, it’s her. And did you say Renzo? You’ve seen him, where?”

She scans the room. “He was everywhere about an hour ago. You know he knows everyone.”

“Will you keep my wife busy for me for a few minutes?”

“Sure. If she’ll like to stay.”

I tug at Hazel who pulls herself out of her starstruck expression. I cup the side of her face, holding her hand with my other. “I need a few minutes to find the boys, okay?” I whisper only for her hearing. “If I keep staying beside you, they’ll think I’m keeping you close so you don’t have a voice of your own.”

“I understand.”

I join my lips with hers in a deep kiss, not minding the eyes around us. It’s taking the last of my will to leave her alone with anyone here, but I have to.

Hazel smiles as I unlock my lips from her and I leave, knowing my attention will be divided all night.

After asking the third housekeeper I can find, I find out that Renzo and my Dad are in the study room, which is weird because we’re in the middle of a party. Dad could be hiding in there away from my Mom to smoke a cigar, I just don’t know why Renzo would be there with him.

After asking three different housekeepers, I finally discover that Renzo and my Dad are in the study room—which is odd, considering we’re in the midst of a crowded event. I can understand Dad sneaking away from Mom to smoke a cigar, but I don’t understand why Renzo will be there with him.

I approach the study room anyway. The closer I get, the more hushed sounds I hear. I recognize Renzo’s voice and my Dad’s deep chuckle. My curiosity piques and I stop in my tracks, waiting outside the partially opened door.

“ That’s because catching Rain by surprise works the best. If I hadn’t done it as fast as I did, he would have plotted out a solution .” What are they talking about?

“ Yes, it worked, but let’s not do it again. And no, I don’t think it happened because of what you did. It’s because Rain and Hazel are meant to be .”

My mind reels as I process their words, registering it down to my understanding. Are they saying they planned for Hazel and I to meet?

“ Oh shut up. That’s half true. The other half is that I helped them meet. Did you really think Rain was ready to pull his head out of his ass if I didn’t pretend to blackmail him? Of course, I’d never embarrass my son like that by taking back the company after the press caught it. I don’t even know why he believed that .”

Each word makes the whole situation make more sense to me as I hear them. It was all a plan between Renzo and Dad to make me sign a fake ownership document and threaten me with reversion until I did what they asked. But where does Hazel fit in all of this? Was she a part of the plan too?

My head spins as I push the door open, watching as they become alerted by my presence. Renzo’s eyes widen, while Dad maintains his calm posture.

“Holy shit,” Renzo stutters.

“What were you talking about?” I raise my right index when he opens his mouth. “Don’t lie to me. I heard everything. Just explain.”

He shares eye contact with Dad for a split second before turning back to me with a sigh. “After I left your office that day, I sort of blurted it out to Mom.”

I scoff, barely managing to keep my anger at bay. “Did you ‘ sort of blurt it ”, Renzo? Or did you tell her intentionally?”

“Okay, fine, you’re right. I know you told me not to tell her, but I did. I also told her not to tell Dad, but she did. And Dad came up with a plan to make you get married by setting up the fake document.” I remain silent.

I’ve caught that before coming in, I only want to know where Hazel fits in the plan. I find myself saying a silent prayer of hope that she wasn’t hired by them. That our encounters were coincidental like I thought.

“When Dad told us about the plan, I knew it was perfect and safe. Perfect because you have an inflated ego, and safe because Dad will never do that to you anyway. So even if the plan failed, the company is still yours. But it didn’t. I guess I was right, there is something special about Hazel.”

“So you played both Hazel and I to prove that your theory is right?”

“Hey, you can’t get mad at me if you fell in love with her already. So what do you want to do? Cancel the contract now that you know it’s a game?”

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. And screw you, Renzo. I trusted you.”

“Everything we did, we did it for you. Are you not happy with her?”

I shake my head exasperatedly, he isn’t getting me. “That’s not the point. The point is, Dad gave me so little time to find a wife, I couldn’t disagree when you mentioned Hazel as an option. Do you realize how dangerous this is for her? She’s a stranger who’s not fit for the world we live in.”

“It was always going to be a stranger, Rain.”

“Yes, but a stranger who knew how things work. Some heiress or something. Do you even know how much of a blow the scandal was for her? I saw her mental and physical health deteriorate in front of me, and we’ve not even spent six months together yet.”

“Rain, please. You know you’ll always protect her, so don’t sabotage this relationship,” he turns to Dad for help. “Dad, say something.”

“‘ This is my wife and the daughter-in-law of the Dacosta family. ’ That was directed at me, wasn’t it? It’s not a coincidence that I told you to bring her home with the title you want us to address her as, and you said that while giving me a side-eye.” I look away from him, refusing to admit that even though he’s saying the truth.

“Love isn’t all rosy and sweet, Rain. It isn’t something to fear either. Love is embracing everything about someone or something, together with the imperfections that come with them, or the situation around it. It’s something that makes life worthwhile. I know you’ve found that with Hazel, don’t let fear hold you back from experiencing the beauty of loving her fully.”

My Dad’s attention slides to the framed family photo on the wall, drifting Renzo and mine’s toward it. “I was once like you—with your mother. Her family is just as affluent as mine, maybe even more, but I was still scared and worried about protecting her. Dacosta Technology has always had the hand-me-down tradition, and I was worried about how I would protect her if she said she didn’t want children. I promised myself to figure it out when the time came, and I did. Look at me thirty five years later, with a family I won’t trade for anything. Loving your mother is the best thing that has ever happened to me. There’s people out there with love, my sons, love you’ve never and will never experience if it’s not with them. You’ve found yours. Haven’t you?”

I blink, discharging myself from the most sentimental discussion I’ve ever had with my Dad in my thirty two years of existence. I see Renzo dab the corners of his eyes and I fight back a scoff. He’s more emotionally responsive to sensitized topics like this.

“Dad—”

“Rain!” He cuts sharply. “That’s my daughter-in-law, and she goes nowhere. You do anything to ruin the relationship and I’ll take her in and get her married to someone else myself.” At the pinched expression on my face, Dad sighs and places his hand on my shoulder. “Go with the flow and enjoy life now that you have a love to call yours.”

A love to call mine. That’s right. How foolish I must have been to not realize this is what my family has been wanting for me all along. Hazel is mine now, and I’ll be damned if I let her go.