The Counterfeit Lover (War of Sins Book 3)

With all our stuff packed and ready to move, I let Noelle know I’ll be downstairs to organize everything with the moving company.

She’s busy sorting through some last-minute items, so she only gives me one airy kiss before she resumes her focus.

Amused, I head down, my eyes on the phone as I await the call.

Unfortunately, due to the location of the piano, we’d decided not to try to take it with us. What Noelle doesn’t know is that I’ve already gotten her another piano—a highly coveted one I’d purchased at an auction a few weeks back.

‘I didn’t realize you were still around.” I note Cisco at the bottom of the stairs.

He’s wearing a blue suit, his expression guarded as he measures me carefully with his gaze.

‘I wanted to see you off,’ he smiles, slowly, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

I nod, reaching the landing. Looking around, I count the suitcases, making sure everything is ready. Only some of Noelle’s stuff is missing now, and she promised she’d call out when she’s ready for me to take it down too.

‘That’s kind of you,’ I give him a brief smile.

Easily distracted, I’m back on my phone, waiting for the call from the moving company. It’s only when Cisco comes closer that I look up to find him regarding him with an odd expression on his face.

‘A word outside?’

My brows shoot up in surprise, but I shrug it off.

‘Sure.’

He opens and closes the front door behind us, stepping at the edge of the veranda as he takes a cigarette out, lighting it and staring into the distance.

‘Be careful,’ he finally warns.

I frown, tilting my head in question.

‘About?’

‘My sister. She’s…’

‘If you’re going to tell me she’s not well again, then I think we’ve already had this conversation,’ I cut him off, my body tensing as everything in me gets ready to defend Noelle.

It makes me sick to my stomach to think about how she’s been treated by her own family. She’d been sold to an abuser and then she’d returned home to receive a similar treatment. Maybe they hadn’t beaten her, but they’d certainly laid blows to her psyche.

God, but just the thought of my sweet and pure Noelle in that hell that was the hacienda threatens to get me all worked up.

And it’s them. Her own family had allowed that marriage to take place.

My hands ball into fists as I barely control myself from telling Cisco all I think about him and his family.

‘Oh, no. Noelle is very well. Thanks to you, she’s doing much better,’ Cisco gives a sarcastic laugh. ‘That’s not at all the issue.’

‘Then?’ I narrow my eyes at him.

He turns, coming towards me as he pops his cigarette in his mouth, his hands on the lapels of my coat.

‘You don’t know her,’ he speaks low—ominously low. ‘You think you know her, Raf, but you never did. The things she’s capable of…’ his mouth tilts in a lopsided smile. ‘It would make saints turn in their graves.’

‘What the hell are you talking about?’

‘My sister isn’t just an ordinary woman. She wasn’t before her first marriage and certainly not after. Take care how much you idealize her. You might have a rude awakening in the future.’

‘I don’t know what game you’re trying to play, Cisco,’ I swipe his hands aside. ‘But if there is one thing that is off-limits, it’s hearing anyone badmouth Noelle. You already tried to screw with my head in the past. Do you really think I’m going to believe anything you might tell me?’ I laugh dryly.

‘I’m just giving you a heads up,’ he’s not rattled by my hostility—as if he expected it all along. ‘And I’ll leave you with one question. One you should ponder carefully,’ he pauses, taking a drag off his cigarette as his gaze grows distant. ‘Why do you think she was the only survivor in that fire? Why do you think she was the only survivor period?’

I blink, not expecting that question.

‘I was there that night. Whatever you think you know, I saw with my own eyes,’ I tell him squarely. ‘It could have never been the hand of someone like Noelle. For God’s sake, she could barely hurt a fly,’ I exclaim, exasperated.

‘Could barely hurt a fly, eh,’ he smiles insidiously. ‘Good luck believing that.’

‘Raf?’ Noelle’s muffled voice reaches my ears.

I give Cisco one last look to show him my distaste and the fact that his words mean nothing to me before I wrench the door open, spotting Noelle at the top of the stairs, struggling to drag a suitcase behind her.

‘I got you,’ I call out, climbing two stairs at once to get to her.

She gives me a dazzling smile.

‘I think that’s everything. But there’s one more thing I’d like to get,’ she bites her lip.

‘What is it?’

‘My old computer. It’s upstate at my mother’s house. I haven’t used it in…years,’ she strains a smile. ‘But I still have things on it that I can never part with.’

‘Then we’ll go for a visit to get it,’ I say as I grab the suitcase.

But I don’t get to move as her fingers are suddenly on my sleeve, tugging it to get my attention.

