Page 89 of Wrong Marriage. Right Groom
“I know you’re reckless, but your loyalty still belongs to this family. Correct?”
Bruno didn’t answer immediately.
I could hear him hesitate—anger fighting something older underneath it. Something like obedience.
Rafael continued anyway.
“Nothing will change my mind. I don’t need your approval or anyone else’s in the family. She will be my wife.”
The finality in those words was structural.
Like a lock clicking shut.
“I won’t let this wedding happen,” Bruno said suddenly, voice rougher now. Less controlled. “You’re blinded by whatever delusion this is.”
“I’ve been covering your failures because I gave our mother my word on her last day,” Rafael said. His tone had turned tosteel. “Without me, you are nothing, Bruno. Don’t mistake my patience—or my silence—for love.”
A pause. Then colder still—
“If you refuse to know your place, I will put you there. Let this be the last time you threaten me.”
The air in the room tightened.
“Just because my hands are bound by promises doesn’t mean I don’t have other ways to make you bleed.”
A beat.
“Now leave.”
Silence followed.
Then movement.
Heavy, uneven footsteps—Bruno pacing once, then twice, like he was fighting the urge to say something else.
I heard the way he moved—angry, restrained, humiliated.
Then the door opened.
A brief pause.
And it closed behind him with too much force, the sound echoing through the office like an insult he couldn’t undo.
Then I heard Rafael’s footsteps approaching.
Every step made my spine tighten further, my senses sharpening in the way they always did when something unpredictable came too close.
I didn’t move. Couldn’t afford to.
I felt the air shift slightly as he leaned in or simply stood near enough to change it.
My fingers curled against the wood.
“Where is Zara?” I asked quickly, my voice tight, controlled only by effort. “Is she—”
“You’re free to go home early today. Prepare for tomorrow’s wedding. Ramiro will pick you up in the morning.”
He said it like he couldn’t wait for it to be sealed—like there was something behind it he was trying, and failing, to hide.
