Page 164 of Wrong Marriage. Right Groom
“And you will never take my wife out again without informing me.”
My wife.
The words landed strangely in my chest.
Did he just call me that—when I had always been a wife in name only, never in presence?
I stood there, unmoving for a second, feeling the familiar frustration rise up beneath my skin.
“So I am to be confined within the boundaries of home and work?” I said sharply.
My voice carried further than I intended.
I took a careful step forward, fingers brushing the wall beside me for orientation.
My heels clicked softly, each sound giving me a mental image of distance closing.
I didn’t need sight to know I was being looked at.
I could feel it.
Ramiro shifted slightly.
Then I heard him step back.
Leaving space.
Rafael didn’t move immediately.
Didn’t respond immediately either.
Then his voice came.
“Yes. Especially now that we don’t know whether this marriage has been exposed or not.”
“I want you to know that I’ll be offering divorce papers in seven months, when my internship ends,” I said, my voice steady as I lifted my chin into the space where I knew he stood.
My voice was steady, even if my heartbeat wasn’t. “You can’t seriously expect me to remain in a marriage like this forever, can you?”
A low, humorless sound escaped him.
“That might work if I were just a billionaire,” he said evenly. “But I don’t just run a company—I control a faction of the Spanish mafia. In this world, divorce isn’t part of the tradition. Marriage is permanent.”
He paused.
“Besides...” his voice lowered slightly, “are you really prepared to walk away from Tess’s life?”
I exhaled sharply, forcing myself not to hesitate.
“I don’t care what traditions your mafia follows. I will leave,” I countered, my voice sharpening despite myself. “And if you try to stop me, know that my Italian family family won’t stand by quietly.”
My jaw tightened.
“And Tess... I haven’t known her for long. Five weeks, maybe. She’ll adjust. Children do.”
A pause lingered.
“If anything, you should start preparing her now—so she doesn’t hurt too much when I’m gone.”
