Rafael occupied it with dangerous precision and quiet authority.
While Bruno’s presence repulsed me in every possible way, Rafael... Rafael felt entirely different.
I had never seen him in person—my blindness made that impossible—but even if I had sight, it seemed he was rarely seen at all.
The staff spoke of him in hushed, almost reverent tones, dreaming aloud about the rare occasions he would appear.
He had once shown himself on television, before the death of his late wife, but even that had become rare over time.
Now, even employees of his own company only saw him occasionally when he chose to appear.
A man so widely admired—particularly by the opposite gender—naturally made me assume he was undeniably attractive.
“Mr. Rafael,” I said, breaking the suffocating silence as politely as I could, though my voice betrayed none of the tension tightening inside me.
My hands remained bound behind my back, the metal pressing into my wrists with quiet insistence, a constant reminder of how vulnerable I was.
“I know you are still here,” I added. “I do not mean to be impolite, but is there anything further you require of me?”
The words lingered in the air between us.
He didn’t answer immediately—he moved instead, one slow, intentional step closer, then another, until the space between us began to vanish; my breath caught as his scent deepened around me.
Grounding in a way I didn’t expect.
It chased away the lingering stench of smoke, replacing it with something steadier.
Something that made it easier to breathe.
I hated that I noticed.
Then—
His touch found my wrists suddenly, still bound behind my back.
I heard the faint clink of metal and the subtle movement as he stepped in closer.
My shoulders stiffened instinctively as his presence pressed near my back, every nerve in me reacting at once.
But unlike Bruno, there was no violence in it—no force, no roughness.
Only a steady pause, as though he was giving me time to understand what he intended.
“Hold still,” he said quietly.
The words weren’t harsh but they weren’t a request either.
I stilled anyway.
My breathing slowed deliberately, my body locking in place as I felt his hands move near the cuffs.
The metal shifted.
A soft clink.
Then—
Click.
