I Smell Trouble!

Stella froze on the spot when she saw Adrian. She initially wanted to go over to him and scold him for getting her unnecessarily worked up. But the word that left Raphael's mouth made her brain go numb with fear and her heart almost leap out of her chest.

"Cousin! How? Where? Why? Oh God, I'm in trouble!"

Stella's unforgiving memory replayed all her encounters with Adrian and how she had addressed him like a nobody.

"Now I understand why Alfred almost passed out when I was talking to Adrian. He knew all this while who Adrian was and he didn't give me a signal to shut my mouth up. What am I going to do to correct my wrong first impression? I do not want to lose this job that took me months to learn and grow up the ladder."

From a reasonable distance, Adrian was perplexed and slightly disappointed to see his cousin and Stella together. It had not been up to forty minutes since he left her company and this made him wonder how Raphael had found her.

Knowing Raphael's promiscuous lifestyle, he was worried that Raphael may have slept with her or was making plans to.

Another thing that caught Adrian's attention was the conspicuous mess on Stella's white tank top and the bowl of grapes she was holding.

"What is she doing here with those grapes and why is she looking this messy?" Adrian scratched his head for some answers as Raphael came up to him and engulfed him in their special brotherly embrace.

"I just went out in search of you, man. I never knew you were already back home. It's great to see you."

"Same here, Raphael," Adrian chuckled. "I'm just coming back from the winery. Grandpa wanted me to stay long but I reminded him that you and I had a festival to attend."

"That old man never gets tired of working," Raphael scoffed. "I'm worried that he has successfully indoctrinated you into his boring workaholic lifestyle."

"That's the lifestyle that pays your bills, young man." Adrian nudged Raphael on the shoulder. "By the way, what are you doing with Stella?"

"You know her?" Raphael turned in Stella's direction and signaled her to come forward.

"Yeah, we ran into each other on the farm when I went to get some grapes," Adrian replied while staring at the cautiously approaching Stella. He could see the apprehension in her movement and the fear in her captivating eyes. So he decided to help restore her initial confidence by overlooking her earlier mistaken identity.

"Well, I hope you have no plans for her because I think I finally found the love of my life." The side of Raphael's lips curved into a sly smirk.

"You are such a joker!" Adrian slapped Raphael's shoulder playfully.

"This is no joke coz because I can't seem to get my eyes off this one. Have you seen the way she looks? She's going to cure all my sexual fantasies."

Adrian masked the rage in his eyes by chuckling. He didn't reply Raphael's nasty comment because Stella was close to them.

Although Adrian was inwardly disgusted and repelled by Raphael's statement, he was happy that Raphael hadn't slept with her yet.

"Stella, I would like you to meet my handsome but unavailable cousin, Adrian Dawson. He is the creative, ethical, and devoted CEO of Arnold Dawson Treasure Wines." Raphael said proudly as if that would make Stella grovel at his feet and grace his bed.

"M... Mr. Adrian, I...I...am very s...s..."

Adrian smiled sweetly at Stella's sudden humility and swiftly save her from her panic-induced stuttering.

"Stella," Adrian called sweetly making Raphael's eyebrow arch in suspicion, "let's do away with the past and start afresh if that is okay by you."

Stella nodded her head in response while avoiding both Dawson's intense gaze. She couldn't explain why she felt frustrated and slightly jealous when Raphael said that Adrian was unavailable. 'Is he married?' She queried her thoughts silently while staring at the grapes in her hand as if she could see the answers in them.

"Awesome! Adrian beamed. "It's my pleasure to meet you again." He stretched out his right hand towards Stella but Raphael cunningly pulled Stella away before she had the chance to shake Adrian's hand.

"Stella needs to give these grapes to Mina before Maria chops her head off," Raphael said while pulling Stella away from his devilishly handsome cousin. He had no plans of sharing her with Adrian and he didn't want Adrian confusing her local brain with his city charms.

'Adrian can have her when I'm done brandishing my name on that sweet curvy ass.' Raphael licked his lips as he stole furtive glances at Stella's backside.

Adrian gritted his teeth at Raphael's inappropriate and immature behavior. He thought of addressing Raphael's childish attitude but held back his tongue as he didn't want to look or sound desperate.

Hence, he swallowed up his anger and tagged along behind Raphael and Stella. He decided that he wouldn't allow Raphael to charm Stella to his bed or treat her like a cheap doxy.

"Mr. Raphael, your family mansion is so beautiful." Stella beamed while feeding her eyes on the massive mansion before her that exuded every essence of luxury, elegance, and comfort.

"Wait until you see the inside and most especially, my luxurious bedroom," Raphael smirked and winked in Adrian's direction.

"The water fountain is a masterpiece!" Stella acted as if she didn't hear Raphael's last statement. She focused her attention on the beautiful outdoor splashing water fountain and fantasized about playing in them like she usually did back at the Felan mansion.

Stella was so engrossed in her thrilling thoughts that she didn't notice a gray hair woman standing by the entrance and critically analyzing her with eagle eyes.

"I smell trouble!" Mina chuckled like a gray-haired witch planning something sinister.

"The moment I've been waiting for has finally come. This family has been quiet for too long and needs someone like this girl to disrupt the peace a little."

"All this pretty girl needs is a little bit of spice and I'm going to provide her with them." Mina rubbed her hands together as she imagined the drama that was about to unfold.

She watched with fascination, as two of her grandsons seemed unbothered escorting the pretty young country girl, who fell into the perfect description of the person Maria claimed attacked her earlier.