BEHIND CLOSED DOORS | 18+ |✔

28

c h a p t e r     t w e n t y - e i g h t

Two chapters in one day! You're welcome.

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Antonia coerced another smile on her face. Beside her, Emma laughed along with another professor of the academy, whose name Antonia had the courtesy to forget. The women chatted away about a certain political leader's second wife and giggled about marital problems. 

Making up an excuse to use the washroom, and memorising the directions Emma gave her, she slowly walked away, trying to avoid bumping into any super-rich person lest she had to pay for a crease on their some-thousands-dollar suit. 

She smiled ruefully. In the course of the evening, even though Emma had assured her that she looked just as wonderful as the wealthy people here, she had felt pinchingly out of place. She had not been raised so prudish and so prosperous. In every step, from striking conversations to asking for drinks, she had been reminded that she was just a small-town girl from Spain, and apart from her job at the Queen's, she had no other qualification to be here. 

While she was walking past the staircase, she saw Clementine, who was talking to Rhys's mother. Antonia put down her head and tried to mix in the crowd, avoiding meeting with the physicist. She let herself camouflage among the guests, and once convinced that she was far enough, she looked up and was met with a large wooden door. Frowning, she looked up and down, trying to recall if this was the bathroom door Emma had described. 

"If you're looking for the washroom," she jumped and whirled around at the voice, "then it's that way." 

Antonia stared at the man in front of her, her eyes taking a double-take of his face. Dressed in an impeccable lavender suit, with his unkempt shoulder-length brown hair tied up in a small bun with a few strands falling out, the person grinned, his hazel eyes crinkling beautifully around the corner. 

"Raul Clyde," he held out a hand, "a pleasure to meet you." 

Raul Clyde, Antonia took his hand, that's the brother Rhys was talking about. 

"Antonia Rodriguez," she shook hands, "nice to meet you." 

Still awestruck by the strong resemblance between the two siblings, she suddenly remembered the first time she had heard his voice. 

Yes, when you were squished between the table and Rhys's thighs in the chancellor's office. 

"I'm Rhys's elder brother if you couldn't already tell," he smirked, and the history professor saw that his face was more boyish than his younger brother, "allow me to show you the washroom." 

"Uh, yeah, thank you." Antonia gave him a smile. She was a disaster at navigation, and she mentally made a note to write down directions when they were told to him. 

Raul waved a hand and started walking, asking her to follow him. Nodding, Antonia was about to follow him when she tripped on her own ankle. 

She gasped lightly as she tilted towards the ground, but before she could make an impact and make a fool out of herself, two strong arms cupped her small body and held her up. 

"Are you okay?" Raul asked from over her, holding her body and making her steady on her feet. Antonia burnt in red, avoiding eye contact and simply nodding her head. 

"It's those heels," Raul scrunched up his nose at the shoes concerned, "those look so terribly uncomfortable." 

"Mm-hm." Antonia hit the ground with the stilettos, testing if her legs could still carry her weight around. Raul was still holding her, and she could feel the muscles on his abdomen. They were not as strong as the man who normally held her, but they were no less.