<h4>Chapter 38: Loosened Lips.</h4>


    Eliana’s heart thundered like a war drum in her chest, every beat echoing in the silent room. She sat stiff on the edge of Rafael’s bed, her brown eyes zing with defiance and sheer embarrassment. Moonlight poured through the tall windows in silver streaks, turning shadows into jagged shapes that danced like ghosts between them.


    Her curls—wild and untamed—fell over her face like a shield, but even they couldn’t block out the intensity of his stare. Those steel-grey eyes, hauntingly sharp despite his blindness, felt like they saw everything—the panic in her breath, the way her fingers clenched the hem of her sweater, the tremble she tried so hard to hide.


    "I wasn’t sneaking!" she snapped, her voice cracking through the stillness. "Like I said before, I was hungry, okay? I couldn’t even open the damn fridge properly because of this stupid sling." She shook her arm slightly, the fabric rustling. "I just wanted something to eat. I didn’t know I’d... end up here. I thought this was my room."


    Thest word hit the floor like a dropped secret. Her voice faltered, her gaze flicking away, cheeks burning as heat rushed to her face.


    Rafael didn’t move. He sat like stone, broad shoulders drawn against the headboard, the cut-ss tumbler still in his hand catching a shard of moonlight. His expression was unreadable—cool, detached, the way he always was. But behind the hard lines of his face, something flickered. Not anger. Not amusement. Something quieter. A crack in the armor.


    The whiskey had dulled the edge of whatever fury he might’ve held, but mistrust still hung around him like smoke. And yet... there was something about Eliana—her raw, unfiltered honesty, the way her vulnerability spilled out unguarded—that tugged at the frayed threads of his guarded heart.


    "You’re a mess, Eliana," he said atst, his voice quieter now, almost tender, though it carried the faintest bite of mockery. "But I’ll let it slide. Just this once. You sound... truthful. And that’s saying something."


    Eliana blinked, her breath catching in her throat. Her lips parted, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. "Is that... apliment?" she asked, her voice tinged with cautious hope, her eyes searching his face for any hint of warmth.


    Rafael’s lips twitched, the barest hint of a smirk breaking through his cold facade. "Don’t get used to it," he snapped, but the corner of his mouth betrayed him, curling upward just enough to reveal a flicker of amusement. "Come with me."


    Her brows furrowed, confusion knitting her features. "Come with you? Where?"


    He didn’t answer. Instead, Rafael shifted, his movements deliberate and slow, as if every motion was a calcted performance. He dragged his body across the bed, his strong arms pulling him toward the wheelchair positioned beside it. Eliana watched, her heart twisting with a mix of pity and awe, as he reached out, his fingers brushing the air with practiced precision, feeling for the chair. His face remained impassive, his eyes unfocused, ying the part of a blind man with chilling uracy. He gripped the armrests and hoisted himself into the chair with a grunt, his movements fluid despite the pretense of paralysis.


    Eliana instinctively stepped forward, her good hand reaching out. "Do you need—"


    "Don’t bother," Rafael cut her off, his voice sharp as a de. "You’re as disabled as I am right now with that useless hand of yours." His words stung, but there was a glint of dark humor in his tone, a challenge that dared her to argue.


    She froze, her hand hovering mid-air before dropping back to her side. Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she said nothing, her pride warring with the exhaustion that weighed her down. Rafael didn’t wait for her response. With a flick of his wrist, he maneuvered the wheelchair out of the bedroom, the soft hum of the motor echoing in the cavernous hallway. "Come on," he called over his shoulder, his voice clipped but expectant.


    Eliana hesitated, her bare feet rooted to the floor. But curiosity—and something else, something she couldn’t name—propelled her forward. She followed him, her steps tentative, her sling cradled against her chest. The mansion’s hallways stretched endlessly before her, abyrinth of polished marble and shadowed corners. Rafael navigated it with an ease that left her stunned, his wheelchair gliding smoothly around corners and past ornate statues as if he could see every inch of the space. How did a blind, paralyzed man move with such confidence in a house this vast? The question gnawed at her, but she kept it locked behind her lips.


    They reached the kitchen, a sprawling expanse of gleaming countertops and stainless steel that gleamed under the soft glow of pendant lights. Eliana’s eyes widened as Rafael rolled to a stop beside the ind, his movements as precise as a dancer’s. "Are you...hungry?" she asked, her voiceced with confusion, her brow furrowing as she tried to make sense of him.


    Rafael didn’t look at her—couldn’t, she reminded herself. "Sit," he said simply, nodding toward one of the high-backed counter chairs. His tone was neither kind nor cruel, just matter-of-fact, as if her presence was a given.


    Eliana obeyed, sliding onto the chair with a wince as her sling caught on the edge. She watched, her breath catching, as Rafael rolled toward the massive refrigerator. His hands moved with uncanny precision, pulling open the door and retrieving a box of frozen pizza from the freezerpartment. The way he handled it—confident, unflinching—sent a jolt of disbelief through her. How could a blind man move like that? It was as if the kitchen itself bent to his will, every drawer and door within his reach.


