Rafael lied. They weren't walking down the sewers. They were in an underground passage that seemed to be part of the casino building.
Cheryl realized her stupidity when she managed to climb up and was in Rafael's arms. Rafael didn't mind at all. He even joked and offered to carry her along the steps they were about to walk.
Now, not only scared, but Cheryl also had to hold back the anger in her heart because of Rafael's annoying actions. Cheryl repeatedly had to give up the intention of banging Rafael's head against the right and left sides wall.
"I want to go home," She didn't know how many times she had said the same request, but since then, there was no certainty where the hallway would take them.
As if tracing an endless road, Cheryl felt her steps were getting tired when she had to follow Rafael's footsteps, who were walking fast.
"Rafael, I want to go home." Cheryl tried to attract Rafael's attention by shaking her hand, which was in Rafael's grip.
"You will soon have your mansion, princess." Rafael gave a mocking smile.
In the alley's darkness that enveloped them, Cheryl could still see clearly when Rafael gave a relaxed smile and a twinkle in his eye that seemed to be trying to tease Cheryl to annoy her.
"How can you stay calm in a situation like this?!" Cheryl threw her hands away, annoyed that Rafael had not spoken seriously since earlier, and treated their situation as a game that could be used as a joke.
"Then what should I do? Cry like you when you find out we're walking in a sewer?" Rafael still had time to sneer, "I'll tell you something. I'm Deity. Not an ordinary human like you. I don't deserve to cry over the little things."
Cheryl stared. She had no idea Rafael could stay calm even though his company went bankrupt and armed men attacked his casino business.
The world was laughing at Rafael, but instead of crying and brooding alone, he chose to laugh along with the world.
"I regret coming here because I worry about you! I shouldn't have been so caring about you! Let you go bankrupt and become poor. Who are you that I should worry about you?!" Cheryl began to voice her annoyance.
However, instead of responding with the same emotion, Rafael just laughed at Cheryl, who was still trying to catch up with him, even looking for his hand to be held tightly.
"For now, I'm nothing. Did you forget? I just went bankrupt." said Raphael.
"Raphael, wait!" Cheryl started running again when Rafael deliberately accelerated his footsteps.
"You said you regret coming here to worry about me?" Rafael asked in a voice that was deliberately made very, very annoying.
Cheryl frowned in her heart. How can Veronica fall in love and have a love affair with such an annoying man? Moreover, until now, Veronica still shows that she cares about Rafael. Even if she fought with Mateo, Veronica always ran to Rafael as if he was the only place she could go to calm herself down.
"Are you in a trance? There is no priest here. I can't perform the exorcism ritual!" Rafael exclaimed while waving his hand in front of Cheryl's face.
"If I am possessed, then you are the first person I attack!"
"Wow! I'm scared!" Rafael hugged himself while displaying a deliberately made-up expression.
Cheryl is getting out of control.
Now she is trapped in a dark alley that is so long. She doesn't know where this hallway leads and where it ends. She was afraid of the dark and the sound of guns blaring against each other, but instead of shaking with ragged breaths like a few minutes ago, Cheryl found herself grunting at Rafael as if she had forgotten all her fears.
She suddenly remembered the night Veronica took her to Rafael's apartment after she caught Mateo having an affair.
At that time, Veronica said that Rafael is not a man who likes to talk seriously. He prefers to joke and laugh. Maybe, that's why Veronica came to Rafael's apartment after seeing her lover cheating on her. And maybe… that was also the reason behind the non-serious attitude that Rafael kept showing ever since they were trapped in the underground passage that was built right under his casino building. Raphael just wanted to laugh. Laugh with her, also laugh at their plight.
"I want a mansion, not a cheap hotel like this!"
Cheryl didn't know when her spoiled attitude came out, but now she realized that her voice sounded like the whimper of a toddler asking his father for ice cream.
"You don't want to?" Rafael raised an eyebrow. He pulled back his outstretched hand to give her a hotel room key.
After walking for more than an hour, Rafael finally opened a door at the end of a dark alley still connected to the casino building.
Without looking back, without even checking his casino building which had just been attacked, Rafael immediately led Cheryl to run into a narrow alley that seemed to be a slum on the outskirts of Las Vegas.
Even though it was midnight, the settlement was still busy, with dozens of pedestrians filling the road's shoulder. Some cheap hotels are also built with a dark atmosphere like hotels deliberately rented out for lewd acts.
Rafael had checked into three different hotels; unfortunately, all the rooms were fully booked.
"This is all that's left. We have to stay the night to hide from being chased—"
"Who are they?" Cheryl couldn't contain her curiosity. She immediately cut Rafael's sentence when he accidentally mentioned the attack at his casino.
"Did you see that I was acquainted with one of them?"
Cheryl frowned.
"No, isn't it?" Rafael forces Cheryl to climb the stairs to the attic, the only room left in the cheap hotel.
As soon as the bedroom door opened, Cheryl immediately turned around and looked at Rafael, who was standing behind her.
"You can't make me sleep here, can you?" she asked with wary eyes.
"Did I book another room? This is all that remains, princess." Rafael smiled. Briefly, he still had time to cast a mocking glance when he saw Cheryl's pale face, who was staring in fear.
The attic room was very narrow, very very thin. The area is less than half of the bathroom in the mansion. Even the mattress is only as large as the dressing table.
No, Cheryl wouldn't be able to sleep there.
"Come on. I won't hesitate to close the door and lock it from the inside if you don't come in soon." Rafael gave a threat, but his eyes still gleamed in amusement.
Cheryl couldn't believe what she was seeing. This room is too small. They even have to lower their heads if they want to sit on the edge of the bed, which squeaks every time they move their buttocks. How could they sleep in that small room?
