Love Me for Eternity || Bruno Madrigal

Chapter 18: Breakfast and Bullies

Three weeks ago, Bruno Madrigal was an absolute mess.

"I-I don't know. What if she says no? W-what if she just starts screaming? What if she's not ready? What if I'm not ready?"

The seer paced around his room, picking on the loose threads of his ruana. He couldn't focus, he couldn't keep his mind straight. He alternates between walking back and forth from one corner to the other, sitting on his comfy red chair, flipping on the write-ups for his telenovelas, and fiddling with the golden ring with a small emerald stone embellished on the metal.

"Squeak!" A rat sits back on its haunches, twitching its nose at the young man. He groans and flops back on his red chair, throwing his head back while holding onto the engagement ring like a lifeline.

"If she says yes, then—then she'll be my wife. My wife! She's going to move to the casita and we're actually going to be sleeping in the same room!"

"Squeak!"

"Exactly! And then, we'll start to think about—about kids! I've always wanted three, maybe five—b-but that's besides the point, Dulce! What if she doesn't want kids? What if she doesn't say yes at all? My heart can't handle her rejection!"

"Squeak squeak!"

"We've known each other since we were kids! And—and I know she'll love for me to propose but she never actually said it! She hasn't even told me she loves me yet! Ay Dios, what is this a mistake? W-what if all the rumors get to her? What if she just sees me as bad luck Bruno? I don't want that for us! I don't want her to get caught up by all that talk from the townsfolk! Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock—knock on wood!"

"Squeak!"

" O Dios mio, I still have to ask mi padrino for her hand! What if I didn't prove that I was strong enough? W-what if he still thinks I'm not worthy to be her husband? I-I mean, I don't think anyone is worthy of marrying such a strong, amazing, talented, beautiful..."

"Squeak!"

" Oye, Dulce! I'm nervous enough as it is! She's just—she's just so perfect that I feel like I'm not fit to even be beside her..."

"...why am I getting this sense of deja vu here?" Bruno yelped, stumbling backwards. His chair tipped with him and knocked over his writing table—papers and books flying everywhere. The youngest Madrigal held the engagement ring tightly to his chest; there was no way he was going to lose the ring or even let it get the tiniest bit of scratch on the metal. Julieta and Pepa stood on the entrance of his room, albeit panting from the trek up the many many stairs.

" Ay! Pepi, Julie, h-how—how long have you been standing there?!" Bruno fumbles over his footing, tripping over the fallen paper and scampering rats. He tries to play it cool, only to lose his grip on the ring and try to catch it with haste. He manages to catch it mid-air, and as soon as he does so, he grabs the velvet case and shoves the ring inside (he was trying to be as gentle as possible while being discreet, but Julieta and Pepa could only blink owlishly at their brother's own clumsiness). He shoved the box in his pocket and smiled innocently towards his hermanas . They could only facepalm.

"Long enough to know that you're stalling, hermano. " Julieta sighs and crosses her arms. She and Pepa had accidentally stumbled upon Bruno picking up the engagement ring from the jeweler that he commissioned. They weren't meant to know just yet, but after Bruno not so subtly trying to hide the velvet box that contained the ring they forced their youngest brother to spill his plans.

That was over a week ago.

"We're here to drag you to mama! You haven't talked to her about your plans to propose yet. It's been a week, Bruno! A week. " Pepa stomped her way towards her little brother (avoiding all the rats and the papers) and grabbed him by the arms. A small, graying cloud appeared on top of her head. Bruno couldn't help but yelp and groan at her tight hold. She had an incredible strength that could be on par with yours, and that was saying something. You trained every day!