Page 104 of Wrong Marriage. Right Groom
“In fact,” he continued, “I owe you an apology for my earlier behavior.”
The words were too perfect.
Polished in the way lies often were when they had been rehearsed.
I shook my head once, cutting through his performance before it could settle.
“Mr. Pérez,” I started, then corrected myself sharply, frustration slipping through despite me. “Rafael... I understand your brother has every right to this house, but I cannot feel safe around him. I will never be comfortable living here if he stays.”
“This house is too large,” I continued carefully. “Too empty. I can’t— I can’t see it. I don’t know it yet. And he—”
I stopped myself before I said what I truly meant.
And he makes me feel watched.
Bruno let out a soft, wounded laugh.
“Mrs. Pérez,” he corrected me lightly, as if savoring the name. “You already convinced Rafael to forbid me from steppingintohis office. Now you want him to do the same with his home?”
A beat.
“You seem to enjoy testing the bond between my brother and me,” he added. “Is this because of what almost happened at your apartment? I’ve apologized. Repeatedly. But please—do not turn my brother against me.”
His voice lowered.
“This is his house. Which means it is mine, too.”
Something cold settled in my chest.
I exhaled slowly, forcing my voice steady.
“Stop pretending,” I said quietly. “It doesn’t suit you. You’re a predator, Bruno. Possibly worse. And there is no version of this where I feel safe with you moving through these halls.”
The wordhallsfelt too large in my mouth.
Because I couldn’t see them. Only imagine them.
I could hear Bruno’s breathing shift—faster now. Sharper. Like something in him had been struck and didn’t like it.
Then Rafael spoke.
And the temperature of the room changed.
“Bruno, you will always remain my brother,” Rafael said evenly, “but Loretta must feel safe in this house. That is the leastshe is entitled to. So you will leave—and you will not come here again without asking my permission.”
The words landed with a weight I hadn’t expected.
I stood there, stunned.
I had been bracing for resistance—some dismissive reminder that I had no authority here, that comfort was not something I could demand in his home. Instead, he had done the opposite. Not only had he restricted Bruno from my workplace, but he had now drawn a line inside his own house.
A part of me didn’t know what to do with that.
It unsettled me more than refusal would have.
Because it meant Rafael was not entirely what I had assumed. Not entirely cruel. Not entirely unreachable.
And I hated that a part of me noticed.
