1. Chapter One
Chapter One
A Promise of a Lifetime
RAFA
Rafa listened to Sal’s soft, rhythmic breathing as they lay bathed in the golden light of the rising autumn sun.
He traced the peaks and valleys of her body with his fingertips, his senses awakened by her soft skin.
A soft, glimmering light from the diamond ring adorning her finger caught his eye as he took in the sight of her.
This woman was his, wrapped warmly in a thick blanket, sleeping, safe and sound.
Three years ago, the death of a dear friend led him to Sal. Claire’s death brought them together, their fates intertwined, and their love story began. The timing felt serendipitous. Three wonderful years with her, and the promise of a lifetime together. He couldn’t wait to marry her.
“Mmm?” Sal mumbled. She moved her hand on the white linen sheets as if reaching for something—or someone.
Instinctively, Rafa placed his hand over hers.
Sal opened her eyes as she turned toward him. “Good morning,” she whispered.
“Good morning, my love,” Rafa replied as he kissed her hand and rose from the bed.
Sal stretched generously and reached for her wristwatch on the bedside table.
He sat on the edge of the bed and put on his shirt.
“I hope the roads stay visible for us,” he said, standing up.
She supported her head with one hand as she displayed a teasing smile.
“Can’t we stay in bed longer?” she asked, letting the blanket fall loosely over her chest.
Rafa longed for nothing more than to lie in bed and hold her. “I’d love to, but we’re going to be late. We promised my mom we’d be on time,” he said, moving to her side of the bed.
She held his hand. “It’s just…” she said, biting her lower lip. “The art show is in a few days. I feel anxious. I feel the itch to go to Autumn Town and check that everything is in order.”
Rafa squeezed her hand in return and said, “It will be fine, Sal. You said it yourself; everything’s ready, and we have good people helping us.” Sal smiled the same way she always did when he tried to comfort her. “The art show will be a success, just like all your other projects,” he stated.
Sal’s eyes dropped to the bed. “Okay,” she sighed. “Let me get ready,” she said as she kissed him gently.
Rafa grinned under the softness of her lips on his.
Then an incessant ringing from his phone caught his attention.
He pulled himself away from Sal and reached for his phone.
“Hello…?” he answered. The familiar voice of his personal secretary came through.
He called to remind Rafa of a scheduled brunch with his mother.
It wasn’t unusual to receive calls this way so early in the morning, though Sal never seemed to like it.
Sal had gotten up and walked over to the bathroom by the time the call ended.
He followed to remind her about brunch at his family home, but the sight of her gently massaging serum onto her creamy skin stopped him.
She stood with her back to him while facing the mirror as he took in the glorious sight of her.
He couldn’t believe Sal was his. Her glossy dark brown tresses stopped just past her shoulders.
Her lips commanded his attention as she gently slathered lip balm on them with her fingertips.
A goddess in human form—the gravity of his existence, the axis of his desire.
She chuckled a bit. “You’re staring again,” she said, catching his gaze in the mirror with the same steady look that claimed him each night.
The sweet scent of her perfume filled the room. He approached and leaned in so he could breathe in more of her. “Well, you and your perfume are intoxicating,” he whispered and kissed her nape.
“Mmm.” She smiled and tilted her head to the side, allowing him to plant more kisses on her neck.
Their eyes met in the mirror, the moment narrowing to just the two of them. “Don’t worry about the art show,” he told her, and placed his hands on her shoulders. He felt her relax with his touch. “Now, get ready while I prep our coffee.”
She faced him and planted a kiss on his lips.
Her lips tasted sweet from her honeyed lip balm, and it took everything in him not to postpone the family visit and stay there with her.
But I promised Mom we’d go, he thought regretfully as their bodies parted and he left her to get ready for the day.
He slipped on his trousers and prepared their morning coffee as promised.
***
Rafa and Sal arrived at his family’s mansion in Medina late in the morning. His mother opened the front door as they walked up to the house.
Iris Tovar waved to them from afar and beamed, deep wrinkles forming at the sides of her eyes.
“Hello, Sal.” She greeted his fiancée with a hug and then turned to him.
“Hello, son,” she said with a lilt in her voice, as though he were still her little boy.
Rafa felt that was how she still saw him.
