The Bad Ones¹, 𝙧. 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙣

I wanna write another Rafe story maybe ha

AUTHOR'S NOTE
Please leave feedback if you like this new idea I've had brewing in my head for a while. It's basically a Rafe x fem OC story where they're in a fake relationship. I guess it's also sort of an AU idk yet. I drafted out the first chapter and here it is!

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The last thing Ward Cameron discretely slipped to me as he helped me onto the stage in my stilettos was— Don't kill me for the things I end up rambling up there, Aurelia.

In return, I slapped his suit-clad arm playfully and shot him a frown that read— Don't be silly. My glossed lips lifted into a smile so genuine that I couldn't feel any pain in my cheeks even though I'd been smiling non-stop that entire night.

Ward smiled back. His dark brown hair was styled to perfection and if it weren't for the salt and pepper beard and delicate crows feet at the corners of his sparkling blue eyes, I'd think he were ten years younger than he actually was.

Even in his mid-fifties, he impeccably pulled off a suit that stretched tautly across his broad shoulders, effectively extracting heavenly sighs from most of the middle-aged women on the island. Rose Cameron was left to tightly clutch onto her husband's arm whenever she got the chance– not that their marriage was anything but a happy one.

I'd received multiple compliments for my own stunning appearance that night. The low back champagne mini dress I had on even seemed to give invitation to lingering touches against my exposed back that were far from friendly. But there was no one who came up and possessively wrapped their arm around my waist to thwart attempts made by strangers to touch me.

It sucked, but I wasn't gonna ask for his help. Especially not since he hadn't even bothered to say hello to me let alone look my way even once since he arrived at the Island Club.

It was only when I climbed up to the stage with his dad did I feel Rafe Cameron's eyes on me for the first time that night. I kept my smile firmly planted when our eyes met and fought the urge to roll mine when his steely gaze played an intimidation game.

He was refusing to applaud like the rest of the crowd before us and instead had his mouth buried behind a glass of something that had probably started off as non-alcoholic, but turned very much the opposite after he tampered it with a flash he snuck in. I could easily bet twenty bucks on that guess.

"Thank you, everyone!" Ward announced into the mic once we got to the center of the stage. I dropped Rafe's intense eyes, a bit upset that I had to be the first to look away. "Thank you for coming out tonight to help me celebrate the successes of this young lady to my right— many of you know her as Aurelia Delaney, and I do too but I hope to also someday call her my daughter-in-law," Ward turned to shoot me a grin that held a hint of an apology. I tried my best to choke out a pleasant laugh as I smiled to our audience who beamed right back up at me.

"I first met Aurelia when she was thirteen," Ward continued. "Now I know our schools here do an excellent job of molding young, impressionable teens into innovative leaders and Aurelia here is a great example of that.

She came to me as just a freshmen in high school, and pitched the idea for the Rosewood initiative to further support young teens like herself find a footing in the business world— and as many of you know, Rosewood was successfully launched last year and paved the way for hundreds of students to get involved in real business affairs across the island.

I honestly could spend half-an-hour talking about all her achievements besides Rosewood, but I'm gonna let her cover letter speak for itself if you're interested in employing her," Ward joked, cueing a round of laughter from the crowd. "I know we're really here tonight to celebrate her graduation from high school– four years I'm sure flew by so fast for her 'cause I know they did for me. But Aurelia took those four years and made the absolute most out of them so it didn't come as a surprise to any of us that this angel of a girl is leaving North Carolina behind for D.C. where Georgetown will be taking her in next fall!" The crowd erupted in appraisal and applause while Ward's eyes found mine.