‘I don’t want to go there. I don’t want to meet my mother. Could we… Ask someone to get it for me?’ she asks shyly, and I immediately assure her that’s exactly what we’ll do.

Her mood brightens, and together we go downstairs. Just in time, the moving crew is here too.

Cisco takes his leave after he exchanges a couple of tense words with Noelle. I don’t mind it, however, as I’m soon distracted by the many suitcases and boxes that need to be loaded in the moving truck.

It’s hours later that Noelle and I can finally sigh in relief, both sweaty and tired. Yet it’s all rewarded by the sight of the previously bare apartment now teeming with stuff—granted, still unpacked stuff.

‘I can’t believe this is our new place,’ Noelle breathes out in awe as her eyes scan our surroundings.

A condo a few blocks from Central Park, it’s not that far from Cisco’s place. But it’s ours—only ours.

The apartment features two bedrooms, two offices, a spacious living room and even a terrace with a lot of open space. I’d already had most of the place furnished, though I’d reserved the essential items for later since I wanted Noelle to have an input in that.

I couldn’t help myself, though, and I went ahead to prepare the two offices. The first I’ll use for my business while the second will be Noelle’s new piano rehearsal room.

‘You like it, right?’ I turn to ask.

We’re both sprawled on the couch in the living room, simply staring at the mess in front of us.

‘I love it. Just how many surprises do you have under your sleeve, Rafaelo Guerra?’ she smiles languidly, stretching like a cat as she lays her head on my lap.

‘Let’s just say that there are a few more,’ I chuckle. ‘But you’ll see them when the time is right.’

‘You spoil me too much.’

‘There’s no such thing as too much, pretty girl. I know you’ve never had something truly yours, so I want to remedy that.’

‘You’re right,’ her lips flatten in a thin line. ‘I’ve never really had that. You know,’ she pauses, making herself more comfortable as she turns to face me, ‘growing up I was so alone, I used to dream about getting attention from someone. But as I went through puberty, I started having no privacy. Everyone in my family wanted to make sure I would not misbehave or sully their name. I went from one extreme to another and I never felt comfortable anywhere. Or even wanted,’ she gives a dry laugh. ‘Only…’

My brows shoot up.

‘Only?’

She shakes her head.

‘Nothing. I was always an outsider, and all along I’ve only wanted one thing. To belong.’

I bring my hand to her face, swiping a few strands of hair off her forehead.

She’s told me about her childhood and how empty it had been. Everyone had washed their hands clean off her, leaving her to her devices but also expecting her to act circumspectly. In a way, she’d never been allowed to be a child, and my heart breaks for her.

Things had only worsened as she’d neared her eighteen birthday, since her family had suddenly decided they needed to safeguard her virtue so they could sell her off.

‘You do now,’ I gently caress her skin. ‘This is your place. By my side,’ I murmur as I bring her small palm to my heart. ‘Just like my place is with you.’

‘You’ve always been my place, Raf.’ There’s an odd quality to her voice as her eyes drink me in, so much love reflected in those depths I can feel my pulse start throbbing under her touch.

‘Let me make this sweeter,’ I suddenly say, swooping her up in my arms as I rise from the couch. ‘I have one more surprise to show you today,’ I smile sheepishly.

She merely raises a curious brow.

Crossing the apartment, I head to the office space I’d put the piano in, opening the door before placing Noelle down.

Her mouth is hanging open as she takes in the Steinway & Sons masterpiece before her. The piano in itself is a work of art, intricate carvings covering the entire surface.

By her reaction, I gather she knows exactly how much these things can go for in auctions.

‘You didn’t,’ she whispers, still unable to take her eyes off it.

‘Why don’t you give it a go?’ I lean to whisper in her ear.

She’s slow to put one foot in front of the other before finally reaching the bench. Taking a seat, she spreads her open palms over the carved wood, feeling every little indentation.

‘This must have cost at least a million, Raf,’ she suddenly says. ‘How… You…’

‘Don’t worry about money. As it happens, we have enough to live pretty comfortably for the rest of our lives,’ I smile as I join her on the bench. ‘The Guerra coffers aren’t as empty as I previously thought. Even with everything I gave your brother, we still have properties and quite a lot of money in the bank.’

Odd that Michele had not tried to claim the Guerra title again. For all intents and purposes, on paper he’s still dead.

‘But still… This is… I have no words. It’s just so extravagant. I never thought I’d own something as beautiful as this. I’ve seen one before, but I didn’t get to play it,’ she recounts melancholically.

‘I know how much you value your craft,’ I cover her hand with mine. ‘And only something this beautiful could complement your talent.’

She blushes, a smile pulling at her lips.

‘Play for me, pretty girl. Play for me, and this time, show me how much you love me.’

