Chapter 63 The conversation at the evening party

(Lena's POV)
I have no fear and have met many people who seem very mean, but I know their nature.
I had an urge to laugh as I viewed the man in front of me.
The woman looked at me with contemptuous eyes, "Hello, Mrs. Hill, I heard a long time ago that Mr. Hill's wife had disappeared because of a car accident, and I never thought I'd see you again after five years."
I gave a startled cry, "I didn't expect you to be so concerned about me instead, and yes, I'm back now, but what's wrong with that?"
The air seemed to have frozen as the woman looked at me, her face unkind and seemingly on the verge of fury.
I let out a laugh, not feeling any fear at the woman's stare.
The atmosphere also followed the tension.
Just then, I saw Raphael coming up from behind the woman.
Rafael seemed very surprised when he saw me, and he walked over to me, nodded to the woman in front of me, and then said in a calm tone, "Good evening, Mrs. Brown."
I looked at Raphael and was a little surprised that these two would know each other.
Mrs. Brown withdrew her eyes, then turned away without even looking at Rafael.
I looked at Mrs. Brown's back and frowned a little suspiciously.
Rafael knew what I wanted to ask.
"He is Mrs. Brown, the wife of the former president of the Brown Group, but now, the Brown Group has been temporarily handed over to his daughter to manage."
"It looks like you guys know each other pretty well."
Raphael gave me a look, then suddenly said, "It's nothing strange, and those who can rank within New York City include the Brown Group, but right now, the Brown Group may not be very eager to befriend me."
I looked over at Raphael, who was surprisingly a bit smug as he said this, although I don't know exactly why that was.
However, I didn't care about the fight between them. I fought back against Mrs. Brown simply because she annoyed me first.
I nodded, but Rafael continued, "I had expected her to be this way with me, after all, a large part of the reason the Brown Group is the way it now has to do with me."
"Why? Since the Brown Group also has some reputation, it should not be easy to be brought down. If the enemy cannot be defeated at once, it is better to retain the strength first and maintain a good relationship with the other party, won't it affect the Hill Group if you do this?"
When I finished like that, Raphael continued to look at me.
His expression was a little strange, although it didn't change much from before, I could still feel it.
I blinked at him and Rafael answered in a low voice: "Because of some personal grudge, you don't need to know that."
The more Rafael said this, the more curious I became.
Of course, I also understood that even if I pestered Raphael to tell me what was going on, Raphael wouldn't pay any attention to me.
I nodded and pretended I didn't care.
However, this seemed to surprise Raphael instead: "You're not curious about what it's really about?"
I gave a laugh and deliberately put on a helpless tone and said, "Even if I wanted to know, I'm afraid you wouldn't tell me, right?"
Rafael, after hearing this from me, surprisingly followed with a cold snort, and then he said, "Indeed."
When I heard his answer, I suddenly had a feeling of a fist hitting cotton. It seems that it is not an easy thing to get some words out of Rafael's mouth.
I sighed and brought the subject around, "Are you done with your business?"
"What? Are you worried about people continuing to pick on you?"
I let out a laugh and then looked over at Raphael, "Do you think I look like someone who would worry about that?"
Rafael looked at me, his eyes narrowed, and I suddenly had a feeling of flinching.
It seems like I just said the wrong thing: "Of course, I would love for you to be here with me, but your business should be important as well, and I don't want me to hold you back from doing it."
Raphael's face eased up after listening to my explanation.
He withdrew his gaze, then picked up a glass of wine from the side and said after taking a sip, "It's not taken care of, but I'm not in a big hurry, so I can keep you company for a while."
"That's not bad." I pretended to observe the people around me, deliberately not making eye contact with Raphael.
I don't know why, but I always felt that Rafael was now looking at me with a little too much eagerness. I simply could not look him straight in the eye.
However, there is no way I can stand the silence now.
I talked a breath and then said, "Raphael, we've been apart for five years, why don't you find another one?"
