Chapter 16 #4
Something in me flinched at that.
“Will you really kill him... your own blood brother?”
The thought made my stomach tighten.
I should have been the one pushing for Bruno’s death, considering everything between us—our history, the ugliness of it all.
And yet the idea of him dying... especially at his brother’s hands... didn’t sit right with me.
Rafael went still.
For a moment, I thought I had crossed a line.
But instead of anger, something quieter passed over his expression. Something more controlled, but no less intense.
He stepped closer.
Not aggressively.
Just enough to close the remaining space between us.
His hand lifted, and his fingers gently caught my chin.
He tilted my face up toward him, forcing my gaze to meet his completely.
I had nowhere else to look.
“We do not take betrayal lightly in this world,” he said quietly. “It is the highest offense. And it is always answered the same way.”
A pause.
“Death.”
His voice dropped lower on the final word.
Then his hand left my chin and he pulled back.
His voice softened slightly when he spoke again.
“Go and get dressed properly,” he said. “I’ll be here when Bruno arrives.”
A pause.
“If you wish, you may come and witness his execution.”
I wanted to speak. To beg him not to kill Bruno. To make him see reason.
But I stopped myself.
That wasn’t how this world worked. Not his world. Not mine anymore.
Betrayal wasn’t debated here. It was punished.
So I forced the words out quietly.
“Alright.”
I turned to leave.
But I barely took a step.
He moved faster than I expected.
One moment I was turning away—already trying to escape the weight of the charged air between us—and the next, he was there again.
Closing the distance with that silent precision that always made resistance feel less like a choice... and more like an illusion.
His hand caught my arm, not harshly, but firmly enough to stop me.
Then he shifted.
In a fluid motion, he guided me back until my back met the wall.
His body followed immediately after, large and solid, caging me in without actually trapping me.
One hand rested beside my head against the wall, the other settled at my waist—steadying.
And then I felt him.
Pressed against me.
The hard length of him straining through his trousers, heat and tension coiled tightly beneath expensive fabric, brushing against me in a way that sent a sharp, involuntary pulse through me.
My breath caught.
Rafael lowered his head slightly, his lips close enough that every word brushed my skin before I even fully heard it.
“Last night...” he murmured, his voice low and rough against my ear.
His arms tightened around me, one hand slowly tracing the curve of my spine. “You loved it, didn’t you?”
I shifted in his embrace, pressing closer despite myself.
My heart was hammering so loudly I was sure he could feel it. Still, I didn’t answer right away.
He let out a soft, amused breath that stirred my hair.
“Because I did,” he confessed, the words warm and unguarded.
His fingers slipped beneath my chin, gently tilting my face up until our eyes met. “I loved every second. Every sound you made. Every way you gave yourself to me.”
His thumb brushed my lower lip, his gaze darkening. “I want more of you... so much more. But I need to know it didn’t bring anything painful back. That you felt safe. That you’re truly okay with everything we did.”
My breath caught sharply at his words, eyes widening in surprise.
For a moment I could only stare at him, heat flooding my cheeks as his raw honesty sank in.
He wasn’t just teasing or chasing pleasure — he was seeing me. Checking. Caring.
I wrapped my hands around his neck, steadying myself there, feeling the faint pulse beneath his skin.
“I...” I whispered, my voice trembling slightly.
I searched his face, heart squeezing at the quiet intensity in his eyes. “I didn’t expect you to say that.”
A shy, breathless smile tugged at my lips. “Yes. I loved it. God, I loved it so much it scared me a little.”
I leaned in closer, our foreheads nearly touching.
“Nothing from my past came back. I felt... safe. Wanted. Cherished in a way I’ve never felt before. So yes... I’m more than okay with it.”
My voice dropped, turning soft and intimate. “I want more too. I want you.”
His eyes sharpened at that.
He studied me for a long moment—long enough that I felt the weight of everything unsaid between us pressing into that silence.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter.
“You deserve to know what bound me so deeply to Zara,” he said quietly.
“I need to tell you... but I’m afraid it will break you. You may not be able to hear it and still see me the same way afterward.”
His gaze looked hollow—like the weight of it had already begun to consume him.
My heart sank.
This was it. The secret I had been desperate to uncover.
And yet, hearing him say it so casually—like it was something that could fracture everything between us—made me suddenly feel unprepared to receive it.
My pulse spiked, sharp and unsteady.
I took my hand away from him and stepped back twice, still staring at him as if distance could somehow soften whatever was coming.
“Zara and I...”
“Wait.”
The word left me before I could stop it.
My breath shook as I shook my head. “I don’t think I’m ready to know. I... I can’t.”
I exhaled unevenly, something unraveling inside me even without the truth being spoken.
Turning abruptly, I walked fast toward my room, my steps uneven.
Why was I suddenly afraid of the very truth I had been chasing for so long?
Why did knowing feel more dangerous than wondering?