Her eyes widen, and I know she recognizes the moment I’m alluding to.

The moment everything changed for us. When she bared her soul to me and I inadvertently fell under her spell.

Looking back, even the most extreme hate could not stop me from falling for her and the musical expression of her very essence.

Feeling for the keys, she brings her fingers down on them, the first notes sounding in the air and landing on my tongue like the sweetest treat I’ve ever had.

Brahms’ sonata No. 2 in F-sharp minor flows from the tips of her fingers, a mix of showy mastership and the flagrance of solitude that meet at the perfect convergence.

My eyes instinctively close as I feel the flavors burst on my tongue, both the bold notes and the more subdued ones, all that speak of a perfect harmony of two different halves, but belonging together, nonetheless.

She plays with reckless abandon, giving herself to the music and the feeling it evokes, living in it, being transported by it.

Growing up, I’ve been to my fair share of piano recitals, some of very famous piano virtuosos. Yet none have been able to move me like this—to make me feel so many things at once.

It’s not just the flavor of the song that overtakes me, it’s the perfect combinations of all senses—of hearing the sounds, feeling the vibrations, tasting the notes and seeing a magnificent show of red beneath my closed lids.

She makes me live the melody with my entire being. And I know she lives it, too.

When the sonata is done, we don’t speak.

She’s breathing hard.

I’m breathing harder.

My pulse is racing, my heart thumping in my chest. The silence only serves to emphasize those little sounds that we usually take for granted but in the greater scheme of things are everything.

She turns, slowly, her eyes two huge orbs, her pupils dilated. Biting her lip, she gives me a look of utter adoration, of love, lust, and more—always more.

My entire body is throbbing with unreleased tension, the sonata only a prelude to what’s to come.

I don’t know who reaches for whom first. Clothes fly, skin meets skin, and love…love mates with love. It’s the ultimate meeting of the souls. An experience so beautiful, it transcends the physical realm.

There’s only feeling.

And us.

Only ever us.

A few days later and the apartment looks wholly different from when we first moved in. And since I’ve taken her request to heart, in between little breaks from decorating and moving things around, I started to plan for a date.

It might not be my strongest suit, but I understand why Noelle would want it.

We haven’t had a moment of peace since the beginning. Though Michele is still an ongoing problem, I won’t let that stop us from living. And with the bounty off my head, that is exactly what I aim to do.

I’d also promised myself that I wouldn’t continue with my vendetta for the simple reason that I can’t afford to put Noelle in danger just to satisfy some ego boost.

The scare I’d taken the last time is still fresh in my mind, and that feeling of helplessness will likely not disappear anytime soon.

She’s more important to me than any revenge, or any grudge I may have held.

And so the planning had started. I may have sought inspiration on the web, but I decided to take her out for a classy date. I’d done everything surreptitiously, booking seats at the cinema, reserving a table for two with the perfect view and going as far as setting up a nice area by the Hudson for a fireworks show.

I want Noelle to have the perfect normal date experience, and that requires all the effort in the world. There’s also the fact that she’d been constantly worried about Lovely, feeling his absence. I’m certain he’s still with Michele, and I’ll definitely tackle that issue at some point.

‘I think we’re all stocked up now,’ she nods appreciatively as she peruses the full shelves of food in the fridge before closing the door.

‘Come here,’ I beckon her to me.

Raising a brow, she does as told, skipping towards me, a mischievous smile on her face.

‘I have something for you,’ I wink at her, removing my hands from my back and fluttering two envelops at her.

Immediately, she jumps up, trying to take them from me.

Enjoying her attempts, I taunt her a little with our size differences, waving the envelopes higher and higher the more she jumps.

‘You’re not being fair,’ she pouts.

‘Give me a kiss and I’ll show you.’

She looks put out with me for a second before she jumping on me and wrapping her legs around my waist just as her arms wound around my neck.

Her lips skim the surface on my cheek in a ghost of a kiss. But it’s enough to get me distracted as she takes the tickets from my hand.

Getting down, she proceeds to ignore me as she studies the contents of the envelope, her eyes scan the text, her mouth falling open in shock.

‘You didn’t,’ she breathes out. ‘I can’t believe this.’

‘It’s not me, pretty girl. It’s fate. Imagine my surprise when I was browsing the movie selection and discovered they have a The Mummy remake. I know you like it too, so we can watch it together.’

When I’d spotted it while looking through the list of available screenings, I’d been ecstatic. Noelle and I had watched the movie during our stay in Newport, so I know it’s one of her favorites. But nothing beats the experience of going to the movies—one I plan on having with her.