He was her golden boy. The only child out of her brood of four who took the reins when their father was too old for the demands of their multi-million-dollar company.
“Hello, Ma,” he said with reverence as he bent over to peck her on the cheek.
He noticed that age was slowly claiming his mother each time he came home, and his heart softened at the realization.
“The drive was scenic as usual on the way here,” he said, trying to make small talk as they entered the house.
They matched her pace through the spacious foyer and toward the dining hall.
“Drives from St. Stephenshire are the best. Have you two eaten yet?” She gazed at him as though studying his face for signs of gauntness.
“We left in a hurry, Ma.” He smiled his usual smile, glancing at her with a look that begged her not to worry.
With a nod, his mother replied, “Well, luckily I cooked your favorite dish just the way you liked it back then.” They paused as she whispered soft hellos to her orchids when they passed by the indoor garden, also known as the orchid room, and then moved to the dining hall where, to his surprise, his eldest sister, Aveline, sat with her face buried in her e-reader.
“Achi1!” he said with a huge smile on his face.
Aveline turned, looking just as pleased to see him. “Hi, guys,” she said in a calm voice as she stood to hug him and then Sal afterward.
“How’s the art show coming along?” she asked Sal as she took her seat at the dining table again. “I hear many people are going.”
“It’s going well. I’ll do some last-minute checks tomorrow just so everything’s in order,” Sal replied as one maid took her coat.
“You’ll be there, right, Achi?” Rafa asked as he pulled the dining chair out for Sal to sit across his sister.
“Of course I will. Sybelle and Arthur won’t be able to make it, though,” she said with a grimace. “Sybelle is still in Milan, and Arthur is finishing his term papers.” She sat back at the dining table, looking disappointed.
Their mother joined them in the dining room.
She had with her a steaming pot of hot misua soup.
Small and frail as she was, she labored to carry the large pot and placed it on the table.
The maid was prepared to serve the soup, but she gingerly took the ladle and said, “No need, dear. Let me serve my children. They usually finish their portions when I’m the one who gives it to them. ” She winked at them playfully.
Rafa took his serving and eyed the familiar sight of pork broth, meatballs, shallots, mushrooms, bok choy, and misua steaming in a bowl in front of him.
“My favorite dish from when I was a kid,” he said, as Sal slurped hers.
Aveline sighed. “Nothing beats Mom’s misua,” she said with a satisfied grin after helping herself.
“Ban ban chiah,” his mother replied, looking pleased, then turned to Sal, “It means eat slowly and savor the food, my dear.”
When they finished eating, Aveline asked, “Mom, why did you call us over?”
Their mom paused, then wiped her mouth before letting out a deep breath.
“I wish it were about a joyous thing,” she muttered.
She turned to Sal. “I’m sharing this with you too, Sal, because you’ll be part of this family soon, and you should know,” she said.
Then her expression turned serious. “The business has taken a tremendous loss. We need to review our operations in Portland and Ashland. We’ll have to close one down. ”
A pregnant silence filled the large dining hall until the sharp metallic drop of Rafa’s chopsticks broke the stifling quiet.
“Last I checked, we’ve been meeting targets in Ashland.
And the last time we discussed Portland, we agreed it needed some operational improvements but that it should stabilize in a year. ”
His mother sighed. “Yes, but we discovered new information. That’s why I called you both here, so we could do damage control,” she said and looked away. “The funds for our Portland operations were misappropriated. I told our top partners not to worry, but the loss is…too big to ignore.”
Rafa could hear what his mother was saying, but he had trouble understanding how it could have happened under his very nose. He knew the ins-and-outs of the family business better than anyone and what was happening daily. “How come I didn’t see this?” he asked. “And who did this?”
His mother straightened her back, her gaze steady. “Because the pilfering was gradual, Rafa. It feels strategic too. It was Colette. We lost millions because of her.”
“But Colette’s been our operations manager in Portland for decades,” Aveline said, sounding surprised.
Their mother nodded. “I know, dear, which makes it even more disheartening. Our auditors found she was slowly moving money amounting to millions into various dummy accounts over the years.” She laced her fingers and said, “The auditor will be here shortly to discuss his findings with us.”
Aveline slumped in her chair, her palm on her forehead.