Chapter 10

**NICOLE**

Today had been so fun filled, amazing and beautiful to say the least. Raphael took me to so many beautiful sites in Rome and I enjoyed every bit of our tour.

Raphael had totally planned everything. He bought us tickets to Roman Colosseum and Roman Forum ahead of our visit.
The Colosseum was the largest amphitheatre in Rome with an audience capacity of fifty thousand. It was also very historical. Raphael told me this was where the famous gladiatorial combats, animal fights and Romans games were held followed by the bloody, gory and murderous deaths.

  I cringed knowing people actually died here some hundreds of years ago but it was a very beautiful site.

  The forum was just as beautiful as the Colosseum. It was the centre of the city and provided us with a view of the ruins of ancient markets, administrative and religious buildings. It was really a historical site.

We visited the Palatine Hill which was included in our Colosseum ticket. It gave us access to the ruins of the residences of Emperor Augustus, the first Roman Emperor.

  Raphael told me according to myth, the city was founded by Romulus and Remus. I had no idea who they were.
He said they were twins who were found and suckled by a wolf in a cave.
I laughed so hard when I heard that. That was some real urban legend shit.

  Raphael was literally my tour guide round Rome.
He took me to Piazza Venezia which was not far from the Roman Forum.
We literally did a great deal of exploring today.
  In between our tour, I also got to try different mouth watering Italian cuisines. Raphael literally made me eat almost every Italian dish that came our way.
  I definitely don't think I'll have appetite for dinner once we arrive home.

  It was seven pm now. We had gotten lots of walks and lots of taxi rides.
The Italian night sky was beautiful. The stars shone radiantly with the luminous moon spreading its soft rays through the foggy clouds.

  We were walking down a street, the beautiful street lamps beaming over us, providing light to our pathway.

"Where are we heading to Raphael?"I asked, my excitement still webbed over my face.

"It is a surprise my queen"he replied as his hold on my hand tightened.

"Tell me Raph"I cried out, pouting my lips and giving him puppy eyes.

  He turned his face to look at mine and smiled. "No" was his abrupt reply.

My face morphed into a frown and I used my shoulder to hit his which got him laughing.
He stopped in our tracks making me stop to and turned to face me. Bringing his index finger to my face, he placed it on my lips before running it along my bottom lip gently.

  "Every inch of you turns me on Nicole"he whispered, his voice caressing me.
A giggle escaped my lips and my eyes darted to the cobble grounds. He brought his hands to lift my head up, facing him.

"You are my world Nicole. I love you more than you can ever imagine"
He was being so romantic and sweet.
Before I could think anymore, he softly placed his lips on mine,kissing me gently.

  After our brief make out session, he pulled out with a grin.
"So...will you tell me where we are going now?"I asked shyly as we began walking.

"No"was his same abrupt reply.
This man was insane.

  I didn't know if I should laugh or frown at him. I decided to annoy him by eagerly pulling on his hair but softly.

"Yes that's how I want you to pull my hair when I fuck you. Go harder" Raphael said with a wink at me.

"You are so cocky and a jerk"I said with a gasp and my cheeks turning scarlet red.

  I noticed we had walked towards a river. A water taxi was at the edge and a man stood inside, seemed like he was waiting for us.
  My face lit up. I had never been in a water taxi before. Raphael helped me get inside.

"Let's go for a little ride shall we?"Raphael asked which seemed more like a command because the taxi already set off once we entered.

  It was very romantic. I peeped my face out of one of the numerous windows of the water taxi. The river beneath was beautiful. I could see the reflection of the moon and stars. I bet the water will be freezingly cold. The chilly wind blew eagerly and it gave me goosebumps.

    Raphael draped an arm over my shoulder and snuggled me close to himself once I retreated my face out of the window.

"Bella I remember you called me a particular name the day you got drunk back in Nigeria. Beast yes?"

Wow. He had a sharp memory.
I nodded. "Yes beast. I am beauty and you are beast"

He shrugged his shoulders. "That's an insane description of the two of us. Is it a movie?"

My jaws dropped and I stared at him
"Don't you know Beauty and the Beast? It's a Disney fairytale. Didn't you get to watch it?"

He shook his head. "I didn't watch all those. I wasn't opportuned to. Tell me about it"
At this point I felt sorry for Raphael. He did mention his childhood was turbulent. He missed out on so many beautiful childhood memories.

"Well"I began with a soft smile.
"The show focused on a prince that was cursed and became a beast as a result of his pompous attitude. Him and everyone in his castle were all cursed. And the curse could only be broken by true love kiss. A flower was given to him and when the last petal of the flower drops without him finding true love then the curse would be permanent and he will remain a beast forever"

"That's scary, what happened next?"Raphael suddenly asked as he became more interested.

"Well a beautiful girl named belle entered his life. Her father was captured by him for trespassing into his castle. She went there to save him and agreed to stay with the beast in exchange for her father's freedom. At first she was scared of him but later on she grew to love him and actually brought out his good side"

Raphael gave a satisfied smile and nodded for me to go on.
"Their love wasn't without hurdles though. At the climax, a man named Gaston, who wanted to marry belle raised an uproar within the villagers. He hated the beast and incited the villagers to go to the beast castle to kill him"

Raphael's eyes suddenly widened and he held on to my hand."Did he succeed? Did he kill the Beast?"

I let out a smile. Raphael was behaving like a child. It was beautiful seeing him looking childish.

"The beast was stabbed by Gaston in the back during the attack on his castle and as for Gaston, he did die..."I paused in my story and saw a sad look wash upon his face.

"But before the beast died, belle kissed him, a true love kiss and that was when the last petal from the flower fell off. The curse was broken. He transformed into the handsome prince he was before"

A broad grin broke out on his face."I'm sure Belle was happy"

"Of course she was"I said excitedly.

"They lived happy ever after from there on. And he stopped being pompous too"I concluded before pecking Raphael on the cheek.

"So we can say belle looked beyond his physical appearance and saw that he had a good heart deep within him. She grew to love him for who he was on the inside and stood by him when Gaston and the villagers attacked his castle.."Raphael began explaining the lessons he saw in the story like a child.

I was marvelled. He was such a fast learner and a good listener to.
I could only giggle and nod.

"It sounds just like I and you"He said, tilting his head to face me.
"Tell me another story. There's this one I hear about. Um Cin..cindre"

"Cinderella"I completed for him.
His blue eyes glistered and he nodded his head. "Yes that one. Tell me about it"

Raphael just seemed like an innocent child at this moment. No dark, brooding, or dangerous look on his face. He seemed so innocent.
I nodded with a smile.
"Ok so cinderella..."I began as our boat trailed along the waters.

This was how I wanted us to be.
Perfect.