    He rolled to the microwave, popped the pizza inside, and set the timer with the same effortless precision. Eliana’s lips parted, but no words came. She watched in silence, her heart thudding, as the microwave hummed to life. Rafael, unbothered by her stare, reached into a lower cab and pulled out a bottle of red wine, itsbel catching the light. He then retrieved two wine sses from the counter above, his fingers brushing the stems with a familiarity that made her head spin.


    He rolled back to the ind, setting the sses down with a soft clink. "I know this house like it’s my own body," he said nonchntly, as if reading her thoughts. "Muscle memory. You live somewhere long enough, it bes part of you."


    Eliana nodded slowly, her mind racing. If he could do all this, why did he need her? Why was she here, ying caregiver to a man who seemed to need no one? The question burned, but she swallowed it, afraid of what the answer might reveal.


    The microwave beeped, and Rafael retrieved the pizza, the scent of melted cheese and pepperoni filling the air. He slid the tray onto the table in front of her, his movements smooth and deliberate. "Eat," he said, his voice low but not unkind. "You can manage that with one hand."


    Eliana stared at the pizza, then at him, her throat tight. "Thank you," she murmured, her voice just a little whisper. She didn’t know why he was being kind—or if it even was kindness—but the gesture warmed something inside her, something she hadn’t felt in a long time.


    Rafael poured wine into the sses without spilling a drop, the deep red liquid catching the light like liquid rubies. He slid one toward her, his fingers brushing the stem. "Drink," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.


    "I... I don’t know if I should," Eliana said, her voice hesitant. "It’ste, and—"


    "Drink," he repeated, his voice softer now, butced with something darker, a heaviness that made her pause. His face was shadowed, his jaw tight, and she realized he wasn’t in the mood for defiance.


    She took the ss, her fingers trembling slightly, and sipped. The wine was rich, velvety, with a warmth that spread through her chest. It paired perfectly with the pizza, the vors mingling in a way that made her sigh. She took another sip, then another, and soon Rafael was pouring her a second ss.


    They ate in silence at first—the kind of silence that wasn’t awkward, just... tentative. Only the soft clink of cutlery and the muted rustle of napkins filled the air. The tension between them hovered like a third presence at the table. But the wine—smooth, rich, and dangerously good—did what it always did. It loosened lips. Softened walls.


    Eliana leaned forward, her cheeks flushed with warmth—half from the alcohol, half from the rarefort. Her eyes sparkled, the corners crinkled with a slightly crooked smile. "You know," she said, voiceced with a tipsy giggle, "I honestly thought being an asshole was your entire personality."


    Rafael arched a brow, lips curling into a slow, mocking smirk. "And I assumed being a gold digger was yours," he replied smoothly, his tone teasing—but the edge in it still cut clean.


    For a second, they just stared at each other—deadpan.


    Thenughter exploded between them, raw and unexpected. It filled the kitchen, cracked the tension, made the cold space feel a little less hollow. Eliana gripped her wine ss like it was anchoring her to the moment, shoulders trembling with genuine amusement.


    "Touché," she managed through augh, shaking her head. "Okay. Fair. But seriously—Rafael, you’re like a walking fortress. Steel walls, no entry. You don’t trust anyone, do you?"


    The smile slipped from his lips like it had never been there. His gaze dropped to the ss in his hand, the dark wine swirling like secrets in a storm.


    "I don’t," he said quietly. t. Final. "I’ve been stabbed in the back too many times to count. Trust isn’t a virtue—it’s a liability. And I stopped affording luxuries a long time ago."


    Eliana’s smile faltered just slightly, softening into something quieter—more real. Her heart twisted a little at the pain behind Rafael’s words, the kind you don’t just say unless you’ve lived through it.


    "I get it," she said, her voice just a murmur. "My best friends... they betrayed me too. Smiled to my face, then disappeared the second things got hard. Stabbed me in the back and didn’t even flinch." She exhaled slowly, her fingers tracing the rim of her ss. "But even after all that, I still want to believe there are good people out there. People who are worth the risk."


    Rafael let out a short snort, the sound dry but not cruel. "That’s stupid thinking," he muttered, though his eyes didn’t hold the bite his words tried to carry.


    She raised her ss defiantly, a crooked smile tugging at her lips. "Then here’s to stupid thinking."


    He hesitated for a breath. Then, with a quiet huff that might’ve been augh, he lifted his ss and touched it to hers with a soft clink. "To stupid thinking," he echoed, his voice low—almost warm.


    Theirughter bubbled up again, this time lighter, more genuine. It settled into the air like music, washing over the cold surfaces of the kitchen and warming the space between them. For the first time, it didn’t feel like they were on opposite sides of a war.


    Rafael leaned in slightly, the sharp lines of his face softened by the table lights and wine. "I’ve got a secret," he murmured, voice dipping into a low, conspiratorial whisper. His lips curled into something between a smirk and a dare. "But you can’t tell anyone."


    Eliana’s heart tripped over itself, the sudden shift in tone sending a thrill down her spine. She leaned in instinctively, her curls spilling across her face as her breath brushed the table between them.


    Her eyes locked with his, "What is it?" she whispered, her voice trembling with excitement, her eyes wide with anticipation.