"You hungry?" Rafael stood in front of her between Cheryl's legs that stretched under the bed.
"I can't feel anything right now. This place is too terrible." Cheryl looked up at Rafael, who was also staring at her intently.
There was no amused glance or an annoying smile on Rafael's face.
"Well, I'm broke. You just decided to run along with the broke guy. So, this is all I can give."
Cheryl took a deep breath.
She realized that it wasn't Rafael who asked her to come to Las Vegas, nor was he who deliberately put Cheryl in an unpleasant position. Cheryl herself decided to come, and she came because of her sympathy for that man.
"I'm… hungry," Cheryl said with a bit of doubt, "can a broke guy like you still be able to buy me dinner?"
Rafael laughed curtly, "probably just a plate of cheap burgers."
Cheryl has never eaten a cheap burger, nor has she ever eaten bad food. Her Daddy hired a chef from a 5-star restaurant to pamper her taste buds since she was a child. Cheryl used to throw up food just because it didn't taste like her taste.
However, now she is trapped in a foreign settlement far from her Daddy. Her bag, cell phone, and wallet had disappeared when she ran through the halls of Rafael's casino. She didn't have access to contact her family, and even if she got the chance, she wouldn't contact anyone. No one should see her in this state. No one should know if Cheryl came to Las Vegas to meet Rafael, nor should anyone know if she was with Rafael in a cheap hotel because they were hiding from strangers who were doing something to attack Rafael's casino.
Tonight's incidents are just a small part of Cheryl's nightmare that no one needs to know.
Cheryl is used to keeping secrets. It doesn't seem a problem if she has to add another one.
"Your burger will be here soon."
She didn't know when Rafael came out of the attic room to order a burger, but now he was back and carrying a glass with steaming steam.
The aroma of hot chocolate immediately tickled Cherry's senses. Her body throbbed again as a cold wind from the attic window brushed against her skin.
"Are you cold? Should I close this window?" Rafael asked as he walked over to slide the window above the headboard.
The room in the attic has a roof made of glass windows so they can stare at the stars and the dark sky in a reclining position.
"Still cold?" Rafael sat beside her, reaching out to bring Cheryl closer to his body.
"I could break your arm if you try to take the opportunity to—"
"You can break my arm whenever you want. But, aren't you cold now?" Rafael asked again, now carrying Cheryl, who was shaking with cold, into his arms.
Cheryl closed her eyes.
It's still midnight, maybe 3 or 4 AM. Usually, she was curled up in a blanket while sleeping in her soft bed. She doesn't need to feel cold because the room is equipped with a heater that will always adjust the temperature according to her wishes. However, Cheryl was now in a strange place, sitting with strangers. Her body was shaking because of the cold, so she couldn't resist Rafael's embrace.
If Carlos saw it, maybe he would dump Cheryl right now.
"I am sleepy. My legs hurt, and my head hurts from lack of sleep." Cheryl started to complain while resting her head on Rafael's shoulder.
His shoulders felt hard, just as Cheryl had expected every time she looked at Rafael's shoulders and back from a distance.
Damn! Why do these hard shoulders feel so comfortable?
"You can't sleep. Your burger will be here soon. After dinner, you can go straight to bed until tomorrow morning."
"Is it okay if I sleep? What if suddenly—"
"You can sleep, Cheryl. There is no need to be afraid or worried." Rafael in a firm voice that sounded soft.
Cheryl was about to close her eyes when a knock broke the silence between them.
Raphael stood up and walked towards the door, and slowly opened it.
In an instant, the cramped room was filled with the smell of burgers, which somehow looked very delicious in Cheryl's eyes.
"No cheese?" Cheryl asked after she managed to swallow the first piece.
Rafael sat across from her. They enjoyed a burger and a glass of hot chocolate.
"I think they forgot the tomatoes, too," Rafael commented curtly.
No cheese and no tomatoes, but Cheryl didn't mind sticking with her burger at all. Her stomach was too hungry even to choose the food she could swallow.
"This is the worst burger I've ever had." Cheryl sighed. She looked up slowly to stare at the glass window, which was starting to be filled with raindrops.
" There might be worse burgers out there. You want to try?"
Cheryl shook her head, "I can't imagine anything worse than this."
"Maybe you're just not adventurous enough. In this world, there are many flavors you haven't tried yet. Get out of your comfort zone for a fun adventure."
"I like an adventure. I also often vacation around the world. If you call me less adventurous, you are wrong, Rafael!"
"Oh really? Have you ever eaten grilled fish without spices in the middle of the forest? Or swim in the lake without using a life vest?"
"What kind of adventure is that?" Cheryl frowned.
"Never mind, a daughter of Alejandro would never feel such things." Rafael waved his hand casually.
"You are mocking me?" Cheryl felt disapproved.
"No, I was just joking. Didn't you say you were sleepy earlier? Go to sleep. Do not talk too much."
"How can I sleep in a place like this?" Cheryl groaned in frustration.
There are no wide beds, no pillows, and also heating. A small bed can only fill the room in the corner facing the roof.
"You saw the bed and the blanket, didn't you? That's where you'll sleep." Rafael answered while cleaning up the rest of their plates and glasses.
"Then where did you sleep?"
"Don't think about me. I'll sleep outside."
The small room looks terrible. In addition to the dark situation, which tends to be dim, the room size is too narrow to be called a bedroom.
Cheryl is afraid of the dark and often feels short of breath whenever she is in a narrow room. If Rafael slept outside, then she would have to lie alone in the eerie darkness.
"Rafael," Cheryl called when Rafael was in the doorway. "Can you sleep with me?"