Raphael didn't say anything, and I turned my head to look at him a little uneasily.
Raphael was looking at me, his gaze serious, but this time I forced myself to meet his eyes.
"Lena, because you're the only wife I have."
However, I understand very well the thing about these big families, most of them can't decide their marriage, especially not with someone who doesn't have any social status like me.
Since the Hill Group is one of the most powerful groups within New York City, his heir certainly can't just be a random person without any background. Even if I have amnesia and I don't remember exactly what happened in those three years, I know how ordinary I am.
Rafael and I will have a lot of opposition when we get married.
And, even if Raphael did get married, wouldn't I have left after that?
Five years is a short time, to put it mildly, and even if we had fallen in love again before, there is a good chance that Rafael would have fallen in love with someone else.
What's more, Rafael must frequent such places. Every woman here is dressed up very beautifully, not to mention men, some women will not be able to resist a few more glances. Raphael can resist the temptation? Would those people mind that Raphael was married with a child?
I turned my head back and these things started giving me a headache again.
At this time, Rafael suddenly reached out and gently stroked my head.
Then I heard Rafael say gently, "Lena, I know what you're worried about, and I did meet a lot of women over the years."
My heart seemed to be hit by something. I didn't want to hear anything about other women from Raphael's mouth, and if Raphael insisted on telling me about his affair, I would probably just leave the place.
"But, Lena, it makes me even more convinced that you are the only one I love."
I opened my tightly closed eyes, somewhat unable to believe what I had just heard. Then I looked up at Rafael.
"What did you say?"
"I said, even if there are many people who want something from me, I know very well that you are the only one I love."
I was a little speechless, but Rafael suddenly laughed.
He gently pinched my cheek, and because the gesture was so intimate, I couldn't help but blush. After making sure no one noticed what was going on over here, I reached out and pulled his hand down.
Then I whispered, "Don't get your hands on me out there, Rafael."
Raphael nodded and then continued, "I told you a long time ago that I was decadent for a long time after you left me, and Lena, this is the second time you've left me."
I was a little shocked.
The second time?
I looked up at Rafael and it was obvious that he knew what I was confused about.
"The first time was during the three years you lost your memory."
"Why?"
"What?"
"Why did I leave you the first time?"
"Because of some misunderstanding, Lena, and that's one of the reasons why I'm trying to bring down the Brown Group."
My mouth dropped open in some surprise, and Rafael looked at me as he laughed instead.
My mood is not calm, but, now in this situation, I can no longer continue to pursue the question.
"Lena, you weren't just jealous, were you?"
I blinked and did feel a little unhappy inside thinking about how many people Raphael might have been courting during those five years.
But even if I was really unhappy, I wouldn't admit it in front of Rafael.
I looked up and said deliberately and firmly, "I'm not going to get jealous over something like that."
After hearing my denial, Rafael laughed instead.
I know he didn't believe it, but none of that matters anymore.
Rafael and I continued around the venue for a while, and then it was time for him to leave again.
Before leaving, he also made a point of telling me to protect myself.
I'm not a fool who can't take care of himself.
After Rafael left, I felt surprisingly tired already.
I looked around for a place to rest, but although this venue was large, there was no place to sit down.
After some internal struggle, I decided to go out and see if there was a lounge.
I pushed open the door of the venue and then went to the corridor.
However, even after I punched around the corridor, I didn't see any restrooms.
By this time, I had decided to go upstairs and check it out.
I walked up the stairs and around the corner, to my surprise, I heard a burst of laughter coming from upstairs.
I frowned, not knowing what to do when the voice came a little closer to me.
Because I wasn't sure if I could walk around as much as I wanted to, but, soon, I wasn't dwelling on it.
Because the person coming down the stairs let out a surprised yell after seeing me.
Then I looked up at the other side and my eyes widened in shock as well.
"Lena, what are you doing here?"
My sister Mary stood in front of me and said to me in a disgusted tone.