NAOMI: And you know which one it won’t be
ISABEL: Sure you’re not pregnant, btw?
Heat climbed Bea’s cheeks.
BEA: NO.
NAOMI: How’s the no-sleepover rule going?
LILLIAN: He shows up every morning at ours with breakfast.
Her ever-considerate friend and housemate was texting from her room because she always gave them at least half an hour in the kitchen alone.
BEA: If he keeps doing this after the wedding, I’m leaving a testimonial on the GV website.
BEA: Five stars, would wed again
“Five stars?” he asked, the corner of his mouth tipping up.
“We have to get married first,” she teased sweetly, before locking her phone and placing it down.
His smile didn’t last.
Rafael stepped back. Once. Twice. Until his spine hit the opposite counter.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, a small knot forming between her brows as she felt the sudden change in temperature.
“We need to talk.”
“Should I be worried?”
“Yes.” He held her gaze without softening.
“Okay…”
“When you marry me,” he said, shifting his weight back onto his heels, as though digging in, “it means more here than it would anywhere else.”
Bea tilted her head.
“Marriage isn’t just a contract,” he continued. “It’s a transfer of authority.”
That word. It triggered something, old beliefs clashing with new ones, both of them making equal sense and none at all. The familiar drip of anxiety started through her veins. “Authority over what?”
“Over us.” Then, quieter, “Overyou.”
Her brain stalled like a file corrupted midsentence. She actually shook her head once, as if that might reboot it. “I’m sorry?”
“You already understand Tier Four,” he said. “Rights over travel, medical, and legal matters. But that’s not the full scope once we’re married.”
Her tongue stuck slightly to her teeth. “How much more are we talking?”
“All future property will be in my name. Anything major and financial. Your employer answers to me.”
A breath that sounded more like a laugh came out. “That’s not funny.”
“I’m not joking.”
Her brain supplied a useless image of a grey warning box, blinking politely while everything beneath it vanished. “And you waited untilafteryou put a ring on my finger to mention this?”