‘Oh, God, I can’t wait,’ she exclaims. ‘This is the best surprise, Raf. When I told you to take me on a date I didn’t imagine this.‘

The news of the date puts her in a good mood for the rest of the day. In the afternoon, we make a quick trip to some of the shops downtown since Noelle is adamant about buying some new outfits for the date. But the little minx is sneaky. She doesn’t let me see any of the things she ends up buying, telling me it will be a surprise.

It’s only the following day when we’re about to leave for the movie that I get to see what she put on.

To say that my jaw hits the floor would be an understatement.

She’s wearing a wrap dress in a pale beige emphasizing her bronzed skin, the swell of her generous tits and her tiny waist. She added a pair of six-inch pink stilettos.

‘Damn, pretty girl,’ I whistle, pride swelling in my chest at being the one to take her out. ‘You look absolutely gorgeous.’

A blush stains her cheeks.

‘Thank you.’

Snaking her arm through my elbow, she kisses my cheek as she tells me she’s ready to go.

The cinema is only a few blocks down from where we live, so we go on foot, making small talk and laughing at silly jokes.

As soon as we’re inside, we find the way to our seats, making ourselves comfortable as other movie-goers slowly trickle in.

At first, I’d wanted to rent the entire room for the two of us. But then I’d realized that Noelle wants a normal date experience, not an over the top one. I’ll have time for that later on—when I become more of an expert at date planning.

‘I’m so excited,’ she whispers.

‘Me too,’ I kiss the top of her head, throwing my arm around her shoulder and bringing her into me.

The entire room is full of people, and I must say I’m a little surprised by how popular the movie ended up being. Maybe they are all fans of the original one and are curious how the remake will stack up.

The credit sequence starts, and immediately a warning flashes on the screen advising the movie contains disturbing imagery together with an age advisory.

‘The original one was PG-13, wasn’t it?’ Noelle frowns.

‘Maybe this one is gorier,’ I frown, looking around us.

No one bats an eye at the warning, seemingly even more excited than before.

We’re waiting excitedly for it to start when a loud noise makes Noelle flinch in my arms.

‘What…’ she trails off when the first scene appears on the screen.

‘That is…’

There is a mummy alright. But there aren’t any curses, or past life infatuations. No, this is just…

Mummy porn.

‘Raf, what is this?’ Noelle asks, amusement in her tone.

I squeeze my eyes shut in embarrassment.

‘The mummy?’ I internally cringe.

‘Well, this mummy has definitely had an upgrade in the last few decades. Especially,’ she coughs, ‘package wise.’

The next shot is of the mummy sporting quite a big bulge under all the bandages. And soon, the plot becomes quite clear.

An explorer intrudes on the mummy’s final resting place and accidentally awakens him and his curse, which, incidentally, involves a lot of sex.

Noelle giggles by my side, one scene after another the movie becoming worse and worse. From mummy sex and sexual cursed frogs to an orgy at the pyramids, I don’t think this is something I’m ever going to live down.

I consider swooping her in my arms and getting out of here at least once every second, but that would only draw unwanted attention to us.

Instead, I fool myself that she’s actually enjoying the mummy’s shenanigans and the fact that this remake is clearly an erotic parody.

As we exit the cinema, I wait for her to speak, mentally going over all the excuses I can come up with.

Granted, when I’d seen there was only one showing of The Mummy, I’d jumped at the chance, thinking this was the perfect movie to watch together. It hadn’t crossed my mind to check other things, like previous reviews or even the tags on the damn movie.

‘That might be my new favorite movie,’ she jokes, gazing up at me, her lips pursed as she forces herself to contain her amusement.

‘You don’t have to say that for my sake,’ I groan. ‘Clearly, I made a miscalculation when I booked the tickets,’ I mumble, feeling my cheeks heat up.

‘You know, that was one of the most enlightening movies I have ever seen,’ she adds pensively. ‘Now I know I don’t have any mummy fetish,’ she jokes, referring to the way the protagonist had gotten off on the, erm…bandages of the mummy. ‘And I do hope you don’t have one either,’ she leans in to whisper.

‘For sure, completely crossed off the list,’ I immediately reply. ‘I don’t think I’m ever going to look at bandages the same…’

‘Well, there you have it. It wasn’t a complete bust. We got to learn something,’ she stops, fitting her body to mine as she brings her fingers to trace my jaw. ‘We can always learn something. And I for one can’t wait to explore more things with you,’ she adds suggestively.

‘Damn it all, Noelle. You do know how to mend a man’s ego,’ I drawl, tipping her chin up so I can taste her lips.

‘Now take me to dinner. I’m absolutely famished,’ she draws back, winking at me.